A Perfect 24 Hours in Johannesburg, South Africa

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Greetings, Internet Stranger! I’m Stella Jane, and welcome to 24 hours in Johannesburg, South Africa. Johannesburg doesn’t always get the love that Cape Town gets.

People say that Cape Town is amazingly beautiful, whereas Johannesburg is more urban. And then there are those who say that Jo’burg is too dangerous, and if you go there, you’re sure to be targeted by pickpockets.

Well, I spent a fabulous 24 hours in Johannesburg (and more), and I found it to be quite lovely, fascinating, and underrated. Plus, I was never pickpocketed even once, nor did I feel myself to be in danger. Give Jozi a chance and I’m sure you’ll find it to be just as delightful as I did.

The highlight of this day was a tour of Soweto and the rest of Johannesburg. I hope you’ll join me!

Check rates and availability of this tour by going here!

24 Hours in Johannesburg

Morning: Apartheid Museum

Being that I was totally unfamiliar with Johannesburg, and it’s a quite large and spread-out city, I opted to spend most of my 24 hours in Johannesburg on a guided tour.

This eight-hour tour, led by a friendly young man who had moved to South Africa from Zimbabwe as a child, showed all the main highlights of one of Africa’s most interesting cities. I strongly recommend taking this tour if you can.

You can book it easily by going here.

We started the tour with a short drive around Johannesburg, stopping at the Top of Africa building to get the obligatory views of Johannesburg. (You can see some of my photos from this view above.)

But the morning is really dedicated to the fascinating Apartheid Museum. This is absolutely a must-visit destination for any trip to Johannesburg.

Your guide will leave you on your own, so you have enough time to explore Johannesburg’s most famous museum. Picture taking is not allowed inside the museum; all my photos come from the outside of the museum, where it is allowed. I can’t possibly tell you everything I saw there, but I will let you in on…

Three Fascinating Facts: Apartheid Museum

1) What is Apartheid?

Apartheid is a word from the Afrikaans language that refers to the separation of the races. (It literally means separateness.)

Afrikaans is closely related to Dutch because the white “Afrikaner” South Africans were descended from Dutch settlers to South Africa in the 17th century. Many people in South Africa still speak Afrikaans, but many of those speak English as well.

One of the most memorable things about the museum is that your ticket assigns you either a “white” or a non-white identity, and you have to go through the appropriate entrance, as a reminder of what life what like during apartheid.

Under the apartheid regime, which lasted from the 1940s to the 1990s, South Africans of color were discriminated against and oppressed, much like they were under the Jim Crow laws in the American South.

Many South Africans who resisted this injustice were jailed or even killed. One part of the museum is dedicated to South Africans like Steve Biko who were killed in prison.

(Again, read Steve Biko’s writings if you want to know more about him. You can also watch the movie Cry Freedom about Biko, which features an Oscar-nominated performance by Denzel Washington. But reading his work for yourself is better.)

2) What About Nelson Mandela?

Of course Nelson Mandela was the most famous person to resist apartheid, but he didn’t act alone. He was leader of the political group known as the ANC, or the African National Congress. (We’ll learn more about them in a bit.)

The exhibit on Mandela is really interesting because we learn so much about his life as a young man.

Mandela was born the son of a chief, and his mother was one of the chief’s four wives. She converted to Christianity, and Mandela said this had an influence on his way of thinking.

Often when we read about Mandela, he can sound like an angel or a saint, but not all of the stories about him in the museum were like this.

Apparently one time he was teased at school for his footwear, and he said this inspired him to go on to be a “fashion plate”. Nelson Mandela: Freedom Fighter, Father of His Country, Fashion Icon.

3) How Did Apartheid End?

Thanks to a relentless campaign from the ANC and other activists, which involved both protests and encouraging international boycotts, among other methods, South African President FW de Klerk released Nelson Mandela from prison and participated in South Africa’s first truly democratic election. De Klerk led the Afrikaner National Party and lost to Mandela, who led the ANC.

The ANC remains the political party in charge of South Africa today. At the Apartheid Museum, I learned that the current President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, was a negotiator for the ANC back when De Klerk and Mandela were trying to determine what the new South Africa should look like.

Ramaphosa had wanted to succeed Mandela as leader of the ANC, but when he wasn’t chosen, he left South Africa for a while until he was able to come back and lead the party.

Many South Africans I spoke to say they know the ANC has a problem with political corruption now, but they still support the party because of all the good work it did helping to end apartheid. After visiting the Apartheid Museum, it’s easy to understand why people feel that way.

24 Hours in Johannesburg

Afternoon: Explore Soweto (And Nearby)

Soweto is one of the most notable places in Johannesburg, so we have to stop in on our 24 hours in Johannesburg. My guide told me the area was meant to be a township for Black South Africans only to live in.

In fact, the white population of Johannesburg built walls so the Black people in Soweto couldn’t even see into the city. (WTF?) That’s why many Soweto residents don’t like going to Johannesburg because they remember the bad old days.

However, while there’s a lot of poverty in Soweto now, there’s also much more to the area than that. Join me as I show you the…

Approximately Top 5: Soweto (And Nearby)

1) Lunch

My guide took me to Sakhumzi, which is an African restaurant right near the house where Nelson Mandela used to live. In fact, this street is a most notable street because not one, but two Nobel Prize winners lived here. (The other winner is Archbishop Desmond Tutu.)

If you go for lunch, there will be a big buffet with all sorts of salads, stews, and grains. I recommend literally all of the vegetables and grains, which were delicious, and it can be hard to find tasty veggies when you are on the road.

The chicken and beef stews were also flavorful. I did try the tripe, aka cow stomach, to be adventurous, and it did taste extremely tripey, so be warned if that’s not your bag.

For dessert, you need to get malva pudding, that classic South African apricot spongy cake covered in warm custard sauce. That’s just science.

3) Mandela’s House

After lunch, it’s just a quick walk to Mandela House on the famous Two Nobel Prize Winner Vilakazi Street.

The house has been turned into a museum, and the house itself provides a tour with its own guides, so you’ll be joining a different group of people for this part of the tour. The guides here are often students, so please tip them generously at the end!

This house belonged to Nelson Mandela when he was young, and he lived here with his first wife. After he and his first wife divorced, he married his most famous wife Winnie Mandela.

While Mandela was in prison, Winnie lived here by herself, but she eventually left because she was sick and tired of being shot at by the police. After Mandela was released from prison, he didn’t return to live at this house.

There’s tons of interesting memorabilia that belonged to Mandela in the house, like a giant belt gifted to him by Sugar Ray Leonard and a tree where the Mandelas buried the umbilical cords of their children. But my favorite was this giant photo of young Mandela and a great dog.

So cute!

3) Housing

Don’t miss the opportunity during your 24 hours in Johannesburg itinerary to check out the different types of housing in Soweto. There are some quite nice affordable houses built by the government, but unfortunately they ran of money.

My guide said a lot of these houses are empty because it’s too hard to decide who will live in them, since there aren’t enough for everyone.

Many people in Soweto live in shacks without running water. My guide said that they still have to pay rent even if they don’t get any utilities or real upkeep. I didn’t take photos of the shacks because it’s tacky to do that without asking permission.

Soweto also has a more well-to-do population, as you can see from the house above. My guide called this area the “Beverly Hills of Soweto”. He also said that Soweto is one of the safest parts of Johannesburg because so many tourists visit there and the locals want to be friendly.

I did find the residents of Jo’burg to be some of the friendliest people I have encountered in my travels! Literally everyone I spoke to was happy to help if I needed it.

4) Hector Pieterson Memorial

The Hector Pieterson Memorial is dedicated to a child who was killed during the Soweto Uprising in the 1970s. Students were protesting the fact that their classes were taught in Afrikaans, which was the language of the white government, not the language that many of the students spoke. (South Africa has eleven official languages today.)

During the protests, the police started firing on the crowd, and a 12-year-old boy named Hector Pieterson was killed. A man named Mbuyisa Makhubo picked up Hector’s body, and the moment was photographed, becoming an iconic image of the brutality of apartheid. (You can see the photo in my picture of the memorial above.)

There is a museum attached to the memorial, but you won’t have time to visit on this tour. You can come back if you have another 24 hours in Johannesburg.

5) Walter Sisulu Square

The last stop on the tour was Walter Sisulu Square, which is named after a different South African activist and member of the ANC. In 1955, the Congress of the People, which included people from all races who wanted to create a more just South Africa, met here to create the Freedom Charter.

This document outlined all the rights that the Congress of the People believed South Africans should have. Principles include “The People Shall Share in the Country’s Wealth!”, “All Shall Enjoy Equal Human Rights!”, and “There Shall Be Peace and Friendship!” (Yes, there really are that many exclamation marks.)

My guide said that the Freedom Charter was really trying to create a utopia, but many of the principles were used to create South Africa’s constitution.

On a more prosaic note, many films set in South Africa have been shot in this square. My guide mentioned Invictus, starring Morgan Freedom as Nelson Mandela, but there have been others.

24 Hour Tip

Those are all the secrets of this tour that I can share with you for now. You’ll have to go ahead and book this fantastic tour for yourself if you want to enjoy this experience on your trip to Johannesburg.

Check rates and availability right here!

24 Hours in Johannesburg

Evening: Dinner at Marble

We can’t say it’s a proper 24 hours in Johannesburg without a delicious dinner, can we? So let’s mosey on over to Marble for some top-notch steak. (If there’s one thing South Africans do well food-wise, it’s meat!)

Start off with some of their delicious bread with housemade butter and spreads. The waiter said that it was pumpkin butter, but it tasted more like peanut butter to me. Maybe I misheard him? South African accents can be tricky for us Yanks!

One of their signature appetizers is the Marble “Avo” Ritz, which is topped with plump and firm prawns. I’m not quite sure what they did to this avocado to make it taste so good. Usually I could never eat an entire half an avocado in one sitting, but this dish made me want to keep noshing.

Of course the main reason to go to Marble is to try one of their outstanding steaks. Tragically they were out of the South African beef for the filet, so I just went with the American beef. (USA, USA, USA!) The other cuts all seemed too big for me to eat.

The steak came with crispy beans and broccoli rabe, which added a nice bit of bitterness to compliment the rich steak. They also served the steak with both French fries and chips (or chips and crisps, if you are South African).

I much prefer fries to chips, but it was nice to have a choice. The steak was so good, it didn’t need any of the sauces. Just a dab of butter was the perfect touch.

After such a big meal, you’ll want a refreshing dessert like this spongy cake with stone fruit and citrus sorbet. The three different texture, ranging from the heavier cake to the light sorbet were the most interesting part of the dish.

But nothing says summer in January like an amazing bowl of fresh stone fruit. It’s enough to make one want to spend every January in South Africa!

24 Hours in Johannesburg

Where to Stay?

It’s always important to choose the location of your hotel carefully when you travel, especially if you are a solo traveler, like I am. And this is especially important if you’re spending 24 hours in Johannesburg because some places in the city are safer for tourists than others.

That’s why I recommend staying at the @sandton Hotel when you are in Johannesburg. The facilities are new and stylish, there’s an extremely helpful 24 hour staff, and the location of the hotel is excellent. No matter where you are going in Johannesburg, you’ll be able to have an Uber come to meet you here. (And Uber in South Africa is very affordable.)

If you want to book a stay at this hotel, just click here.

And if you would rather explore all the best hotel deals in Johannesburg, click here.

This search engine will help you find the perfect place to stay for your 24 hours in Johannesburg. With plenty of options to choose from, I’m sure you’ll find something for your schedule and budget.

That’s a Perfect 24 Hours in Johannesburg!

If you thought this article was funny, check out my hilarious travel guide Get Lost.

What would you do with 24 hours in Johannesburg? Are you ready to start booking your hotel in Johannesburg now? And could anything be cuter than that photo of Nelson Mandela with the giant dog? Please email me at stellajane@aroundtheworldin24hours.com and let me know!

Note: If you want to know how I put my travel itineraries together, just click here. Keep in mind that while each article is about how to spend 24 hours in a place, that doesn’t mean you should ONLY have 24 hours in a city

You can also try the best things to do in Durban South Africa. You can also try a one day in Durban itinerary. There’s a one day in Johannesburg itinerary. Or why not a Johannesburg safaris day trip? You can also enjoy the best tours in Johannesburg.