A City of Contrasts
Jan 10, 2005, 11:31
Johannesburg is a thriving metropolitan area with over six million residents.
As the country's transportation hub, the city sees millions of visitors yearly.
But while most are just passing through, those that choose to stay a while will find an exciting, modern city, with ample opportunity for sightseeing, shopping, dining, and partying.
Attractions include a zoo, bird sanctuary, numerous museums, and parks.
People from the entire continent flock to 'Jo'burg' for another reason: shopping. With some 20 malls and nearly as many flea markets to choose from, the city doesn't disappoint.
For the best selection of authentic crafts and other goods, the place to go is Newtown Market on Saturdays.
Most find that Melville, Hillbrow, and the northern suburbs offer the best (and safest) options for dining and nightlife.
A city of astonishing contrasts, with opulent wealth and desperate poverty living side by side, Johannesburg is undeniably a far cry from the more dramatically-set tourist-trap of Cape Town.
Book a room at a hotel in Johannesburg
But if you want to see the real South Africa - and try to understand it - the city has to be on your itinerary.
A hop-on, hop-off bus will show you both rich and poor suburbs and make seeing Johannesburg that much easier.
Global Holidays is the UK travel agent for a cheap flight to Johannesburg
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