Hillbrow
Hillbrow is an Inner City residential neighbourhood of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
Hillbrow is an Inner City residential neighbourhood of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. It is characterized by a high population density and has experienced issues associated with municipal disinvestment, including elevated levels of unemployment, poverty, prostitution, and crime.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Hillbrow
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Ellis Park Stadium
Ellis Park Stadium is a rugby union and association football stadium in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. It hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was won by the country's national team, the Springboks.
1.5 km · stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa · Wikipedia - 02University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a leading multi-campus public research university situated in the economic hub of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is known for its academic and research excellence, commitment to social justice, and the advancement of the public good.
1.9 km · public research university in Johannesburg, South Africa · Wikipedia - 03Carlton Centre
The Carlton Centre is a 50-storey skyscraper and shopping centre located on Commissioner Street in central Johannesburg, South Africa. At 223 metres, it was the tallest building in Africa for 46 years from its completion in 1973 until 2019.
1.9 km · skyscraper in Johannesburg, South Africa · Wikipedia - 04Union Observatory
Union Observatory, also known as Transvaal Observatory, Republic Observatory and Johannesburg Observatory, is a defunct astronomical observatory in Johannesburg, South Africa that operated from 1903 to 1971. It is located on Observatory Ridge, the city's highest point at 1,808 metres altitude in the suburb Observatory.
2.6 km · decommissioned astronomical observatory · Wikipedia - 05Ponte City Apartments
Ponte City is a skyscraper in the Berea district of Johannesburg, South Africa, just next to Hillbrow. It was built in 1975 to a height of 173 m.
800 m · skyscraper in South Africa · Wikipedia - 06Nelson Mandela Bridge
Nelson Mandela Bridge is a bridge in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the fourth of five bridges which cross the railway lines and sidings located just west of Johannesburg Park Station, the first being the Johan Rissik Bridge adjacent to the station.
1.7 km · bridge in Johannesburg, South Africa · Wikipedia - 07Constitution Hill, Johannesburg
The Constitution Hill precinct is the seat of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. It is located in Braamfontein, a suburb of Johannesburg, near the western end of the suburb of Hillbrow.
600 m · building in South Africa · Wikipedia - 08Johannesburg Stadium
Johannesburg Stadium is a stadium, in the Doornfontein suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. The stadium has a sweeping roof and can accommodate 37,500 people.
1.5 km · stadium · Wikipedia - 09Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit
The Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit was one of several research entities based in the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, before merging into the Wits:H2O group. While the name and branding have fallen away, the type of research undertaken continues.
2 km · Research entity at the University of Witwatersrand · Wikipedia - 10Johannesburg Art Gallery
The Johannesburg Art Gallery is an art gallery in Joubert Park in the city centre of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was once the largest gallery on the continent with a collection of more than 9000 artworks.
900 m · art museum in Joubert Park, Johannesburg · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Getting to Hillbrow
- Airports
- O.R. Tambo (JNB), 20 km · Lanseria (HLA), 30 km · Sir Seretse Khama (GBE), 281 km
- Stations
- Johannesburg Park Station, 1.2 km
- Polokwane → Hillbrow291 km · quickest by road, 4h 21m · R280–375
- Mbombela → Hillbrow303 km · quickest by road, 4h 53m · R305–405
- Bloemfontein → Hillbrow373 km · quickest by road, 5h 27m · R355–475
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Hillbrow
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Hillbrow. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get in}} The airport is mainly for smaller charter, cargo and classic airline flights; it is in fact busier than Johannesburg International and sees more air traffic.
- Get aroundGenerally, it is a bad idea to make use of minibus taxis unless accompanied by locals.
- Get aroundTraffic can be aggressive, and minibus taxis in particular often defy the rules of the road.
- Get aroundPublic transport in Johannesburg is provided by city buses and informal minibus services.
- Get aroundForeigners are advised to use only normal sedan taxis (metered or fixed-price taxes that transport only you and your travel partners), as minibus taxis have a reputation for being rather unsafe.
From Wikivoyage: Johannesburg, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 011,283 km
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If you know how people move in Hillbrow – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Hillbrow
Hillbrow is 2 km from Johannesburg, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.
- Johannesburglargest city in South Africa1.9 km
- City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipalitymetropolitan municipality in Gauteng, South Africa2 km
- Braamfonteincentral suburb of Johannesburg, in South Africa1.1 km
- Bereasuburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South African600 m
- Vrededorphuman settlement in South Africa3.2 km
- Fordsburgtown3.2 km