Johannesburg travel guide: history, art and Soweto

The essential history

Start at the **Apartheid Museum**, which takes most people at least two to three hours and is one of the most powerful museums in Africa. **Constitution Hill**, a former prison complex where Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were both held, is now home to the Constitutional Court and tells the story of the struggle for rights. The **Origins Centre** at Wits University covers human ancestry and rock art, and the **Cradle of Humankind** World Heritage Site, an hour north west, has the **Maropeng** visitor centre and the **Sterkfontein Caves**.

Soweto

Soweto is the large township south west of the city centre and the heart of the struggle against apartheid. Visit **Vilakazi Street**, the only street in the world to have been home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the **Mandela House** museum. The **Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum** remembers the 1976 student uprising. Join a guided walking or cycling tour with a local operator, eat at a shisa nyama, where you choose meat to be grilled, and see the painted cooling towers at Orlando.

Art, markets and neighbourhoods

**Maboneng** in the east of the inner city has galleries, street art and cafés, though it is best visited by day and with a guide. **Braamfontein** is a student area with a Saturday market at **Neighbourgoods**, rooftop bars and the Joburg Theatre nearby. **Rosebank** has the Sunday **Rooftop Market**, galleries and the Keyes Art Mile. **Parkhurst** and **Melville** are leafy suburbs with restaurant strips. Further north, **Sandton** is the business district, with its huge shopping malls and Nelson Mandela Square.

Day trips

**Pretoria**, the administrative capital, is 40 minutes away by Gautrain. See the **Union Buildings** and the giant Mandela statue, **Freedom Park** and the **Voortrekker Monument**, and visit in October to see the jacaranda trees in purple bloom. **Pilanesberg National Park**, two to three hours north west, is a malaria free Big Five park that suits families short on time.

Getting around

The **Gautrain** rapid rail links O.R. Tambo Airport with Sandton, Rosebank, Park Station and Pretoria, and is clean, safe and simple. Elsewhere, use ride-hailing apps or a reputable tour operator. Minibus taxis are not recommended for first-time visitors.

Where to stay

Most visitors stay in **Rosebank**, **Sandton**, **Melrose Arch** or the northern suburbs such as **Parkhurst**, which are safer, close to the Gautrain and full of restaurants. If you only need one night before a connecting flight, a hotel at or beside the airport is easiest.

Staying safe

Johannesburg has high crime levels, so take care: do not walk around the inner city at night, keep car windows up and doors locked in traffic, avoid showing phones or cameras on the street and only use ATMs inside malls. Follow current government travel advice.

Eating and nightlife

Joburg is one of Africa's best food cities. Try a shisa nyama in Soweto, Ethiopian and West African restaurants in the inner city on a guided food walk, steakhouses in the northern suburbs and rooftop bars in Braamfontein and Rosebank. Amapiano, the country's hugely popular house music, fills clubs and lounges at weekends.