Johannesburg Central, Johannesburg
Jo’burg’s inner city has had its share of stigma. The 1990s, after the Group Areas Act was scrapped, brought thousands of people who had been forbidden to live here, into the city centre, many of them immigrants from war torn African nations and others from surrounding black townships. Crime levels rose, the state of many buildings in Johannesburg’s centre deteriorated and business fled to the northern suburbs and Sandton. Johannesburg’s centre became a problem.
But government has been quick to revive the city centre. Drastic measures to reduce crime and a whole urban development effort, including a tax incentive scheme aimed at encouraging inner city renewal, are reviving the inner city. The beautiful arc that is the Nelson Mandela bridge, which leads across to the Market Theatre, touted as the city’s cultural focus, was just the beginning.
The draft inner city charter is incredibly ambitious and in its scope it commits to some 77 deadlines that will turn Jo’burg central into a safe, flourishing and liveable city. Included in these plans are 5000 short-term accommodation units and 50 000 affordable flats. Plans for more visible policing as well as the refurbishing of streets and the planting of trees to make the streets of Johannesburg walkable are also planned.
Johannesburg’s inner city is dynamic and things change by the minute. Whilst it may have been ‘off limits’ for the past decade, Newtown’s regeneration and private redevelopment of historical office buildings in the city’s financial district have combined to make elements of the city attractive. And there are other attractions like the planetarium and the Johannesburg Fort, a tour of the old prison fort where famous activists were held prisoner.
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Featured Attractions in (or near) Johannesburg Central
Apartheid Museum
The Apartheid Museum is the story of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. Beginning in 1948, the white elected National Party government initiated a process which turned over 20 million people into 2nd class citizens, damning them to a life of servitude, humiliation and abuse. Their liberation in ... more information
Constitution Hill
Nowhere can the story of South Africa’s turbulent past and its extraordinary transition to democracy be told as it is at Constitution Hill. This national heritage site has witnessed a century of South Africa’s history. From rebellious British soldiers who fought with the Boers at the turn of the century, to the ... more information
Gautrain
The Gautrain is an 80 kilometre mass rapid transit railway system, which is a long-winded way of saying that Johannesburg constructed a (really) fast train that cuts out all of the traffic to and from the airport, just in time for the Soccer World Cup of 2010. Its presence is estimated to cut 20% of the ... more information
Johannesburg Art Gallery
Works by Rodin, Dante, Gabriel Rossetti, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas and Henry Moore grace the walls of the Johannesburg Art Gallery on the corner of Klein and King George Streets on Joubert Park, right in the midst of the central business district of Johannesburg. Whilst Joubert Park ... more information
Museum Africa
Not only is Museum Africa one of the most beautiful buildings where it lies right next door to the Market Theatre complex in Bree Street, Newtown, but it is also a museum with a difference - people who have visited museums throughout the world remark at the interesting and unique approach to the main ... more information
Newtown Cultural Precinct
Situated in Johannesburg’s inner-city, Newtown forms the heart of the city’s regeneration and reinvention of itself. It’s a fairly large area that lies sandwiched between the railway lines to the north, the M2 highway in the south and bounded in the east and west by West Street and Quinn Street respectively. What ... more information
SAB World of Beer
What beer enthusiast do you know who would turn down the chance of two ice cold frosties after a tour that encompasses the art of beer-making and brewing? Since openings its doors over ten years ago, the World of Beer has become an enormously popular attraction for both visitors and South Africans, and it ... more information
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Things To Do in Johannesburg Central
Department of Historical Papers
Where: Johannesburg
How much (per person): R1 to R100
The Department of Historical Papers was established in 1966 and is located in the William Cullen Library of the University of the Witwatersr ... more information
James Hall Museum of Transport
Where: Johannesburg
How much (per person): Free
Visit the James Hall Museum of Transport. This is the largest and most comprehensive land-transport museum in South Africa, was established ... more information
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Events and/or Festivals in Johannesburg Central
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