Things to do in Johannesburg

Living and breathing 24 hours a day, Gold Reef City has something for everyone. Our casino complex is constantly alive with excitement and energy. Enjoy thrilling gaming in the casino and stand a chance to win in one of its many exciting promotions. Watch world-class productions at The Lyric, or catch the latest blockbusters in a Victorian train station-themed movies@ cinema complex. Have fun in a action-packed Ten-Pin Bowling alley and enjoy mouth-watering dining at a wide variety of restaurants and fast food outlets. Gold Reef City exhilarating Theme Park includes 18 thrill rides, 13 dedicated rides for the kiddies, Jump City Trampoline Park, the only authentic underground mine tour in Johannesburg and other great attractions. Gold Reef City gives you an incredible variety of fun things to do in Johannesburg, all in one exciting destination. Come and play, relax and enjoy world-class entertainment. https://www.tsogosun.com/gold-reef-city-casino

The Apartheid Museum is the story of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity and oppression. Beginning in 1948, the white elected National Party government initiated a process that turned more than 20 million people into 2nd class citizens, damning them to a life of servitude, humiliation and abuse. Their liberation in 1994 was the climax of a nation’s resistance, courage and fortitude. The path through the museum leads you on a journey beginning with segregation, the cornerstone of apartheid. It takes you back through the history of the myriad cultures converging during the pre-apartheid era, through the years of race classification, the 150 acts of apartheid, detentions and the oppression of the nationalist regime. You will examine the rise of black consciousness and the armed struggle, and finally witness the release of Nelson Mandela after 27 years of imprisonment which led to the negotiations for peace. https://www.portfoliocollection.com/visit/apartheid-museum

Croc City Crocodile & Reptile Park is fast becoming one of the most exciting attractions in South Africa, where visitors take part in thrilling activities such as holding a baby crocodile, touching exotic snakes and getting up close and personal with a tarantula! Croc City was founded by Anton and Marietjie Lötter over a decade ago; the couple have been there for more than 16 years. The entrepreneurial duo soon discovered a huge tourist market for their industry and one of the founders and co-owner of the reptilian refuge Marietjie Lötter explained that the origin of the animals in the Park and their facilities are exclusively for the benefit of visitors. Croc City Crocodile & Reptile Park’s first Nile Crocodile Zip Line – A revolution for Africa – is turning heads as the brave of heart gear up to brave the new Croc City FlyOver! Built by Chimp and Zee, the Croc City FlyOver is an adrenaline-fuelled opportunity to fly or zip over crocodiles as they watch from below! https://www.croccity.co.za/

The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site is an area of outstanding universal value. Its complex of fossil-bearing caves contains a superbly preserved record of the stages in the evolution of humankind over the past 4-million years. It's the world's richest early hominin site and is home to around 40% of the world's known human-ancestor fossils. The area is also home to a diversity of birds, animals and plants, some of which are rare or endangered. http://www.thecradleofhumankind.net/

The Adler Museum of Medicine preserves the history of the health sciences in Southern Africa, with special reference to Gauteng. It supplements the educational activities of the University, especially the Health Sciences, by means of collections, research, teaching, exhibitions and publications. The Museum contains interesting and invaluable collections depicting the history of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy through the ages. Apart from the hundreds of items of medical historical interest on display, there are also documents, sculptures, pictures, videos and philatelic and medallion collections relating to medical history as well as the history of allied health sciences. The Museum has a library of rare books and a significant history of medicine reference library. In addition, a rich archive arranged by subject matter is housed in the library, and biographical information relating to thousands of medical and allied health professionals is available to students, researchers and interested members of the public. https://www.wits.ac.za/health/adlermuseum/

If you want a bird’s-eye view of Johannesburg, the 50-storey Carlton Centre is the place to go. Visitors to the centre can enjoy a panoramic view of the City of Gold from the Top of Africa, as the topmost floor of the building is known: 360 degrees of dense cityscape and outwards towards the countryside and beyond. The tallest building in Africa and once the tallest building in the southern hemisphere, the Carlton Centre stands 223m high – about 40m shy of featuring on the world’s top 100 skyscrapers list. However, this feat of architecture makes the centre one of the must-see Johannesburg attractions. Construction was a lengthy process, beginning in 1967 and ending in 1974, although the centre officially opened in 1973. The Carlton Centre complex was once home to the five-star, 30-storey Carlton Hotel, which was prime accommodation in Gauteng and popular with the rich and famous. Former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former President of France François Mitterrand, Hillary Clinton, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and singers Whitney Houston and Mick Jagger count among the hotel’s many famous guests. The Carlton Centre building was bought by state-owned freight company Transnet in 1999 and the upper floors house offices while in the lower floors there is a popular shopping centre. The entrance to the lift which takes you to the Top of Africa viewing deck can be found in the lower levels of the mall. https://www.gauteng.net/attractions/carlton_centre

Constitution Hill represents South Africa’s dark past and its bright post-apartheid future. Johannesburg’s most notorious historic prisons (all of them now museums) sit side by side with the home of the Constitutional Court, a symbol of South Africa’s triumphant democracy. The site is located on the ridge between two city neighbourhoods, Hillbrow and Braamfontein, overlooking central Johannesburg, and is one of the most important tourist attractions in South Africa. In the old prison blocks visitors can learn more about South Africa’s difficult path towards freedom and democracy from the extensive permanent museum exhibitions that include personal testimonies from former prisoners and warders and installations. There are also a number of guided tours of the complex which give further insight into the the significance of this heritage landmark and a small cafe called The Hill is open for refreshments once you have finished exploring. https://www.gauteng.net/attractions/constitution_hill

As the only banking and money museum in South Africa, it is the custodian, not only of South Africa’s banking history, but also of the economic, political, and social changes that are often so dramatically reflected in these currencies http://www.joburgtourism.com/things-to-do/attractions-&-things-to-do/museums/johannesburg-city/absa-museum-JSATT280

AFRONOVA GALLERY, based in Africa’s powerhouse, Johannesburg, is the brainchild of the dynamic duo Emilie Demon and Henri Vergon who are developing and consolidating an innovative model of gallery together with some of the most progressive and influential artists in South Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. In recent years, AFRONOVA GALLERY showcased artists from the continent in prestigious international platforms like The Armory Show, Art Paris, 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in New York and London. The gallery enjoys collaborations with important institutions like the PAC Milan, Iziko South African National Gallery, The Studio Museum, The Smithsonian Institution, Mass Mocca, as well as foundations like Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, Prada Fondazione in Milan, Fondation des Galeries Lafayette in Paris, JP Morgan Chase in New York, La Maison Rouge in Paris. http://www.afronova.com/

It is located on 15 hectares of landscaped gardens and waterways within an extensive private nature reserve in the heart of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. NIROX Sculpture Park is 45 minutes from the centers of Johannesburg and Tshwane. http://niroxarts.com/index.php/about/

n the small village of Issiglio, in the Canavese district, lying between the beautiful valley of Chiusella and the main town of that region, Ivrea, Piemonte, on the 6 September 1857 Guglielmo Martinaglia was born. He discover the caves. http://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article-categories/sterkfontein-caves

The reserve was named after ornithologist-mammal gist, J Austin Roberts, born in Pretoria in 1883, and largely self-taught. He was to produce a number of standard South African reference books on both birds and mammals, and was tragically killed in a motor accident in 1948. https://www.sa-venues.com/attractionsga/austin-roberts-bird-sanctuary.htm

The last house in which President Paul Kruger was to live, between 1883 and 1901, before he left South Africa to go into exile in Europe, the Kruger House Museum lies just a few blocks from Church square, where his bronze statue takes centre stage facing the Palace of Justice. https://www.sa-venues.com/attractionsga/kruger-house.htm

Melrose House is a charming historical museum that can be found in Jacob Maré Street in the picturesque town of Pretoria. Conveniently perched across from Burger's Park, it is elegant and a remnant of the colonial South Africa of times past. https://www.sa-venues.com/attractionsga/melrose-house.htm

Walter Sisulu is one of the 8 botanical gardens managed by the South African Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). The gardens consist of around 30 hectares of landscaped garden and 270 hectares of natural vegetation (Rocky Highveld Grassland). Witpoortjie Falls are the centre piece to the gardens. Walter Sisulu features a Waterwise Garden, Cycad Garden, Succulent Rockery, Fern Garden and arboretum. https://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/walter_sisulu_national_botanic_garden