The urban suburb of Arcadia is situated just to the East of the centre of Pretoria and is handy for anyone with business in the City, which is the administrative capital of South Africa. In the Arcadia Park is situated the city's Art Museum. Arcadia is within walking distance of Union Buildings, for a long time the seat of government. The suburb is next door to Loftus Sports Stadium, and is handy for Pretoria Girls and Pretoria Boys High Schools.

Pretoria itself was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius. During the First Boer War, the city was besieged by Republican forces in December 1880 and March 1881. The peace treaty, which ended the was, was signed in Pretoria on 3 August 1881 at the Pretoria Convention. Pretoria achieved official city status in 1931. The suburb of Arcadia is handy for most of the foreign embassies housed in the city.