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Skyscrapers, townships, leafy suburbs and a downtown-Johannesburg has it all! This is a city that has risen like a phoenix from a dark past to emerge as a commercial and cultural kingpin, and hence an essential item on the travel itinerary of every visitor to South Africa. And why not: Johannesburg will enamour you with its diversity and energetic flavour, from its historic and cutural attractions to an electric art scene, shopping and nightlife.
1. For a comprehensive tour of the city, let’s start at the Johannesburg Zoo. This would of course be in case you are not able to make the 550-kilometer journey to Kruger National Park. A hundred years old, and spread over 54 hectares the impressive zoo houses around 3,000 types of animals, including some very rare white lions.
2. The Flea Markets of Johannesburg are an absolute contrast to its sprawling, glitzy and expensive shopping malls. It is here that you can haggle for strange and beautiful objects that are a reflection of the country’s social and cultural history.
3. Johannesburg Art Gallery would easily qualify as the continent’s most important fine arts museum. After all it houses works of artists like Picasso, Edgar Degas and Pissarro to name a few. Needless to say, local artists also grace the walls of this museum.
4. Carlton Centre Observation Deck: Like many other metros in the world, Johannesburg has a tower that provides panoramic views of the city and beyond. The Top of Africa observation deck is on the 50th floor of the Carlton Centre skyscraper. From here enjoy unobstructed views of the entire city extending up to Pretoria.
5. Constitution Hill is the seat of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. One of the most significant historical locations in Johannesburg, it was originally the site of a fort later used as a prison. Now primarily a residential area, this hill provides great photo ops of the city.
6. Museum Africa is a brilliant attempt at showcasing and preserving the cultural history of South Africa and of the continent. This museum takes you for a journey through time to Africa as it was before foreign domination.
7. The Market Theatre is located opposite the Museum Africa. It has great historical significance because it is this independent company that staged political productions, which ruffled the feathers of the apartheid establishment. Today, the theatre complex houses three theatres, galleries, restaurants, bars and a jazz club.
8. Nelson Mandela National Museum Formerly Nelson Mandela’s house, Mandela House is now run as a museum and has been declared a National Heritage Site. Most Johannesburg tour guides would rate it as one of the most important places to visit in the city, located down the street from Tutu House, Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s home.
9. Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum Pieterson was shot dead by the police in the 1976 Soweto riots. Visit his commemorative museum to get an insight into how this 12 year old boy became a symbol of the struggle against apartheid and the role of college students in this movement.
10. Apartheid Museum tops Johannesburg’s must see list. The museum poignantly showcases one of humanity’s darkest and most shameful chapters. Not a wonder it has become the city’s top tourist attraction and an obligatory stop for locals and visitors alike.
A trip to Johannesburg gives the visitor an essence of how this city has successfully emerged from its dark past to its new bright and bold modern avatar. Its own history and that of its people takes as much precedence as the glitzy city revamped to attract tourists.