Explore the different faces of ever-changing Johannesburg from recent history at the Apartheid Museum to Gold Reef City, where you can learn about the city's link with the precious metal and have fun on the rides. See the modern side of Johannesburg at Sandton's Nelson Mandela Square, a vibrant eating, entertainment and shopping area. Return to Johannesburg to learn about hops on a tour of SAB World of Beer in Newtown, and tuck into tribal meals at Lesedi Cultural Village.
Major attractions cluster in the city centre around the regenerated Newtown Cultural Precinct, including Museum Africa, which has displays of the trial that put Nelson Mandela behind bars. Head to the skyscraper-dense Joubert Park area just outside the city centre to see 17th-century Dutch art at the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Three miles south, you can relive the city's golden past at Gold Reef City theme park and ride on its rollercoasters. Join the locals in arty Melville for a drink and head to Sandton for upmarket shopping malls.
Get an overview of racial segregation at the Apartheid Museum, then see where brutalities took place at Constitution Hill, the former location of the Old Fort prison. You'll see street performers, trendy diners and shopaholics all mixing happily at Nelson Mandela Square, a buzzing Italian-style piazza with restaurants and cafes, theatres and shops. Take the kids to Johannesburg Zoo for a good introduction to African wildlife and learn about township life in the Soweto area or, for a truly interactive experience, the Lion Park, where you can play with lion cubs and feed giraffes. At sunset, when the sky turns pink, enjoy views of the city of gold from the 50th floor of the Carlton Centre, Johannesburg's tallest building, then enjoy a meal in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Sandton.
Return to Johannesburg for a tour of Newtown's SAB World of Beer, which outlines the importance of hops since Mesopotamian times. Or discover the history of migrant workers in South Africa at the nearby Workers Museum. Take time off from sightseeing for a leisurely stroll around Zoo Lake, the city's finest park. Revisit Soweto's township taverns to dine with celebrities or dig into a Zulu buffet at Lesedi Cultural Village. Head to the malaria-free Pilanesberg National Park, just 90 minutes north-west of Johannesburg, for a weekend safari.
Johannesburg's revamped O.R. Tambo International Airport (formerly Johannesburg International) is the busiest in Africa and serves over 17 million passengers a year from its two terminals.
