Bloemies is a large, modern city that sits in the centre of a huge rural area and nearly plumb in the middle of South Africa. It’s the capital city of the Free State and is the judicial capital of the country.

Poetically it’s known as the City of Roses – because of the abundance of flowers and the annual rose festival – but the origin of the name is unclear. Popular belief is that the farm on which the first inhabitant of Bloemfontein lived, had a large number of flowers around an old fountain, and so its literal translation is “fountain of flowers”.

If it’s a dose of history and culture you want – look no further than Bloemfontein. Historically an Afrikaner settlement, it was then colonized by the British and swapped back and forth between Boer and British hands several times. To get your bearings head up to Naval Hill, it’s a quick 20 minutes in your rental car from the Bloemfontein Airport. The hill is in the centre of Bloem and has the whole city positioned at its feet.

There are a number of well-preserved historical buildings in the centre of town, so park your rented car and explore on foot. Walk along President Brand Street and admire the manicured gardens and the impressive late 19th and 20th century buildings. Visit the Magistrate’s Court, Twin-Spire Church, National Afrikaans Literary Museum and the Fourth Raadsaal – regarded as the jewel in the architectural crown of the Free State.

There are museums a plenty here too, including the excellent National Women’s Memorial and Anglo Boer War Museum. The National Museum houses one of the most extensive fossil collections in South Africa and is home to a meteorite thought to be from Mars. If you love sport then the Choet Visser Rugby Museum is just for you, especially as it’s the largest private rugby museum in the world.

Becoming more of a tourist destination, Bloemfontein does have a claim to fame in that it is the birthplace of J.R.R. Tolkien – author of Lord of the Rings. For local residents Bloemies is precious!