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Johannesburg
Quick facts
- Country: South Africa
- Currency: South African Rand (ZAR)
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Johannesburg, South Africa — one of the real routes we help travelers book flights to.
Country
South Africa
Currency
South African Rand (ZAR)
History
Johannesburg exists because of a single 1886 discovery: prospector George Harrison found gold-bearing rock on the farm Langlaagte, part of the Witwatersrand reef, and the resulting mining camp was officially named Johannesburg on 3 October 1886. Unlike most major cities, it did not grow up around a river, coastline or existing settlement — by 1896 the boomtown already had roughly 100,000 residents drawn purely by the gold beneath it. The city became the commercial engine of South Africa's mining industry and later a centre of the anti-apartheid struggle, from the 1976 Soweto uprising to the imprisonment of political detainees at the Old Fort, now part of Constitution Hill. Sitting at roughly 1,753 metres above sea level on the Highveld plateau, Johannesburg is South Africa's largest city and its financial hub, home to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the headquarters of most major South African companies, even though Pretoria is the administrative capital and Cape Town the legislative one.
Top Sites to Visit
Apartheid Museum
Opened in 2001 near Gold Reef City, the first museum built specifically to document the rise and fall of apartheid through photographs, film and personal testimony.
Constitution Hill
A former prison and military fort complex — including the Old Fort, the Women's Jail and Number Four — that held Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, now home to South Africa's Constitutional Court.
Gold Reef City
A theme park built around a 19th-century gold mine, with rollercoasters, period buildings and a tour down an underground mine shaft.
Nelson Mandela House, Vilakazi Street
Mandela's home in Soweto from 1946 to 1962, now a museum; Vilakazi Street is the only street in the world that has housed two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
Cradle of Humankind & Maropeng
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 about 50km northwest of the city, where more than 40% of the world's early-hominin fossils have been found; Maropeng is its visitor centre, alongside the Sterkfontein Caves.
Maboneng Precinct
A former industrial zone on the inner city's east side, redeveloped from 2008 into an arts and design district of galleries, studios and street art.
Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton
A plaza attached to Sandton City mall centred on a six-metre bronze statue of Mandela mid-dance, unveiled in March 2003.
Activities
Take a guided tour of Soweto, including Vilakazi Street and the Nelson Mandela House museum
Walk the former prison blocks and Constitutional Court at Constitution Hill
Ride the underground mine tour and rollercoasters at Gold Reef City
Spend a day at Maropeng and the Sterkfontein Caves in the Cradle of Humankind
Browse galleries, studios and street art in the Maboneng Precinct
Go on a game drive among lions, cheetahs and giraffes at the Lion & Safari Park, under an hour from the city
Ride the Gautrain between Sandton, Rosebank and OR Tambo Airport instead of driving
Shop for local design, food and music at The Playground market in Braamfontein on a Saturday
Conferences & Sporting Events
Ultra South Africa (Johannesburg) — next running Saturday 1 May 2027
An annual electronic dance music festival held across Cape Town and Johannesburg, with the Johannesburg leg at the Expo Centre, Nasrec, running from 14:00 into the early hours.
Travel Tips
Avoid walking around the Johannesburg CBD after dark — use Uber or Bolt for transport, and treat Sandton, Rosebank, Melville and Parktown North as the more visitor-friendly suburbs to base yourself in.
Be wary of people posing as plainclothes police officers who demand ID checks or on-the-spot "fines"; genuine officers won't object to you asking to move the interaction to a nearby police station.
Travelers have been followed from OR Tambo International Airport and robbed en route to their accommodation — prebook an airport transfer or use the Gautrain, which runs directly from arrivals to Sandton in about 15 minutes, every 20 minutes.
Johannesburg sits at roughly 1,753m elevation on the Highveld: winters (May–August) are dry and sunny with cold nights and occasional frost, while summer afternoons (November–March) often bring thunderstorms — pack layers either way.
Tap water in well-serviced areas like Sandton and the northern suburbs meets national SANS 241 drinking-water standards and is generally safe to drink; if it runs discoloured, treat it as undrinkable and report it rather than assume it's fine.
The city's altitude and inland location mean it has no coastline or major river — orient yourself by suburb (Sandton for business, Rosebank/Melville for nightlife, Soweto/Maboneng for culture) rather than expecting a single walkable centre.
How you'll pay
Card via Stripe
Card or mobile money via DPO
Card or mobile money via Pesapal