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Sandton city at night with twilight and stars in the sky, Gauteng Johannesburg
Johannesburg
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Johannesburg

Overview

Take a trip to Johannesburg on your South Africa vacation.

Johannesburg, or Jo'burg as it is known to locals, is located on the eastern plateau of South Africa known as the Highveld. Despite not being one of the country’s three capital cities, Johannesburg remains one of the most modern and prosperous cities in the country and is the seat of the Constitutional Court. As a transporation hub Johannesburg is a natural starting point for a South Africa vacation.

After the discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand in 1886, a settlement was established. When the public heard about the discovery, thousands of people headed to Johannesburg looking for fortunes. Within a century the city has been rebuilt four times, from humble beginnings as a tented camp to tin shanties, from Edwardian style buildings to its current, modern state. Johannesburg was not exempt from apartheid and the city council was instrumental in the creation of separate townships for black Africans who had been evicted from the city’s freehold areas.

Today Johannesburg is the economic hub of South Africa and is an excellent example of what Archbishop Desmond Tutu called the ‘Rainbow Nation’. It is a mixture of cultures, of black and white as well as an influx of immigrants. Visitors on a South African vacation are encouraged to experience all of the city on Johannesburg tours from the bustling city centre to outer lying regions like Soweto where they can visit the Apartheid Museum and the Mandela Family Museum.

Johannesburg was the principal host of the 2010 World Cup and just as the sound of Vuvuzelas humming will not soon be forgotten, the success of the tournament and the hospitality of Jo'burg and South Africa as a whole will be remembered for many years to come.

At a Glance
LanguagesZulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English
CurrencySouth African Rand (ZAR)
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