Johannesburg City Centre Walking Tour
Description
Given the city's reputation, this is a perfect opportunity to experience Johannesburg on a walking tour and explore its hidden gems and rich history with a local guide. The tour begins in Gandhi Square, uncovering the city's gold mining history through Main Street, showcasing stunning architecture and current politics. We continue to Ferreirasdorp, the "cradle of Johannesburg," where the first gold diggers settled. Then, we visit Chancellor House, where Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo established their first black-owned law firm. Our walk continues to Newtown, visiting the Workers Museum for insights into the city's migrant labor history, then the Market Theatre with its rich cultural and street art history. We cross the iconic Nelson Mandela Bridge for stunning views and a perfect photo opportunity, connecting us to Braamfontein, an artistic hub known for its youthful energy. We'll conclude our tour in Braamfontein.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We Will meet here (outside Nandos Restaurant)
Main street of Johannesburg
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Former compound
Nelson Mandela and Tambo's office
Often used for meetings
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This is a walking tour of the rich history of Johannesburg. We will see old architecture along with history, interact with the locals and take great photos. Walking through the City of Gold you will feel the hustle and bustle of the people, lifestyle, and culture of Jozi.
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Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(91)
Great experience learning more about the history of Joburg, its CBD, Soweto, and how it evolved and changed over time. Katlego was a greatguide.
Thank you, Tjark! We’re so glad you enjoyed learning about Johannesburg and its history. Refilwe will be delighted to hear your kind words. Thank you for exploring Joburg with us and thank you for taking the time to leave us this awesome review! - One Day Africa Team
Be aware that the description of this tour on Viator is misleading. It states that as part of the tour we would get great city views from the top of a skyscraper and also that we would enjoy a South African braai (BBQ) lunch. Neither of these were true. However, despite these two disappointments, we enjoyed the tour very much. Our guide was amazing. He was very knowledgeable and we learned a great deal from him. All in all, we had a very good day exploring downtown Jozi!
Thank you, Martin. We’re really glad that despite these concerns, you still had a great day exploring Johannesburg and enjoyed the experience with our guide. Unfortunately, rooftop access is no longer available due to circumstances beyond our control, and we apologise that this had not yet been updated. We’d also like to clarify that a braai lunch has never been advertised or included in this tour, so we’re unsure where this information came from. Thank you again for joining us and for your feedback! - One Day Africa Team
This is a can’t miss experience. The tour covers downtown Johannesburg and you learn the rich history of the city in an engaging way. Refiloe is one of the best guides you could ask for on a history tour. Not only is he unbelievably knowledgeable, he makes the stories so entertaining. He also added some fun bonus experiences!
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed discovering Johannesburg’s rich history with Refilwe. He has a special way of bringing the city’s stories to life, and we’ll be sure to share your kind words with him. Thank you for recommending this experience so highly!
My visit to Johannesburg was short and the tour took in all the interesting parts of the CBD area to see. The guide shared lots of interesting info about the various buildings and the city’s history. It was a great tour👍
Thank you for your kind review! We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed exploring Johannesburg's CBD and learning about the city's history and architecture. It was a pleasure hosting you, and we're glad you had a memorable experience.
It was a very exciting tour with a great guide (Refiloe). We learned a lot! Thank you!
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that you had such an exciting and informative experience on the Johannesburg City Centre Walking Tour. Refilwe is passionate about sharing the history and culture of the city, and we’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to him. We truly appreciate you joining us and hope to welcome you back again for another adventure in South Africa!
This is an excellent walking tour. It is definitely worth experiencing. Mulalo our tour guide has a wealth of knowledge and showed us a lot of places with much historical background to it. This gave us a better understanding of the CBD area. Mulalo was also very friendly personable and easy to talk to and answered all questions. We certainly enjoyed the tour and would highly recommend it. Thank you Mulalo.
Experienced different facets of Jozi downtown, felt safe at all times and the guide Mulalo was great.
execellent trip...the guiide Refiloe was young but very firendly and exteremly knowledable. would recommend.
Sites are very interesting. Unfortunately the guide gave just minimal information. Highly recommend a visit to joburg
I had my best City Walk in Jo'burg with my guide Refilwe. It couldn't be a perfect tour without him. Refilwe is a passionate person full of energy. He is super friendly, knowledgeable and excellent story teller. He remembers almost all buildings' histories in the city center, and he has his own point of view in many historical places. He is not a audio Wikipedia but he is indeed an intelligent person who put a lot of thinking and emotions in the oral reconstruction of the city's history. I came as a person having no idea at all about Jo'burg, while after such a long walk tour, I would be happy to say, I am starting to know this city!
