Johannesburg Travel Guide

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City Introduction

The metropolis of Johannesburg is the economic locomotive of southern Africa and one of the continent’s major cities. The city is the largest in South Africa and consists almost of two city centers, the old town center and the modern Sandton, where large shopping centers and modern buildings prevail.

The old town center has its sights. This is where the city was developed after the foundation, and a lot of its history can be seen here. The sights are large public institutions, high-rise buildings, museums, etc. This is also where the city’s main railway station and other important functions are located.

Johannesburg consists of more than the old town center and Sandton. Many will also recognize the name Soweto, a neighborhood known widely around the world. This is the township area where the country’s former president, Nelson Mandela, came from.

The surrounding area of ​​Johannesburg is also interesting with good opportunities for excursions. A trip to one of the country’s three formal capitals, Pretoria, is a good choice and a chance to see the government buildings of South Africa, museums and monuments. It is of course also possible to enjoy some of South Africa’s nature and national parks in the vicinity of Johannesburg.

Top Attractions

  • Constitution Hill: In the Constitution Hill area, the new meets the old Johannesburg. Here you can see quite a few sights as the fort of Johannesburg, built as a garrison in 1893, and the country’s modern constitutional court.
  • The Old Fort: The Old Fort was built as a prison and fort in the 1890s and used in the Boer War. The fort was built as protection against the threat of a British invasion, and the site’s prison came to house Boer leaders after the Boer War. The prison was in operation until 1987, and today both the fort and the prison are open as museums.
  • Nelson Mandela Square: The Sandton district north of Johannesburg’s historic center is the city’s new modern center, where several companies have established their headquarters. Nelson Mandela Square serves as the center of the district.
  • MuseuMAfricA: MuseuMAfricA is a historical museum founded in 1933. The goal was to exhibit all aspects of South African cultural history, and here you can see interesting exhibitions within different themes.
  • Johannesburg Art Gallery: This grand art museum was founded in 1910, and the exhibition building at Joubert Park was completed in 1915 according to Edward Lutyen’s designs. The collection includes works by famous South African and international painters.

Other Attractions

  • Saint Mary’s Cathedral: Saint Mary’s Cathedral is Johannesburg’s Anglican Cathedral. The foundation stone for the beautiful church was laid in 1926, and the dedication took place on September 29, 1929. Throughout the 20th century, the church became known as one of the few in Johannesburg that was not racially segregated.
  • Carlton Center: The Carlton Center is 223 meters/731 feet high and was built 1967-1974 as the tallest office building in the Southern Hemisphere. For many years, there was a luxury hotel on 30 floors in the high-rise building, which was surpassed by 11 meters/36 feet in height by The Leonardo in the suburb of Sandton.
  • University of the Witwatersrand: This is Johannesburg’s large university. It was founded in the city of Kimberley in 1896 as The South African School of Mines, and in 1904 the school moved to Johannesburg.
  • Johannesburg City Hall: With its tower and nicely designed facade, the Johannesburg City Hall is one of the city’s distinctive heritage buildings. It was completed in 1914 in Edwardian Baroque architecture.
  • Johannesburg Central Library: The Central Library was built in 1935 in an Italian inspired style. The three impressive arches are distinctive features of the building’s facade.
  • Apartheid Museum: Opened in 2001, the Apartheid Museum retells the 20th century South African history of the introduction, enforcement and abolition of apartheid. There are many depictions and interesting items in the exhibitions.
  • Soweto: The name of the suburb Soweto is an abbreviation of South Western Townships, which, as the name suggests, spans a number of suburbs such as Orlando, Klipspruit, Meadowlands and Dobsonville. There are several things to see in Soweto; first and foremost the Nelson Mandela National Museum.

Day Trips

  • Pretoria: Pretoria is one of the capitals of South Africa and there are many sights to see. The city has preserved many of its heritage buildings, and today visitors can experience the city’s history through constructions with historical content, places of historical significance and a varied cultural offering.
  • Lion Park Zoo: In the Lion Park Zoo you can get close to much of Africa’s exciting wildlife, not least lions, but also leopards, hyenas, caracals and more. There is also a large area where some of the more peaceful animals such as giraffes, zebras and antelopes are located.
  • Sun City: Sun City is a great entertainment area in the midst of the South African nature. Here you will find luxury hotels, golf courses, casinos and a lovely artificial beach at the Palace of the Lost City hotel. Sun City was opened in 1979.
  • Sterkfontein & Cradle of Humankind: Cradle of Humankind denotes the area where hundreds of remains of early human activity have been found. Thus, fossils and stone tools have been found here. The large cave area Sterkfontein is central to a visit to the Cradle of Humankind. Here, the oldest found monkey was discovered in 1936, and then massive archaeological excavations were initiated.
  • Pilanesberg National Park: In Pilanesberg National Park you can enjoy and explore the South African nature and wildlife, and it is a place, where you can be lucky to see the so-called Big Five of Africa’s animals; elephant, leopard, lion, rhino and water buffalo.
  • Cullinan Diamond Mine: This De Beers diamond mine is located in the town of Cullinan, . The mine was established in 1902 and it remains active. In 1905, the mine became particularly well known, when the world’s largest diamond was found by Frederick Wells and named The Cullinan Diamond.

Shopping

With Kids

  • Theme Park: Gold Reef City, Xavier Road, Ormonde, goldreefcity.co.za
  • Zoo: Johannesburg Zoo, Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown, jhbzoo.org.za
  • Lion and Safari Park : Lion and Safari Park, R512 Pelindaba Rd, Hartbeespoort, Broederstroom, lionandsafaripark.com
  • Zoo: National Zoological Gardens, Boom Street, Pretoria, nzg.ac.za

Practical Links

City History

The Johannesburg area has been inhabited for millions of years, but despite the current size of the city, Johannesburg is a very young city. In the 19th century, many farmer farmers came and they cultivated large parts of the countryside. This was not least after the migration from Cape Town to the inland in 1836. However, the Boers did not establish an actual city at that time.

Australian George Harrison found gold here in 1886, and it was the start of a very hectic gold fever. Pretoria to the north sent officials Johann Rissik and Johannes Joubert to the area of ​​the gold finds, and they chose the site for the establishment of Johannesburg, which was subsequently named after them. The first gold was found in Barberton, but even richer deposits were soon after excavated in Witwatersrand.

The gold brought lots of migrants from other parts of southern Africa, but also from Europe and North America, and after just five years, Johannesburg was South Africa’s largest city. The economically very interesting area was the subject of tension between the Dutch Africans and the British. It resulted in the Second Boer War, in which Britain won the dominion over this part of South Africa as well.

After the establishment of the South African Union in 1910, regulations for non-Europeans were introduced in Johannesburg and in the Transvaal region. Among other things, special residential areas were established for them, such as Soweto, which seriously developed from the 1940s.

Based on the wealth of gold mines, Johannesburg developed a large industrial production in the first half of the 20th century and a number of cultural institutions were established. The many jobs in both the mines and the industry constantly attracted more blacks from poor rural areas, and the city’s black districts gradually became overcrowded and quite slack.

Johannesburg’s central business district opened up, and there were many international hotels, skyscrapers and entertainment venues for the many wealthy white and traveling business people. The white neighborhoods of the metropolis were modern as a European or North American city, while the poor black districts merely continued its somewhat unstructured growth. Political pressure increased on the white rule introduced with the 1948 National Party election victory. 

In 1976, armed riots broke out in Soweto, resulting in 12 months of riots that were wiped out, but which nevertheless added extra fuel to the black opposition’s struggle for influence in the country. After several unrest, the political structure of the country changed in 1990, with the South African president allowing all political organizations and printing presidential elections until 1994, when Soweto’s Nelson Mandela was elected the first black president.

The political system change had major consequences for Johannesburg. Many blacks moved into the central business district where the established financial sector of the country was located. Companies and the stock exchange, for example, moved to new areas in the suburban area, mainly Sandton, to the north. Hotels were closing and moving, and the city’s central part had changed radically in a few years. Today, much has been done to restore the attractiveness of the Johannesburg Center to investors and tourists alike.

Geolocation

In short

City, Johannesburg, South Africa

Overview of Johannesburg

The metropolis of Johannesburg is the economic locomotive of southern Africa and one of the continent’s major cities. The city is the largest in South Africa and consists almost of two city centers, the old town center and the modern Sandton, where large shopping centers and modern buildings prevail.

 

The old town center has its sights. This is where the city was developed after the foundation, and a lot of its history can be seen here. The sights are large public institutions, high-rise buildings, museums, etc. This is also where the city’s main railway station and other important functions are located.

 

About the upcoming Johannesburg travel guide

  • Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
  • Published: Released soon
  • Author: Stig Albeck
  • Publisher: Vamados.com
  • Language: English

 

About the travel guide

The Johannesburg travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the South African city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.

 

Johannesburg is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.

 

Read more about Johannesburg and South African

 

Buy the travel guide

Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.

 

Use the travel guide

When you buy the travel guide to Johannesburg you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.

Constitution Hill • Mandela Square • Soweto • Sandton • Downtown

City, Johannesburg, South Africa

Overview of Johannesburg

The metropolis of Johannesburg is the economic locomotive of southern Africa and one of the continent’s major cities. The city is the largest in South Africa and consists almost of two city centers, the old town center and the modern Sandton, where large shopping centers and modern buildings prevail.

 

The old town center has its sights. This is where the city was developed after the foundation, and a lot of its history can be seen here. The sights are large public institutions, high-rise buildings, museums, etc. This is also where the city’s main railway station and other important functions are located.

 

About the upcoming Johannesburg travel guide

  • Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
  • Published: Released soon
  • Author: Stig Albeck
  • Publisher: Vamados.com
  • Language: English

 

About the travel guide

The Johannesburg travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the South African city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.

 

Johannesburg is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.

 

Read more about Johannesburg and South African

 

Buy the travel guide

Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.

 

Use the travel guide

When you buy the travel guide to Johannesburg you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.

Other Attractions

  • Saint Mary’s Cathedral: Saint Mary’s Cathedral is Johannesburg’s Anglican Cathedral. The foundation stone for the beautiful church was laid in 1926, and the dedication took place on September 29, 1929. Throughout the 20th century, the church became known as one of the few in Johannesburg that was not racially segregated.
  • Carlton Center: The Carlton Center is 223 meters/731 feet high and was built 1967-1974 as the tallest office building in the Southern Hemisphere. For many years, there was a luxury hotel on 30 floors in the high-rise building, which was surpassed by 11 meters/36 feet in height by The Leonardo in the suburb of Sandton.
  • University of the Witwatersrand: This is Johannesburg’s large university. It was founded in the city of Kimberley in 1896 as The South African School of Mines, and in 1904 the school moved to Johannesburg.
  • Johannesburg City Hall: With its tower and nicely designed facade, the Johannesburg City Hall is one of the city’s distinctive heritage buildings. It was completed in 1914 in Edwardian Baroque architecture.
  • Johannesburg Central Library: The Central Library was built in 1935 in an Italian inspired style. The three impressive arches are distinctive features of the building’s facade.
  • Apartheid Museum: Opened in 2001, the Apartheid Museum retells the 20th century South African history of the introduction, enforcement and abolition of apartheid. There are many depictions and interesting items in the exhibitions.
  • Soweto: The name of the suburb Soweto is an abbreviation of South Western Townships, which, as the name suggests, spans a number of suburbs such as Orlando, Klipspruit, Meadowlands and Dobsonville. There are several things to see in Soweto; first and foremost the Nelson Mandela National Museum.

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