Introduction
Johannesburg is the financial capital of South Africa and capital of the Gauteng Province. It lies ±1 800m above sea-level, which means that the air may be thinner and drier that that you are used to - if you live in a lower lying area. South Africans call the city by various names: Egoli ("place of gold" in Sotho and title of a popular tv soap set in the city), Goudstad ("gold city" in Afrikaans) and Jozi, Joéés or Joburg (sotho, Afrikaans & English slang).

The city built on gold
As some of the above names hint the city's existence has everything to do with the discovery of gold in 1886 in the then Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek, which led to a huge gold-rush. An area that up to 1886 even farmers avoided, grew by 1900 - a mere 14 years later - into a bustling world city with more than 115 000 inhabitants. The Witwatersrand Gold Reef is the richest gold field in the world and the precious metal plays a vital role in the country's economy.

For more on South Africa's history, click here.

Modern Johannesburg
Today Johannesburg is the economical power house of the whole African continent. The built up city, complete with sky-scrapers and surrounding gold mine dumps, has a population of 3.2 million (2001 Census). However, if you include a host of smaller municipalities that form part of greater Johannesburg, such as Randburg, Kempton Park, Edenvale, Sandton and Rosebank, that figure grows to just ±8 million (2001 Census). The Johannesburg and Pretoria Metropoles border each other and together could be seen as a mega-city of nearly 15 million people (estimate). Johannesburg is twinned with / sister city to Birmingham (England) and New York in the USA.

Some suggest that Johannesburg is the largest "urban forest" in the world, it has 6 million trees (1.2 million in city parks or on pavements and the 4.8 million on private properties). It is one of just a few major cities that is not located next to a river, major body of water or the ocean. In fact, a substantial volume of the water it consumes is channeld and piped to the city from 500km away - from the Tugela-Vaal and Lesotho Highlands Water Schemes to the south.

City Centre (where the 1st & 3d worlds meet)
Judging by its cityscape from a distance you may be forgiven for thinking of Johannesburg as a modern western city. It is indeed , with clear characteristics of the developed world, however it is very much third world as well. The heart of this city is African. As you enter the city you'll bump into peoples from all over Africa, you'll see side-walk stalls selling everything from shoes to fruit, open air barber shops, gazillions of minibus taxis and open air markets with goods from across the continent.

In a typical city tour you'll get to inspect a muti-shop (shop dealing in traditional medicines) shortly after viewing the city from the top floor of the modern 50-storey concrete Carlton Centre. The contrast and dynamism between the first and third world, both well represented in the same city, is what makes Jozi such an interesting experience.

Tours of central Johannesburg: Your schedule and choice of operator will determine what you get to see in a tour of central Johannesburg (we'll gladly arrange a tour / tours for you). However, some of the places of interest featured may include "Top of Africa" (Carlton Centre), the Rand Club, the Rand Supreme Court (where the Mandelas got divorced...), Public Library, old Post Office Building, Diagonal Street (home to the previous JSE Securities Exchange building, the former De Beers Head Office diamond shaped glass building and a typical African muti / traditional medicine shop), Newmarket Precint (Market Theatre, Museum Africa, Kippies Jazz Club, Gramadoelas Restaurant, arts & craft market) and Constitutional Hil (home to South Africa's Constitutional Court).

Johannesburg International Airport (JIA)
Johannesburg International Airport, which lies ±30km east of central Johannesburg, is the main entrance point for foreign visitors to the city. It is also the main air transport hub for South and Southern Africa.

While JIA is placed close to two large industrial areas (Isando & Spartan), the immediate suroundings do not offer much to tourists. The exception is Caezars Gauteng Casino Resort, which is virtualy next to the airport (if you're into that kind of thing).

For more on JIA, click here.

Northern Suburbs
Most of the northern suburbs, as it is known, actualy consists of separate municpalities that sprouted from, or where swallowed up by the sprawling cosmopolis that is Johannesburg. Today they still retain the status of separate municipalities, but fall under the overal management of the Johannesburg Metropole (similar to New York and London's burroughs). While central Johannesburg is caught up in a constant battle against decay the northern suburbs represent opportunity, money, power and growth.

The northern suburbs is a good place to base yourself when exploring greater Johannesburg and even Pretoria, which lies not too far to the north of Johannesburg. For tourists Sandton and Rosebank probably offer the best mix of top class hotels, shopping centres, attractions and access to main transport arteries.

Business people should head for Sandton which has become greater Johannesburg's financial heart. It is home to the Sandton Convention Centre, various international banks, multinationals and the country's only stock exchange.

Soweto
Soweto (SOuth WEstern TOwnship) is the largest township in South Africa and extremely rich in historical importance (more on South Africa's history here). It is and was home, at one point or another, to three Nobel Peace Prize winners - Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Albert Luthili. In 1976 a schools uprising, against Apartheid measures forced on black schools, became a turning point in the so-called Struggle (against Apartheid).

Today Soweto is a melting pot of South African cultures and others from across Africa. A tour to Soweto will not only introduce you to its rich historical heritage, but will also introduce you to a vibrant contemporary township culture - a mixture of grit, determination, joy and often great hardship. In arranging tours to the township, we make use of local Soweto based operators to ensure that the financial benefit of your tour flows back to Soweto residents.

For more on Soweto, click here.

Gold Reef City
Gold Reef City is a theme park, located on the grounds of a worked-out gold mine on the southern outskirts of central Johannesburg. It's a “museum” town of Johannesburg in its glory years - during, and shortly after, the gold rush.

The main features of Gold Reef City are its worked out (underground) gold mine and its village of Victorian style houses, and other buildings, which reflect the architecture and life in early Johannesburg in the late 1800's to early 1900's. A recent addition to Gold Reef City is the excellent Apartheid Museum. The Theme Park also includes a fun park with various rides.

For more on Gold Reef City, click here.

Apartheid Museum
As the name indicates the Apartheid Museum aims to preserve the Apartheid history of South Africa's recent pass. It is a sorely needed addition to not only the South African tourism scene, but more importantly to our country's challenge of dealing with the past.

The museum uses a potent mix of multi-media presentations and archive material to not only communicate the facts of Apartheid to the visitor, but also to let one experience a small sample of what life in Apartheid South Africa was like. The Apartheid Museum is located at Gold Reef City and we strongly recommend a visit.

For more on the Apartheid Museum, click here.

Constitution Hill
Constitution Hill is home to the Constitutional Court of South Africa (CSA), Old Fort (built in preperation of the Anglo-Boer War) and a notorious Apartheid era prison - which was partly housed in the Old Fort. As such Consitution Hill represents important aspects of South Africa's past and present.

The location that saw some of Apartheid South Africa's many human rights abuses, now also houses one of the strongest guarantors of human rights in the new South Africa. The very progressive South African Constitution, the supereme law in the country, is fundamentally human rights based.

Constitution Hill has a number of very informative tour options on offer, utilising historical sites, architecture, exhibitions and multi-media presentations. For tourists with a historical and/or human rights interest we strongly recommend a visit.

Johannesburg Zoo
The Johannesburg Zoo is located in the city's Parkview suburb, next to the popular Zoo Lake Park. It was started in 1904 with just twelve animals and today houses over three thousand. The Zoo covers over 375 species of animals, birds and reptiles. One of its highlights is probably its polar bears, which can be viewed underwater when swimming in their enclosure's pool. This is one of the few places in Africa where you will get to see these exotic creatures. The Zoo also features the Big 5 (lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino & elephant).

At Africa Deluxe Tours we are not too keen on animals being kept in captivity and would strongly recommend that you rather head to one of the country's national parks, such as the Kruger National Park, where you will have the privilege of seeing animals in the wild. However, the Zoo is worth a visit if your schedule does not allow for visiting a game reserve, or simply to keep children entertained. The Zoo also provides access to the popular Museum of Military History.

Cradle of Humankind
The Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site, is located a short way west of greater Johannesburg. It is an area that's very rich in early hominid fossils. Since the 1947 discovery of the 2.5 million year old "Mrs. Ples", it has produced nearly 40% of the world's hominid fossil discoveries. Many believe it is the world's most important paleolontogical site. Most discoveries have been made in dolomite caves that are spread out through the area.

The area is first and foremost a science domain and few non-scientist visitors will get to see much of it. However, the Sterkfontein Caves has long been open to the public. If you have only a passing interest in Paleoanthropology the standard 45-minute long Sterkfontein tours, conducted every half-hour, will probably suffice.

However, should you desire a more in-depth and scientific introduction we can arrange that for you. It often includes access to more restricted areas.


Theatres
Johannesburg Civic Theatre, Market Theatre

Museums
Many of Johannesburg's museums have allready been discussed above. Africa Deluxe Tours' tours regularly include some of these museums, but if you have a particular interest in a specific museum(s) we will galdly organise a visit for you. Mueums in the city include the Apartheid Museum, Museum Africa, Museum of Military History, South African Airways Museum.

Art Galleries
South Africa is a multi-cultural country and, as one could expect, this fact is reflected in the art produced by its varied artists. Johannesburg boasts a healthy collection of art galleries, exhibiting a wide variety of work. At Africa Deluxe Tours we have a keen interest in visual arts and we'll gladly accommodate requests for more in-depth introductions to the Johannesburg art scene. We recommend the following galleries:

• The Johannesburg Art Gallery (Johannesburg CBD - international & local artists, modern & contemporary, in-house tours available if pre-booked);
• The Goodman Gallery (Parkwood-Rosebank - well established art gallery featuring established and upcoming contemporary artists)
• The ABSA Gallery (Johannesburg CBD - bank group, houses up to 20 000 works - possibly the largest corporate art collection in the world);
• The Standard Bank Art Gallery (Johannesburg CBD - one of South Africa's biggest corporate and African art collections, also hosts exhibitions of local and European contemporary artists)
• The Premises (Johannesburg CBD - small theatre in Johannesburg Civic Theatre's building, regular contemporary art exhibitions)

For more on Johannesburg's art galleries, click here.

Restaurants & Cuisine
Johannesburg has a wide variety of restaurants, catering for various tastes. Options range from American type steak and burger houses to continental fare (Italian, Greek, French, Porteguese, etc.) and spicy eastern offerings (Indian, Thai, Chinese, etc.) - amongst others. A few upmarket restaurants specialise in South African cuisine, e.g. Gramadoelas in central Johannesburg. For a down to earth introduction to African cuisine a meal at a township shebeen is a very good idea, such as Wandie's in Soweto (but for security reasons don't drive yourself to a township location!).

We will gladly arrange restaurant outings to meet our clients requirements, when requested to do so.

Shopping Centres
Greater Johannesburg offers a variety of large American style malls, known locally as shopping centres. In our opinion the best ones, in order of preferance are The Mall of Rosebank (Rosebank), Sandton City (Sandton) together with the linked Nelson Mandela Square - previously known as Sandton Square (Sandton) and Melrose Arch (Melrose).

If you like heavily themed architecture, fake environments (middle-age Tuscany in Johannesburg - Africa) and casinos, MonteCasino is a good option for you (Fourways). If not, stay far away from it... Other major shopping centres in greater Johannesburg, which mostly lack a bit of style, are The Zone, Eastgate, Westgate, Northgate, Southgate & Cresta.

For more on South African shopping centres, click here.

Casinos
There are four casino resorts in greater Johannesburg:

• Gold Reef City Hotel & Casino - next to Gold Reef City.
• Caesar's Casino Resort - next to Johannesburg International Airport, also features a 5-star & 3-star hotel.
• Montecasino - located in Fourways, not too far from Sandton.
• Carnival City Casino - locate in Brakpan on the working-class southern side of greater Johannesburg.

For a list of casinos in Southern Africa, click here.

Day Tours
There are various worthwhile day and half-day tour options in and around Johannesburg. Africa Deluxe Tours will gladly work some of these into our clients' tour itineraries or arrange them as stand-alone tours if requested.

Accommodation
Johannesburg has a large number of hotels, guesthouses and B&B's of various luxury levels. The best middle-range and upmarket establishments are located in the northern suburbs (e.g. Sandton & Rosebank).

We will soon provide summary of the best establishments with rates and booking options, for time being contact us*.

Security note
While the Johannesburg is a not to be missed, it is not advisable to roam around on your own in central Johannesburg. There are most definitely some dangerous areas, which you do not want to wander into by accident. Do go, but make use of a reputable operator or knowledgeable local.