Africa Travel Guides

Points of interest

Gold Reef City

Gold Reef City provides a light-hearted and reasonably rip-roaring take on gold-rush Jo'burg. Ninety per cent Disneyland clone, this theme park only offers a token nod to historical authenticity, but provides ample means for filling a spare afternoon, especially if you have kids in tow.

It features scary rides, a Victorian fun fair and various reconstructions, including a bank, brewery, pub and newspaper office. Visitors can go 220m down a shaft to see a gold mine from the inside, watch a gold pour and see an entertaining programme of 'gumboot' dancing, a traditional miners' choreographed dance.

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Museum Africa

At the heart of Newtown's cultural precinct, Museum Africa is now housed in the impressive old Bree St fruit market, next to the Market Theatre complex. The superb exhibition on the Treason Trials (1956-61), which featured most of the important figures in the 'new' South Africa, is a must-see, and there are several other outstanding displays.

The 'Transformations' exhibition details the evolution of Jo'burg and includes a simulated descent into one of the gold mines. The Sophiatown display is outstanding. There's also a large collection of rock art, a geological museum, a display on Gandhi's time in Jo'burg and the Bensusan Museum of Photography, which charts the history of photography and has regular exhibitions by famous South African snappers.

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SAB Centenary Centre

This is a popular, refreshing and, to any beer drinker, ultimately fascinating museum. It unlocks the secrets of brewing in South Africa, from the time when the crudely brewed sorghum beer first passed the lips of early Africans. In the Ales Pavilion, the European tradition of brewing ales and lagers is described.

Sorghum brewing is covered in the Ukhamba exhibition and there is a recreation of a 1965 Soweto shebeen (illegal drinking establishment) - all heavenly for appreciators of the amber fluid. The guided tour takes about 90 minutes.

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Apartheid Museum

The Apartheid Museum details South Africa's era of segregation with chilling accuracy. With plenty of attention to detail and an unsparing emphasis on the inhuman philosophy of apartheid, this remains one of South Africa's most evocative museums.

Charting the course of several South Africans through the apartheid era, the museum uses film, text, audio and live accounts to provide a colourful insight into the architecture, implementation and eventual unravelling of the apartheid system. It's an overwhelming experience; sensibly there's a garden at the exit for you to feel the value of freedom.

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Constitution Hill

One of Jo'burg's main tourist attractions. Built within the ramparts of the Old Fort - once a notorious prison - it focuses on South Africa's new Constitutional Court - a sober and inspiring symbol of the changing South Africa rising from the ashes of one of the city's most poignant apartheid-system monuments.

In addition to seeing the court, it's also possible to tour parts of the Old Fort, including the Awaiting Trial Block, which held the 156 treason trialists - led by Nelson Mandela - of 1956.

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Roxy's

This clubbing stalwart is one of the oldest and best-known venues in Jo'burg for pop and hard rock on the weekends. It's the local clubbing multiplex, in fact, with multiple bars and dancefloors that fill up with a younger crowd of mostly university students. During the week, nights vary from comedy to theme parties to karaoke.

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Six

They haven't pulled out many stops decorating this place - the generous might call it 'industrial chic' - but it stays open later than most during the week. There are some decent cocktails on show, and many punters come for the vibrant, unpretentious atmosphere.

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Trance Sky

The pun itself deserves a few brownie points, but the whirly decor and trance-style tunes set the pace at this lively, late-night restaurant-cum-club. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays draw the crowds, packing the dancefloor to its seams.

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Soulsa

Funky decor, differing day and night menus featuring fusion South African cooking, and outdoor sofas have made Soulsa a Melville favourite among media types. Breakfast is served on weekends.

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Moyo's

Oozing chi-chi African charm, this busy chain offers a wide range of contemporary African eats. Each has a stylish cigar bar, and fresh, herb-packed cooking forms the backbone of the innovative menu. There's also a top-notch wine list for vinophiles.

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Cranks

Still going after almost 20 years, Cranks was one of the first Thai-Vietnamese places in Jo'burg. With eye-catching decor and a solid reputation for great, inexpensive food you can see why this place has become a Jo'burg stalwart. Among the tried-and-tested favourites is fish fillet with lemongrass.

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Events

A major drawcard on Jo'burg's events calendar is the massive Arts Alive Festival, held throughout September and October. Since South Africa's liberation, the arts have been going through an exciting time, with an explosion of optimism and mainstream acceptance of long-suppressed talents. A strong element in the festival is the workshops that reveal the continent's rich cultures, denigrated for so long by the Eurocentrism of the apartheid years. The festival is a particularly good time to hear excellent music, on and off the official program.

Other festivals include the Rand Easter Show at the National Exhibition Centre in April; Chinese New Year at Wemmer Pan south of the centre; the Jo'burg Jazz Festival in late September; and the annual Gay Pride March held on the last Saturday of September.

Public holidays underwent a dramatic shake-up after the 1994 elections. For example, the Day of the Vow, an Afrikaner religious holiday remembering the Voortrekker victory over the Zulus at Blood River in 1838, has become the Day of Reconciliation (16 December).The officially ignored but widely observed Soweto Day, marking the student uprisings that eventually led to liberation, is now celebrated as Youth Day (16 June). Human Rights Day is held on the anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre (21 March).

official holidays