Johannesburg, South Africa

Evergreen city guide with quick facts, travel, business, and culture.

South AfricaGauteng

Overview

Johannesburg is South Africa's largest city and economic powerhouse — the 'City of Gold' born from the 1886 gold rush — a fast, creative metropolis on the high plateau, home to the country's most important history museums, the township of Soweto, regenerated arts-and-food districts, the fossil-rich Cradle of Humankind nearby, and the continent's busiest airport.

City of Gold & Sandton

The gold-rush origins of eGoli, the business-and-shopping hub of Sandton and Nelson Mandela Square, and the Gautrain.

History & Soweto

The Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill, and Soweto's Vilakazi Street, Mandela House and Hector Pieterson Museum.

Creative Districts & Markets

Maboneng and Braamfontein's galleries and rooftop bars, the Neighbourgoods and Rosebank markets, and the music and food scene.

Cradle of Humankind & Safari

The Sterkfontein Caves and Maropeng, and the gateway to Pilanesberg, Sun City and the road to Kruger.
Travel Overview

Johannesburg — Joburg, Jozi, or eGoli, 'the place of gold' — is South Africa's largest city and the economic engine of the country and the wider region. It sprang up almost overnight after gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand in 1886, growing from a mining camp into a sprawling metropolis of some six million people on the high, sunny plateau of the Highveld at around 1,750 metres. Less conventionally pretty than Cape Town, Johannesburg is energetic, fast-changing and deeply rewarding for the curious traveller, and it is the essential place to understand modern South Africa. It holds the country's most significant museums of its recent history — the acclaimed Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill (a former prison complex now home to the Constitutional Court) — and, on its south-western edge, the famous township of Soweto, where Vilakazi Street is the only street in the world to have been home to two Nobel Peace laureates, and where the Mandela House and the Hector Pieterson Museum draw visitors; township tours, increasingly led by local guides, are among the most memorable experiences in the city. Alongside this heritage, a vibrant contemporary Joburg has emerged: the regenerated inner-city districts of Maboneng and Braamfontein buzz with galleries, studios, rooftop bars and weekend markets; Rosebank has art and craft markets; and the gleaming northern hub of Sandton, around Nelson Mandela Square, is the business and luxury-shopping heart of the city. Just outside Johannesburg lies the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose caves (Sterkfontein) have yielded some of the most important early-hominin fossils on earth. The city is also the gateway to southern Africa — its OR Tambo airport is the busiest on the continent, and game reserves, the Pilanesberg, Sun City and the road to the Kruger all lie within reach. The Highveld climate is famously pleasant: warm, dry, sunny winters and warm summers punctuated by dramatic afternoon thunderstorms.

Discover Johannesburg

Johannesburg owes its existence to gold: the 1886 discovery of the Witwatersrand reef, the richest gold deposit ever found, turned empty Highveld grassland into a booming city within a generation, and the legacy is everywhere in the name eGoli ('place of gold'), the old mine dumps on the horizon and museums of the rush. Today Joburg is the financial and commercial capital of the country — a city of contrasts, from the historic and now partly regenerating inner city to the affluent leafy northern suburbs. Its modern centre of gravity is Sandton, a district of glass towers, headquarters, hotels and high-end malls around Nelson Mandela Square, served by the Gautrain rapid rail; it is where much of the city's business and luxury life now happens. To make sense of the gold story and the city's beginnings, attractions such as Gold Reef City (a mining-themed park on an old mine, with an underground tour) and the city's heritage walks bring the boomtown era to life. Energetic, ambitious and constantly reinventing itself, Johannesburg is the urban heart of South Africa.

Frequently asked questions

Johannesburg is South Africa's largest city and economic powerhouse, the 'City of Gold' founded on the 1886 gold rush. It is best known as the place to understand modern South Africa — through the Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill and the township of Soweto with its Mandela House and Vilakazi Street — and for its energetic contemporary culture in regenerated districts like Maboneng and Braamfontein. Nearby lie the Cradle of Humankind fossil site and the gateway to safari, and the city has the busiest airport in Africa.

Johannesburg has a reputation for crime, and it pays to take sensible precautions: use ride-hailing apps or arranged transport rather than walking alone, especially after dark and in the inner city; keep valuables out of sight; and explore districts like Soweto and the inner city on a guided tour. That said, areas such as Sandton, Rosebank, Maboneng and Braamfontein are well used by visitors, and the Gautrain rapid rail safely links the airport, Sandton and Pretoria. Most travellers get around by ride-hailing app or hire car with normal city awareness.

Yes — Soweto is one of Johannesburg's most popular and rewarding experiences, best done on a guided tour (by bus, bike, tuk-tuk or on foot) led by local guides. The centrepiece is Vilakazi Street, the only street in the world once home to two Nobel Peace laureates, where you can visit the Mandela House museum and eat at lively restaurants; nearby are the Hector Pieterson Museum and the Orlando Towers. Tours combine the area's history with its vibrant present-day community life, food and music.