Fodor's Expert Review Union Buildings

Built in 1901, this impressive cream-sandstone complex—home to the administrative branch of government and now a national heritage site—was designed by Sir Herbert Baker, one of South Africa's most revered architects. This is where Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the country’s first democratically elected president in 1994. The complex incorporates a hodgepodge of styles—an Italian tile roof, wooden shutters inspired by Cape Dutch architecture, and Renaissance columns—that somehow works beautifully. Expansive formal gardens step down the hillside in terraces, which are dotted with war memorials and statues of former prime ministers. What is most striking is the nine-meter-tall bronze statue of Mandela with outstretched arms by South African sculptors André Prinsloo and Ruhan Janse van Vuuren. While there's no public access to the building, the gardens are perfect for a picnic lunch.