Johannesburg is a World-Class City

Jo’burg.

Jozi.

Egoli, the city of gold.

Whatever you call it, Jo’burg is one of the most dynamic and exciting places on the African continent, a heady combination of big and brash, rich and poor.  It can be a volatile place and has undeniable crime problems, and yet it's the driving, dynamic power-house of Africa.

Johannesburg is a world-class city, with stunning food and shopping, efficient and friendly people, and a good infrastructure.  Add to this excellent hotels, dazzling shopping malls and wonderful shops, and you are all set. 

You can easily spend a full day wandering around the malls in Sandton, the shopping and business heart of Johannesburg.  The iconic Sandton Square was re-named a few years ago, and is now Nelson Mandela Square, dominated by a massive statue of Madiba, the nation’s favorite leader.

If you are in town on a Sunday morning, head off to Rosebank Roof Top Market for yet more shopping, but of a totally different kind.  This weekly market is a magnet for crafters, who come and set up their wares in the unlikely venue of the multi-story car-park on the roof of the Rosebank Mall – hence the name.  Handicrafts from all over the country, home-made food, face-painting, artists, funky clothing, second-hand book stalls, musicians wandering around, all combine to make the Roof Top market a Jo’burg institution.  You will be surrounded by Jo’burgers out relaxing and doing what Jo’burgers do best – shopping.

Other than shopping and eating, what else is there on the “to-do” list for Johannesburg?

There are two museums which are absolutely not to be missed.   The Apartheid Museum, which explains the tragedies and inequalities of apartheid in a striking format with a novel way of portraying the nation’s troubled history.  As you enter the museum, you are randomly classified as either 'white' or 'black' and as such, you view exhibits from different places, different angles, forcing you to look at things anew.

Another must-see is the brand new Origins Centre, a dazzlingly new and innovative museum, which uses cutting edge technology to explain the origins of mankind, much of it centered, appropriately, on the African continent. The Origins Centre is located on the Campus of Wits University.

In the northern part of the city, check out Montecasino, a shopping, restaurant and cinema complex themed around an Italian village.  It has recently added a state of the art theatre, and as you wander through cobbled streets, past laundry hanging from tiny balconies, watching the sky change color from evening to night, you could be forgiven for thinking you were indeed in Italy, instead of the biggest city in Africa.  Sit at a pavement café and watch the African world go by, under an imaginary Italian sky.

Enjoy Johannesburg, the city of gold, Egoli.

Travel tip: Johannesburg has a reputation for being an unsafe city, but it's largely a question of knowing how to live in the city, how to be aware, and of keeping your antennae finely tuned.  You lead a different kind of life in Johannesburg.  You don't wander around the city, certainly not the downtown financial area.  When you drive, you always have to remain aware of what is going on around you.  You are, basically, much more alert and more cautious than you would be anywhere else in the world, visiting a new place. 

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