Johannesburg
Johannesburg, colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "the City of Gold", is the capital city of the province of Gauteng and the largest city in South Africa.
In 2022, the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality had a population of 4,803,262, and the wider metropolitan area a population of 15,099,422, making it one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. It is also the seat of the country's highest court, the Constitutional Court. Situated on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand, the city has long been at the epicentre of the international mineral and gold trade. The richest city in Africa by GDP and private wealth, Johannesburg functions as the economic capital of South Africa and is home to the continent's largest stock exchange, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Getting to Johannesburg
A number of highways from everywhere in South Africa go to Johannesburg, the N1 from Cape Town and Bloemfontein or the N3 from Durban making it an easy to reach destination, including: N1 from Cape Town and Harare in Zimbabwe N3 from Durban N4 from Mbombela and the Kruger National Park, as well as Botswana N12 from Kimberley and Potchefstroom N14 from Upington and Namibia Traffic can be particularly bad during peak…
- 01O.R
Tambo International Airport (JNB IATA) (formerly called Johannesburg International and before that Jan Smuts Airport, these old names are still commonly used),.
- 02Lanseria International Airport
Johannesburg's other airport that caters for passengers on commercial airlines.
- 03Johannesburg Park Station
The central station and is in the city centre between Rissik (west), Wolmarans (north), Wanderers (east) and De Villiers (south) streets, it occupies several blocks.
- 04Johannesburg International Transport Interchange
66 Harrison St.
Worth seeing
The poor reputation of the Central Business District (CBD) is no longer deserved. There are numerous galleries and art spaces popping up across the CBD. The city centre is the most-visited part of Johannesburg for African tourists, particularly the traders who come to shop at Johannesburg's wholesale outlets.
Things to do
City Sightseeing, in the pedestrian mall at the "Zone Shopping center" in Oxford road, Rosebank (next to Hamley's Toys with the main bus stop nearby). Its red buses operate in Johannesburg. A very safe and convenient way to see the inner city. Hop-on hop-off city tour R299, plus Soweto tour R679. Soweto is a popular destination for travellers from around the world.
Where to eat
Johannesburg has a wide variety of places to eat and you'll be sure to find something to suit your taste buds, be it local delicacies or international cuisines. In addition to standard South African shopping mall restaurants Johannesburg is one of the few cities with various 'restaurant streets' scattered around the suburbs offering a more European dining experience.
Getting around Johannesburg the local way
- 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.
- Get aroundThe minibus taxis, however, are very cheap and are the quickest way between two points.
From Wikivoyage: Johannesburg, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.