Discover 35 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Johannesburg (South Africa). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Gold Reef City, Rosebank, and Carlton Centre. Also, be sure to include Constitution Hill in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Johannesburg (Gauteng).
Table of Contents
Gold Reef City
Also known as: Goudrifstad
Amusement park in Johannesburg South, South Africa. Gold Reef City is an amusement park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Located on an old gold mine which closed in 1971, the park is themed around the gold rush that started in 1886 on the Witwatersrand, the buildings on the park are designed to mimic the same period. There is a museum dedicated to gold mining on the grounds where it is possible to see a gold-containing ore vein and see how gold is poured into barrels. And multiple shops around the park can be located.
There are many attractions at Gold Reef City, including water rides, roller coasters and the famous Gold Reef City Casino. Gold Reef City is located to the south of the Central Business District off of the M1. It is also the site of the Apartheid Museum.[1]
Address: Northern Park Way,Johannesburg, Johannesburg
Rosebank
City in South Africa. Rosebank is a cosmopolitan commercial and residential suburb to the north of central Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region B of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, and is the location of a Gautrain station.
Rosebank has undergone a major face-lift in recent years, with the extensive redevelopment of both the Rosebank Mall and The Zone @Rosebank creating a high-end retail and shopping prescient. Local authorities also identified the node as a priority development area for improved service delivery and infrastructure. As a result, the suburb is estimated to have seen a R7 billion capital injection in recent years.
Rosebank is becoming an increasingly popular destination for corporates. Surging demand for office space has seen rentals in the suburb increase by 9% in the second quarter, the strongest growth recorded in any Johannesburg office node. Rentals in second-placed Fourways rose by only 3.4%, while in Sandton rentals increased by just 2.5% during the same period.
Its several high-end shopping malls make it a popular hangout and shopping destination for young professionals, celebrities, designers, and the gay community. Rosebank has a thriving nightlife with cafes, bars and clubs around the Design District such as Marble Restaurant, Molokai, Capital Cafe, The Bank, and Sumo Nightclub. The African Craft Market, and the popular Rooftop Market ("Rosebank Flea Market") are popular tourist destinations; various high-end hotels are also located in the suburb. The annual Joburg gay pride parade also passes through the streets of Rosebank, then heads to Zoo Lake.
Rosebank is often dubbed the new Sandton, an affluent municipality in the Gauteng Province, South Africa and forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality which is located a mere five km (3.1 mi) from Rosebank.[2]
Address: 31 Tyrwhitt Ave, 2196 Johannesburg
Carlton Centre
Also known as: Carlton-sentrum
Towering building with observation deck. The Carlton Centre is a 50-storey skyscraper and shopping centre located in central Johannesburg, South Africa. At 223 metres, it is the third tallest building in Africa after The Leonardo, also in Johannesburg, and the Iconic Tower in Egypt. The foundations of the two buildings in the complex are 5 m in diameter and extend 15 m down to the bedrock, 35 m below street level. The building houses both offices and shops, and has over 46 per cent of the floor area below ground level.
The Carlton Centre is linked to the Carlton Hotel by a below-ground shopping centre with over 180 shops.[3]
Address: 150 Commissioner St, 2001 Johannesburg (Johannesburg Inner City)
Constitution Hill
Also known as: Konstitusie-heuwel
Heritage museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Constitution Hill precinct is located at 11 Kotze Street in Braamfontein, Johannesburg near the western end of the suburb of Hillbrow. Constitution Hill is the seat of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.[4]
Address: 11 Kotze Street,Braamfontein, 2017 EGoli (Johannesburg Inner City)
Apartheid Museum
Also known as: Apartheidsmuseum
Solemn concrete apartheid exhibit space. The Apartheid Museum is a museum in Johannesburg, South Africa illustrating apartheid and the 20th century history of South Africa. The museum, part of the Gold Reef City complex, was opened in November 2001.
At least five times a year events are held at the museum to celebrate the end of apartheid and the start of multiracial democracy for the people of South Africa.[5]
Address: Cnr Northern Park Wy & Gold Reef Rd, 2091 EGoli
Johannesburg Zoo
City zoo with a white lion program. The Johannesburg Zoo is a 55-hectare zoo in Johannesburg, South Africa. The zoo is dedicated to the accommodation, enrichment, husbandry, and medical care of wild animals, and houses about 2000 individuals of 320 species. Established in 1904, it has traditionally been owned and operated by the Johannesburg City Council. However, it has been turned into a corporation and registered as a Section 21 non-profit organisation.[6]
Address: Jan Smuts Ave, 2122 EGoli
FNB Stadium
Also known as: ENB-stadion
Stadium in Johannesburg South, South Africa. First National Bank Stadium or simply FNB Stadium, also known as Soccer City and The Calabash, is an association football and Rugby union stadium located in Nasrec, bordering the Soweto area of Johannesburg, South Africa. The venue is managed by Stadium Management South Africa and is a home of Kaizer Chiefs F.C. in the South African Premier Soccer League as well as key fixtures for the South African national football team.
It is located next to the South African Football Association headquarters (SAFA House) where both the FIFA offices and the Local Organising Committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup were housed. Designed as the main association football stadium for the World Cup, the FNB Stadium became the largest stadium in Africa with a capacity of 94,736. However, its maximum capacity during the 2010 FIFA World Cup was 84,490 due to reserved seating for the press and other VIPs. The stadium is also known by its nickname "The Calabash" due to its resemblance to the African pot or gourd.
It was the site of Nelson Mandela's first speech in Johannesburg after his release from prison in 1990, and served as the venue for a memorial service to him on 10 December 2013. It was also the site of Chris Hani's funeral. It was also the venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final, which was played by the Netherlands and Spain. The World Cup closing ceremony on the day of the final saw the final public appearance of Mandela.[7]
Address: Nasrec Rd. Nasrec, 2147 EGoli
Ellis Park Stadium
Also known as: Ellispark-stadion
Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ellis Park Stadium is a rugby union and association football stadium in the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was won by the country's national team, the Springboks. The stadium was the country's most modern when it was upgraded in 1982 to accommodate almost 60,000 people. Today, the stadium hosts both football and rugby and is also used as a venue for other large events, such as open-air concerts. It has become synonymous with rugby as the only time when rugby was not played at Ellis Park was during 1980 and 1981, when the stadium was under construction during the upgrade.
The stadium was originally named after Mr J.D. Ellis, who made the area for the stadium available. A five-year ZAR 450 million (US$58 million/£30 million) naming rights deal was signed in 2008 with The Coca-Cola Company, resulting in the stadium being named Coca-Cola Park between 2008 and 2012.
League, provincial, and international football games have all been played at the stadium, and it has seen such teams as Brazil, Manchester United and Arsenal play. Ellis Park Stadium is the centerpiece of a sporting sector in the south-east of Johannesburg, where it neighbours Johannesburg Stadium (athletics), Standard Bank Arena, Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, and an Olympic-class swimming pool.
Ellis Park is home to the following teams:
- Lions (Cats until September 2006), Super Rugby Southern Hemisphere rugby competition
- Golden Lions, Currie Cup domestic rugby competition
Cricket matches were held at the stadium in the past. Ellis Park hosted six Test matches between 1948 and 1954, but it has not been used for first-class cricket since New Wanderers Stadium opened in 1956 and is now only used for rugby and football.[8]
Address: 48 Staib St. Doornfontein, 2028 EGoli (Johannesburg Inner City)
Market Theatre
Also known as: Markteater
Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Market Theatre, based in the downtown bohemian suburb of Newtown in Johannesburg, South Africa, was opened in 1976, operating as an independently, anti-racist theatre during the country's apartheid regime. It was named after a fruit and vegetable market that was previously located there. It was also known as the Old Indian Market or the Newtown Market, which closed after 60 years. The Market Theatre was renamed John Kani Theatre in 2014 after the renowned South African stage actor John Kani.[9]
Zoo Lake
Lake in South Africa. Zoo Lake is a popular lake and public park in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is part of the Hermann Eckstein Park and is opposite the Johannesburg Zoo. The Zoo Lake consists of two dams, an upper feeder dam, and a larger lower dam, both constructed in natural marshland watered by the Parktown Spruit.[10]
Address: Cnr. Jan Smuts Ave.& West World St. Parkview, 2121 EGoli
Hector Pieterson Museum
Museum in Soweto, South Africa. The Hector Pieterson Museum is a large museum located in Orlando West, Soweto, South Africa, two blocks away from where Hector Pieterson was shot and killed 16 June 1976. The museum is named in his honour, and covers the events of the anti-Apartheid Soweto Uprising, where more than 170 protesting school children were killed.
The museum features films, newspapers, personal accounts and photographs, the most famous being the iconic photo by Sam Nzima.
The Hector Pieterson Museum became one of the first museums in Soweto when it opened on 16 June 2002. A companion museum nearby is Mandela House, the former home of Nelson Mandela and his family, which has been run as a museum since 1997. The total cost of the Hector Pieterson Museum project was Rand 23.2 million, which was covered by a 16 million rand donation by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and 7.2 million rand donation from the Johannesburg City Council.[11]
Address: 8288 Maseko Street, Orlando West, 1808 Soweto
South African National Museum of Military History
Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. The South African National War Museum in Johannesburg was officially opened by Prime Minister Jan Smuts on 29 August 1947 to preserve the history of South Africa's involvement in the Second World War. In 1975, the museum was renamed the South African National Museum of Military History and its function changed to include all conflicts that South Africa has been involved in. In 1999 it was amalgamated with the Pretoria-based Transvaal Museum and National Cultural History Museum to form the NFI. In April 2010 Ditsong was officially renamed Ditsong Museums of South Africa and the SANMMH was renamed the Ditsong National Museum of Military History.[12]
Address: 22 Erlswold Way, 2132 Johannesburg
Mandela House
Museum in Soweto, South Africa. The Nelson Mandela National Museum, commonly referred to as Mandela House, is the house on Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, Soweto, South Africa, where Nelson Mandela lived from 1946 to 1962. It is located at number 8115, at the corner of Vilakazi and Ngakane streets, a short distance up the road from Tutu House, the home of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
Mandela donated the house to the Soweto Heritage Trust on 1 September 1997, to be run as a museum.
It was declared a National Heritage Site in 1999.[13]
Address: 8115 Orlando West, 1804 Soweto
Sandton
City in South Africa. Sandton is a financial centre of Johannesburg, South Africa and forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. The name of the town came from the combination of two of its suburbs, Sandown and Bryanston. In 1969 Sandton was promulgated as a municipality in its own right, but lost its status as an independent town after the re-organisation of South African local governments after Apartheid ended.[14]
Melville Koppies
Melville Koppies is a nature reserve and a Johannesburg City Heritage Site in Johannesburg, South Africa. The word 'koppie' means small hill.
Iron Age artefacts can still be found at the site. Visitors can walk or hike in the Koppies, and tours are offered.
In 1963 Revil Mason, excavating at the Koppies, found an Iron Age furnace for smelting iron ore, either in a bowl or sunken furnace with carbon dating of charcoal found at varies levels at the site shows it would have been in use at various times between 1060AD and 1580AD. Another more modern Iron Age furnace was found on the northern slopes dating to the 18th/19th centuries.[15]
MuseuMAfricA
Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. Museum Africa or MuseuMAfricA is an historical museum in Newtown, Johannesburg, South Africa.[16]
Address: 121 Lilian Ngoyi St, 2033 Johannesburg (Johannesburg Inner City)
Johannesburg Art Gallery
Also known as: Johannesburgse Kunsmuseum
Art gallery. The Johannesburg Art Gallery is an art gallery in Joubert Park in the city centre of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the largest gallery on the continent with a collection that is larger than that of the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town.
The building, which was completed in 1915, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, with Robert Howden working as supervising architect, and consists of 15 exhibition halls and sculpture gardens. It houses collections of 17th-century Dutch paintings, 18th- and 19th-century British and European art, 19th-century South African works, a large contemporary collection of 20th-century local and international art, and a print cabinet containing works from the 15th century to the present.[17]
Address: King George St, 2044 Johannesburg (Johannesburg Inner City)
Sentech Tower
Also known as: Sentech-toring
Tower in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Sentech Tower, previously named the Albert Hertzog Tower and commonly known as the Brixton Tower, is a 237-metre-high concrete television tower in the Brixton suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, near the top of the Brixton Ridge. It is a well-known and easily identifiable landmark in the city, alongside its "architectural cousin", the Hillbrow Tower. Although always intended for both radio and television transmission, it carried only FM radio transmissions until the 1970s.[18]
Fordsburg Square
Fordsburg Square in Fordsburg is a thriving square that is the site of a flea market was recently known for being run-down. This square in Johannesburg is the location of a battle between striking miners and the South African police, army and air force.[19]
Kerk Street Mosque
Mosque in Johannesburg. The Kerk Street Mosque, also known as the Jumah Mosque, is located in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The mosque, situated on stand 788, is one of the oldest mosques and places of worship in Johannesburg.
The first Muslim community to occupy the land set up a tent in the closing years of the nineteenth century, then in 1906 built a wood and corrugated iron structure. In 1918 construction of a brick walled structure was completed. The brick mosque was demolished in 1990 and was replaced with the modern Kerk Street Mosque designed by Driehaus Prize winner Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil.[20]
Joburg Theatre
Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Joburg Theatre Complex, previously known as the Johannesburg Civic Theatre, is a group of four theatres situated in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built in 1962, refurnished in the late 1980s and reopened in the early 1990s before it was re-branded in 2009. It's a venue to stage both Broadway musicals and home grown productions. It is one of the few theatres open in Johannesburg for independent productions.[21]
Address: Johannesburg, 163 Civic Boulevard
Gandhi Square
Historical landmark in Johannesburg, South Africa. Gandhi Square is a plaza located in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is named after the political activist and pacifist, Mahatma Gandhi.[22]
Address: New Street between Rissik Street and Eloff Street, Johannesburg (Johannesburg Inner City)
James Hall Transport Museum
Museum in Johannesburg South, South Africa. James Hall Transport Museum is located in Johannesburg South Africa. It is the largest transport museum in Africa. It is a museum that aims to preserve and promote the history of over 400 years of transport in South Africa in particular and Africa in general. It was established in 1964 by Jimmie Hall.[23]
Address: Pioneers' Park, Rosettenville Road, Johannesburg
Johannesburg Planetarium
Planetarium in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Johannesburg Planetarium is a planetarium owned by the University of the Witwatersrand, located on the University's East Campus in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. It was the first full-sized planetarium in Africa, and the second in the southern hemisphere.[24]
Address: University of the Witwatersrand, 2017 EGoli (Johannesburg Inner City)
Bedfordview
Bedfordview is an affluent suburb in western Ekurhuleni, sharing an administrative boundary with the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa. Bedfordview has been part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since 2000. The Eastgate Shopping Centre, one of the biggest in Africa when first built, is also located here.[25]
Edenvale
Edenvale is a small city on the East Rand in Gauteng, South Africa. The greater Edenvale area has an estimated population of 70,000, including Greenstone, Harmelia, Highway Gardens, Buurendal and Croydon. Edenvale is part of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. It lies about halfway between the O.R. Tambo International Airport and the Johannesburg city centre and is located 12 km by road from Sandton and about 9 km from the closest Gautrain station.[26]
Nelson Mandela Bridge
Also known as: Nelson Mandelabrug
Cable-stayed bridge in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nelson Mandela Bridge is a bridge in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the fourth of five bridges which cross the railway lines and sidings located just west of Johannesburg Park Station, the first being the Johan Rissik Bridge adjacent to the station. It was completed in 2003, and cost R38 million to build. The proposal for the bridge was to link up two main business areas of Braamfontein and Newtown as well as to rejuvenate and to a certain level modernise the inner city. The bridge forms part of the M27 Route of Johannesburg.[27]
Johannesburg/Soweto
Also known as: Soweto
Township in South Africa. Soweto is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships. Formerly a separate municipality, it is now incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Suburbs of Johannesburg.[28]
Witwatersrand
The Witwatersrand is a 56-kilometre-long, north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which account for the name Witwatersrand, meaning "ridge of white waters" in Afrikaans. This east-west-running scarp can be traced with only one short gap, from Bedfordview in the east, through Johannesburg and Roodepoort, to Krugersdorp in the west.
The scarp forms the northern edge of a 7-to-10-kilometre-wide (4–6 mi) plateau (or ridge) which rises about 200 m (660 ft) above the surrounding plains of the Highveld. A number of picturesque Johannesburg suburbs, including Observatory, Linksfield Ridge and Upper Houghton are located along the scarp, overlooking the rest of northern Johannesburg with views up to the Magaliesburg (although locals refer to segments of the scarp using area-specific names, such as Linksfield ridge, Parktown Ridge or Observatory Ridge). The entire plateau-like structure is also often called the Witwatersrand. The plateau's elevation above sea-level is between 1700 and 1800 metres (5600–5900 ft).
The Witwatersrand plateau forms a continental divide, with the run-off to the north draining into the Indian Ocean via the Crocodile and Limpopo rivers, while the run-off to the south drains via the Vaal into the Orange River and ultimately into the Atlantic Ocean.
Because of the extraordinary quantities of gold that have been extracted from the Witwatersrand rocks, the South African currency was named the rand in 1961 upon the declaration of the republic.
Witwatersrand and the Rand are names for the conurbation that developed along the range, although the terms are falling into disuse and Witwatersrand was the "W" in PWV (Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging), the initial name of Gauteng province. In this context, it has lent its name to institutions including the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) and the defunct Rand Afrikaans University (RAU, now part of the University of Johannesburg), and to towns and regions such as the East Rand, West Rand and Randburg.[29]
Anglo-Boer War Memorial
Historical landmark in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Anglo-Boer War Memorial was originally called the Rand Regiments Memorial and dedicated to the men of the Witwatersrand who joined as British soldiers in the Rand Regiments and who had lost their lives during the Second Boer War. The memorial is now next door to the South African National Museum of Military History. It was rededicated on 10 October 1999 to all people who died during the Second Boer War and renamed the Anglo-Boer War Memorial.[30]
Marble Towers
Skyscraper. The Marble Towers is a skyscraper in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built in 1973 and is 32 storeys tall. The building has an eight-storey parking garage attached to it. The structure is made out of a mixture of concrete and marble.
The tower is in use as commercial offices. The building was originally known as the Sanlam Centre. It is located on the corner of Jeppe and Von Wielligh Streets.[31]
Address: 408 Jeppe street, Johannesburg (Johannesburg Inner City)
Killarney
Killarney is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. A relatively wealthy area, located west of the M1 freeway, Killarney is a densely built-up area, and it has numerous apartment blocks, as well as a large shopping mall, Killarney Mall.
Neighbouring suburbs include Houghton Estate, Riviera, and Parktown.
It is home to the first shopping mall in Johannesburg. It was formerly known as the Hollywood of Johannesburg, due it being the location of one of the first film studios in South Africa. Killarney currently is home to consulates, tall residential building (including some of Johannesburg's best examples of Art Deco architecture) and a golf course. There is a large Jewish and Muslim community in Killarney. Killarney is very cosmopolitan and also has a large gay community.[32]
Church of Peace
Church in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Friedenskirche or Church of Peace is situated at 30, Edith Cavell Street, Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built in 1912 and houses the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Johannesburg which was established in 1888 as the Deutsch-Evangelische Gemeinde zu Johannesburg. The building was designed in the Neo-Romanesque style by the Swiss-born architect Theophile Schaerer. The tall bell tower on a rocky prominence above Twist Street remains a landmark to this day.[33]
Chancellor House Building
Chancellor House is a building situated at 25 Fox Street, Ferreirasdorp, Johannesburg, that once housed the law firm of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo. It is a national heritage site.
The building was due to be bought by the Johannesburg Heritage Trust in 2004 and developed into a tourist destination, with R300 000 earmarked for the construction of a visitor center.
As of 2008, however, no purchase had been consummated and the building reportedly continued to fall into ruin.
Full restoration of the building was completed in May, 2011.[34]
The Wilds
Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Wilds is an inner city park in the suburb of Houghton, in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. The park consists of 16 hectares of indigenous vegetation on the sides of two rocky koppies or hills with views of the city of Johannesburg and its suburbs. Through the 1990s the park gained a reputation for being highly dangerous and crime ridden, however, it is becoming increasingly popular again largely due to the efforts of volunteers.[35]
Address: Houghton Drive, Johannesburg (Johannesburg Inner City)