Parktown, Johannesburg
Parktown lies between Westcliff and Saxonwold, one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Johannesburg filled with rather imposing homes that vie with those in London in terms of grandiosity.
Developed by some of the most successful entrepreneurs of their time these showy mansions, some with fancy turrets and towers, became known as “Parktown baronial” and the architects displayed a definite leaning to the eclectic, the original owners of their homes intent on parties, croquet on the lawns and lavish parties. That was, until Herbert Baker added his unique craftsmanship to the suburb, including his own home, The Stonehouse, up on the ridge. Today, Parktown remains one of Johannesburg’s elite suburbs, its Victorian homes, and a number of designs by Sir Herbert Baker, an enormous draw card to the area. What’s more, residents and visitors need no longer drive past and merely gawp; they can instead visit some of these beautiful homes. The Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust have weekly tours of old Johannesburg, one of them in Victorian Parktown, which includes the oldest house in Johannesburg, built in 1896 called The View, in Ridge Road.
You’re ideally situated when staying in Parktown to reach the city centre and the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, including Sandton. The Johannesburg Zoo, and Zoo Lake, are close by, as are the charming villages of Parkview and Melville, both of which have restaurants, art galleries and little boutique-style shops that claim immediate and lengthy scrutiny.
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Featured Attractions in (or near) Parktown
Absa Money Museum
Home to the largest collection of money used in South Africa’s past in the world, Absa Money Museum lies in downtown Johannesburg on Fox Street. The ABSA Money Museum is the only banking and money museum in the country, and holds a fascinating history of how economic, political and social change ... more information
Adler Museum of Medicine
Over 40 000 objects that illustrate the history of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy through the ages today make up the collection housed in the Adler Museum of medicine, funded by the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits University in Johannesburg, where it sits on campus as part of the medical school in Parktown. The ... more information
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
Ellis Park Stadium
Ellis Park Stadium is a major football venue in South Africa. Ellis Park Stadium has been ear-marked as a semi-final venue for the 2010 South Africa World Cup. The Stadium underwent major renovations to fullfill all the FIFA™ requirements. New upper tiers were added behind each goal, adding an ... 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
Johannesburg Zoo
Situated on Jan Smuts Avenue in Parkview, the Johannesburg Zoo is one of the city’s most popular haunts. The huge 54 hectare green lung is the place where the two tributaries of the Braamfontein Spruit meet, set in almost park-like surrounds in the heart of the northern suburbs. Johannesburg’s zoo is home to 2070 ... more information
Nelson Mandela Bridge
The largest cable-stayed bridge in South Africa, the 284 metre long Nelson Mandela Bridge, starts virtually at the end of Jan Smuts Avenue and links the Constitutional Hill precinct in Braamfontein to the Cultural precinct in Newtown, in the heart of the city’s inner city renewal project. The Nelson Mandela ... 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
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Things To Do in Parktown
Brenthurst Gardens Tour
Where: Parktown
How much (per person): R1 to R100
The garden at Brenthurst Estate is rated as one of the finest in South Africa and can certainly be placed among the great gardens of the wor ... more information
National Children’s Theatre
Where: Parktown
How much (per person): R1 to R100
The National Children’s Theatre presents stage adaptations of classics, contemporary plays and educational theatre to the acclaim of critics ... more information
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Events and/or Festivals in Parktown
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On Holiday in Parktown
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