Johannesburg Highlights - 3 More Things To Do...

Sun City

The extravagant Sun City hotel/entertainment complex `in the middle of nowhere', is known all over the world as a tourism hotspot. It was built over 20 years ago in the homeland of Bophuthatswana when gambling was not permitted in South Africa under the apartheid government. The Lost City is an exciting highlight of the Sun City complex. The Palace of the Lost City - with its extravagant lost-world theme and spectacular African feel - is one of the most famous hotels in the world.

Township Tours

Experience the Township life up close and personal, in Soweto. Visit the Regina Mundi Church, Sharpeville Memorial Site, Nelson Mandela's home - and/or stay for the night at any of Soweto's famous Bed and Breakfasts. There are also township tours offered in Alexandra as well as the hospitable accommodation options offered by township dwellers around Tshwane.

Gold Reef City

Spend a day at the famous Gold Reef City, where you can go underground on a mine exploration tour and relive the old gold rush days of Johannesburg. The Gold Reef City also has an entertainment park which can be enjoyed by the whole family.

Want a little more? Be sure to read our more comprehensive -
Top 10 Guide To Things To Do In Johannesburg

Background Information - Johannesburg, South Africa

The discovery of gold in the region of Johannesburg spurred a mass migration to the area of people wanting to try their luck. The resultant settlement that mushroomed within the space of three years was named by two men, with the first name 'Johannes' in common. It leaves little to the imagination then, as to the origin of the city's name. 'Burg', the second syllable, is the Afrikaans word derived from the Dutch 'village', similar in some ways to the English word 'burgh' meaning 'town'.

Racial segregation had already become firmly entrenched in the country between the world wars - blacks and Indians were heavily taxed, barred from holding skilled jobs and forced to work as migrant labour - hence the emergence of squatter camps that sprung up around Johannesburg as blacks headed to the city in the wake of industrialisation. These camps developed by all accounts into well-organised cities, and perhaps due to this, were destroyed, forcing people to move to new suburbs known as the South-Western townships, leading to the emergence of Soweto.

Today Jozi is free of discriminatory laws. The inner city is awash with hawkers and street stalls, completely multiracial, and undergoing a total regeneration. Most whites have escaped to the leafy northern suburbs, the sprawling malls and restaurant-lined avenues attractive to visitors and residents alike. Thus with Joburg being the economic powerhouse of Africa, Gauteng in turn is the heartbeat of the nation.

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