Bloemfontein's live entertainment scene is a fun way to access local culture, as are restaurants that serve regional specialties like fragrant Free State grilled lamb and farmers’ sausage (called “boerewors”). The Free State’s Golden Gate National Park is a major highlight and offers up scenery not to be missed – it’s definitely worth the drive and can be counted as a Bloemfontein attraction.
Sporty types can use their time out for a game of tennis or bowls, a leisurely cycle or a short hike. If you like to be pampered, there’s always the massage table and the spa. On weekends, locals flock to Maselspoort, a green spot on the Modder River where parents can stoke the barbecue fires while the young ones explore the surrounds.
Bloemfontein is home to some of the country’s most beautiful gardens and parks. Don’t miss out on the Botanical Gardens with its esteemed orchid house, where thousands of these tropical plants flourish. King’s Park just west of the city centre is home to the zoo and Loch Logan – good for a morning stroll, a browse through the market and a light lunch at the water.

How to get here ( Search the Cheapest Flights )
Bloemfontein is 660 km from Durban, with Johannesburg 405 km away and Cape Town 990 km away.

Where to stay
Accommodation is offered throughout the town and caters for all tastes and budgets.

Around the area
The surrounding areas also boast a wealth of attractions – go on a fossil-hunting safari, learn to ride like an African cowboy or go pony-trekking in the Maluti Mountains. The province is also the gateway to Lesotho, a region famous for pony-trekking, hiking and African rural lifestyles.

Attractions
Bloemfontein, Motheo Region
Bloemfontein, the City of Roses, serves as something of an oasis, lying as it does plum in the middle of the Free State and indeed the country. The only major city for miles around, it is also the sixth largest city in the country, the Judicial Capital of South Africa, and it lies on the N1 between Johannesburg and Cape Town, often functioning as a stop off to break the major journey between the two cities.
Despite being situated in an area of dry grassland, Bloemfontein more than lives up to its name - spring of flowers. Thousands of rose bushes line the city; more than 4000 rose trees have been planted in the rose gardens in Kings Park, and many homes, still minus the ubiquitous six metre wall of other major cities in South Africa, boast colourful gardens littered with flowering plants and trees. Bloemies, as the locals fondly call her it, is a city of little stress and very few residents buy into the rush, rush syndrome typical of a major city. The city centre is lined with historical buildings, including the beautiful tree-lined President Brand Street - a national monument - its pavements home to several graceful museum buildings, right in the centre of the CBD.
Naval Hill, a little nature reserve of 192 odd hectares, set right in the city, is worth a drive through. Set on a hill as it is, it not only provides a welcome respite from all things city, but also gives a bird’s eye view over the city. And the extremely modern Orchid House, which lies at the western foot of Naval Hill in Hamilton Park, lays claim to the world’s largest collection of orchids. There is also a fragrance garden for the blind close to Orchid House.
There is no shortage of activities when in Bloemfontein: The Art in the Park, held in Kings Park on the first Saturday of every month is an extremely popular event amongst residents; Loch Logan Waterfront offers a series of restaurants, shops, pubs and entertainment, and the Oliewenhuis Art Gallery - a beautiful neo-Cape Dutch house with frequent exhibitions and sprawling lawns - has gardens under shade trees that provide a wonderful space in which to picnic or simply enjoy tea at the little garden tea house.

Bloemfontein Golf Course, Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein Golf Course, Maselspoort Road, Bloemfontein, Free State / The Bloemfontein Golf Club is situated about 6 kilometres from the city centre just off Maselspoort Road - more commonly known as the Airport Road.

The Course
Bloemfontein's last five holes - all water holes, rival the toughest in South Africa. The 14th, is a par-five of 478 metres. The river that flows though the course is a major threat here. The water must be crossed with the tee shot and also comes into play down the left-hand side of the fairway and right up to the green.
The 15th is a demanding par-four of 429 metres. The river again comes into play on the left, while the giant, three-tiered green is guarded by bunkers to the left and to the right. A big sand trap in the middle of the fairway 60 metres short of the green can cause immense problems with the approach, while a bunker to the left of the green and a grass bunker to the right add to the severity of the closing hole.

Bloemfontein Zoo
Sanctuary is provided in the Bloemfontein Zoo in pleasant surroundings for the "Big Five" as well as several antelope species, tigers, panthers, hippos and apes. A large variety of birds is an added attraction. The most unusual inhabitant is the liger, a cross between a lion and a tiger.

Caledon Nature Reserve, Free State.
Roughly 120 kilometres south east of Bloemfontein and 15 kilometres south of Wepener on Route 701, the Caledon Nature Reserve, through which the Caledon River flows, is also home to the Welbedacht Dam situated in the southern parts of the reserve. Despite sounding as if the reserve is off the beaten track, it gets star-studded reviews from locals and visitors for its beautiful setting, 4x4 routes, angling, hiking and general sense of peace and serenity that allow one a complete escape from it all in the 2300 hectare reserve.
Probably the biggest draw card to the Caledon Nature Reserve are the two floating bush camps that, whilst not luxury getaways - this is self-catering that includes a 4x4 trail in the per night price - does add a sense of adventure to a visit here, and is a hit with fishermen for whom a stay on these floating decks is all about how many barbel, mudfish, yellowfish and carp one can reel in.
The views at Caledon are described as enviable and one can also hope to spot black wildebeest, blesbok, springbok and zebra, whilst the fish eagle, unsurprisingly given the number of fish on offer here for both bird and man, renders its sharp and distinctive call frequently through the reserve. If you are lucky the call will herald a sighting of the majestic bird of prey.
Wepenar, the closest town to the Caledon Nature Reserve that lies virtually on the Lesotho border has quite a history, involved as it was in the 'Basotho wars' of the 19th century, and the fair number of sandstone buildings definitely warrant a drive through, if not a stopover.

Franklin Nature Reserve
Situated at the the base of Naval Hill, the Franklin Nature Reserve (size 250 hectare) is home to many birds and indigenous wildlife, including herds of springbok, blesbok, eland and zebra. The Franklin Nature Reserve is the only reserve of its kind in the world completely surrounded by a city.

Free State National Botanical Gardens, Bloemfontein.
On the north western fringes of Bloemfontein lie 70 hectares of botanical garden, in a valley peppered with dolerite koppies, tall grassland and woodland; some magnificent examples of wild olive and karee trees, an orange blossom arbour and a petrified tree, thought to be over 150 million years’ old.
The Free State National Botanical Garden is home to some 400 species of plants, mainly from the Free State, Northern Cape and Lesotho. A meandering paved path, perfect for the more elderly visitor and the physically disabled, takes one through the gardens, whilst the more agile can venture up the koppies.
Probably the best time of year for visiting is the spring when most of the gorgeous flowers are in bloom. The plants are in full leaf between November and March, and between March and June there is an array of autumn shades to delight the visitor. Some 124 species of birdlife and 54 species of reptiles inhabit the garden; and two demonstration gardens to display medicinal plants and water-wise gardening principles respectively, have been created.
As part of the garden’s environmental education programme are school programmes that include: ecotourism, food chains and food webs, plant adaptations, life in leaves, seeds and other interesting topics for school children. The garden’s nursery has a well-stocked supply of surplus indigenous trees, succulents, shrubs and bulbs and the Botanical Society arranges talks, sunset concerts during summer and moonlight walks.

National Museum Bloemfontein, Free State
The National Museum in the judicial capital of South Africa, known as the city of roses, has as its motto - Curator Hereditatis - which means that it regards itself as the custodian of our heritage, which it is in quite a big way. The National Museum in Bloemfontein has been in existence since 1877, when it began collecting and displaying rarities from around the world. Today the museum focuses on natural history and cultural history sciences, as well as art, and it has established some important collections.
The National Museum, on Aliwal Street in the centre of Bloemfontein, has some alluring attractions that include life-size fibreglass elephants, the only complete skeleton of Euskelosaurus, one of the earliest known dinosaurs, a working beehive, live snakes and other reptiles in the their Herpetology Hall, and an extensive history of Bloemfontein / Mangaung. Most of their visitors are children, and it’s not surprising given the attractions.
The palaeontology / anthropology and archaeology section is probably one of the more interesting areas of the museum - it takes us back to what our world must have been like millions of years ago. The museum has an extensive collection of fossils and archaeological material that includes the Florisbad Skull, one of the largest known dinosaurs. There is an ethnological section too, with fascinating displays on the Bushmen, and a replica of a Victorian Bloemfontein street scene. Even the museum’s restaurant is Victorian-style, whilst the shop offers a range of curios and gifts from which to choose.