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Arcadia & Hatfield Tourism Information

Quick Facts: Arcadia & Hatfield

  • Arcadia is the roosting place of a veritable flock of foreign embassies
  • In fact, after Washington, D.C., Pretoria has the largest number of embassies in the world
  • Most of the embassies are situated in Arcadia and the jacaranda-lined streets of Hatfield
  • with its proximity to Pretoria University, Hatfield is also a popular student area with an array of trendy shops, bars and clubs
  • Arcadia took its name from the piece of land that Pretoria's first magistrate, Andries Francois du Toit
  • Duncan Yard
  • Hatfield Market
  • Hatfield Square
  • Pretoria Art Museum
  • Union Buildings
  • University of Pretoria Art Collection
  • Mapungubwe Museum
  • Venning Park

Distance to Airport: 51 km

Distance to City: 4 km

Introducing Arcadia & Hatfield

Follow Church Street, Park Street or the N4 east from central Pretoria and you will reach the cosmopolitan suburb of Arcadia.  Travel a little further and you'll find yourself in charming Hatfield. Arcadia is the roosting place of a veritable flock of foreign embassies. In fact, after Washington, D.C., Pretoria has the largest number of embassies in the world and most of them are situated in Arcadia and the jacaranda-lined streets of Hatfield.

With its proximity to Pretoria University, Hatfield is also a popular student area with an array of trendy shops, bars and clubs.  Arcadia took its name from the piece of land that Pretoria's first magistrate, Andries Francois du Toit, acquired in 1856, in exchange for a Basuto pony.

Du Toit went on to plan the layout of the city, selling his land to Stephanus Meintjies. The hill on which the Union Buildings are now built was named Meintjieskop.

Getting there

From O.R. Tambo International Airport, Arcadia and Hatfield can be reached via the R21 airport road. Take the M5 (Sunnyside) exit at Fountains Interchange, then turn right into Schoeman Street (N4).