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Johannesburg as a world-class tourist destination

Johannesburg is often overlooked as a tourist destination in South Africa, with Cape Town and the Kruger National Park traditionally the destinations of choice for visitors to the country. Part of the reason for this seems to be the fact that Johannesburg hasn’t promoted itself enough as a tourist destination, despite having a number of worthwhile historically significant sights.

Johannesburg has the largest population of any city in Africa and has a colorful past and an exciting present.

Johannesburg was the location of the Old Fort Prison which housed many political prisoners during the apartheid era, including Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Luthuli and Robert Sobukwe. Today, visitors can take tours of the Old Fort Prison, which has been preserved as a tourist attraction. The area where it is located is called Constitution Hill and is named after the Constitutional Court which shares property with Old Fort Prison.

The Johannesburg Zoo is another worthwhile attraction for visitors. It is home to more than 2,050 animals, and one of its unique offerings is night safaris, which allow visitors to explore the zoo by moonlight and see the zoo’s many nocturnal animals.

Johannesburg also has a vibrant nightlife and a wealth of cultural and musical entertainment. The city hosts a popular annual jazz festival, Jazz on the Lake, which takes place in early September and features a number of renowned local and international jazz artists.

Another worthwhile activity for tourists is to visit Soweto, a vibrant metropolitan municipality on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Soweto played an important role in South African history and has several historically significant sites.

On June 16, 1976, violent riots broke out in Soweto as African schoolchildren took the fight against apartheid into their own hands and protested against the government forcing them to learn in Afrikaans instead of their native languages. Many children died during these riots, the most famous being 12-year-old Hector Peterson, who was shot dead by apartheid police. Today, the Hector Peterson Museum in Soweto is dedicated to the memory of Hector Peterson and the other children who died in the Soweto riots.

In addition to the Hector Peterson Museum, Soweto offers visitors the chance to visit the former home of Nelson Mandela and eat traditional food and drink traditional beer at various restaurants run by locals. For the young and young at heart, Soweto offers bungee jumping in the world’s only bungee jumping between two cooling towers. Rappelling and rap-jumping are also offered at Soweto Towers.

Johannesburg has much to offer as a tourist destination, and should certainly be on any visitor to South Africa’s itinerary due to the varied, exciting and interesting attractions on offer.