Newtown, Johannesburg

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Newtown, Johannesburg

Newtown
Newtown Cultural Precinct, Johannesburg

Once you've booked your Newtown accommodation explore our pages for info on attractions and what to do in Newtown.

Situated in Johannesburg’s inner-city, Newtown forms the heart of the city’s regeneration and reinvention of itself. Newtown is 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 makes Newtown so accessible is the Nelson Mandela Bridge, which links Braamfontein to Newtown, is able to carry some 3000 cars an hour and forms the new gateway into the city from the north. Newtown is now a mixed-use area with a vibrant and unique character, particularly if you take its cultural facilities into account. Newtown is home to the renowned Market Theatre, which played such an important role in South African theatre during the apartheid era, committed as it was to non-racial theatre right from 1974, where a run-down Edwardian market hall was converted into a cultural arena that provided a platform for some of the country’s best actors and playwrights.

Newtown Cultural Precinct, Johannesburg
Today the complex is home to three theatres and two art galleries, and on Saturday mornings a flea market continues at the theatre. Kippies, located in the former Songwriters’ Club in Newtown, is named after the legendary saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi and serves as a venue to live jazz as it has for years, despite its closure for two years.

Just around the corner from the market complex is the Oriental Plaza where every shopkeeper owns his shop and the vibrant colour of the busy complex is a sheer delight. Rolls of fabric spew out on to tables, pots, pans and crockery, kiosks with hair accessories, electronics, leather goods, fashion and the smell of incense, samoosas and chilli merge charmingly.

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Newtown Reviews

average visitor rating: 5/5"Newtown is the best site in johannesburg to be in ... the market theater, SAB and beautiful Mandela bridge on the edge connecting Braamfontein with this ..." - makgato machaba, johannesburg

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Featured Attractions in (or near) Newtown

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

South African Reserve Bank

Regarded as the highest building in Pretoria / Tshwane, with a basement that extends some 25 metres below ground (for very good reason – where better to place a vault or two), SARB (The South African Reserve Bank) is the country’s central bank; its purpose to protect the value of the ... more information

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Things To Do in Newtown

Sci-Bono Discovery Centre

Where: Newtown
How much (per person): R1 to R100

Sci-Bono Discovery Centre, Gauteng’s exciting new Science Centre and the largest in Africa, is a uniquely crafted edutainment destination fo ... more information

Afronova Art Gallery

Where: Newtown
How much (per person): Free to Browse

Afronova is a Pan African gallery for modern and contemporary art created by Henri Vergon. The elegant gallery space is located in the heart ... more information

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Restaurants in Newtown

Dinner at Gramadoelas Restaurant

Where: Newtown

Gramadoelas restaurant in Newtown was established in 1967, and was the first restaurant to open its doors to all South Africans. Serving true South African food, it is the perfect place for dinner be ... more information

Moyo Market Theatre

Where: Newtown

Moyo Market Theatre was a labour of love for a core team of six local artists with a passion for steelwork, pebble art and woodwork. The artists laboured for nine months to give birth to this spectacu ... more information

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Events and/or Festivals in Newtown

Standard Bank Joy of Jazz

Location: Newtown
Duration: 4 days

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event starts: 22 August 2013
August
Vodacom In The City

Location: Newtown
Duration: 1 day

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event starts: 04 October 2013
October
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On Holiday in Newtown

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