Neighborhoods in Brief

City Center The streets of the town center (which includes revamped Newtown on the northwestern outskirts) and the surrounding inner-city suburbs (Joubert Park, Hillbrow, and Berea) are lined with skyscrapers, at the foot of which hurrying commuters and shoppers jostle for space with pavement traders. Although the once lily-white north has a preponderance of shopping malls, many Sowetans are geographically still forced to shop in the city center, and many have given up living in shacks to join the African immigrants who've thronged to the inner city, taking over abandoned office blocks and decaying warehouses. The streets are a great deal more lively than those elsewhere in the city, but can be more dangerous -- at least on foot; make sure you're accompanied by a guide. The installation of security cameras at the Newtown Cultural Precinct (where many noteworthy attractions are located) means that crime here is significantly less frequent than would be expected; however, it's still worth being on your guard and not carrying any obviously valuable items with you. Adjacent to Newtown is Fordsburg, a predominantly Indian area with some very authentic restaurants and a bustling Sunday market; this is also where you'll find the popular Oriental Plaza bazaar. Newtown is also one end of Jo'burg's so-called Cultural Arc, with the other end at Constitution Hill, in Braamfontein; the arc represents an area of massive inner-city regeneration where art, architecture, and cultural initiative (as well as more surveillance cameras) are contributing to an altogether safer environment for all. Braamfontein, a business district on the northern edge of the inner city, is also where you'll find the sprawling campus of the University of Witwatersrand, including its theater complex and the recently established and highly recommended Origins Centre. The Johannesburg Civic Theatre is also in Braamfontein, as is the city's central train station, Park Station.

It's inadvisable to explore the inner-city suburbs of Hillbrow and Berea -- both brim full with run-down high-rise tenements. This is where the vast majority of immigrants arriving in the City of Gold settle down -- at least initially, or so they hope.

Southwest of Jo'burg While many anonymous towns and cities sprawl around Johannesburg, it is the massive community of Soweto ("South western townships") that is not only the most famous but also probably holds the most character, flavor and dramatic history. Actually a sprawling conglomeration of various suburbs, Soweto is beyond the city precincts, conveniently situated where black workers could be sent on their way at the end of the day. Today, hundreds of thousands of people still travel from Soweto into Jozi every day in order to help the wheels of industry and domesticity turn. But Soweto too is seeing massive change; it now has malls, multimillion-rand estates, and a very active tourist industry -- particularly since crime rates are lower here than they are in Johannesburg itself, and more foreign tourists come to see Soweto, and learn about its history, than any other part of Gauteng. En route to Soweto you'll pass through Ormonde, where the excellent Apartheid Museum and glitzy Gold Reef City entertainment complex are located.

Eastern Suburbs Sadly, a trip to the bars, clubs, and cafes of Rockey Street (around which the once-exhilarating Yeoville nightlife centered) remains unsafe. A little farther east is Observatory, a quiet area with large houses, a few with views (a real luxury in Johannesburg).

Directly east of the city center are Troyville and Bez Valley, patches of which (like Braamfontein) are inhabited by creative Jo'burgers bored by the seamless high-walled northern suburbs and unable to afford Melville. With no highlighted attractions, tourists seldom find a reason to explore this area, although lunch at the kitsch Flamingo restaurant at the Troyville Hotel is somewhat of an institution. Cyrildene is Jozi's very own Chinatown, with supermarkets and restaurants catering specifically to the Chinese community; a few Jo'burgers head here for authentic, inexpensive meals.

Northern Suburbs When the city center slipped into decay (a process, incidentally, that predates the inauguration of the New South Africa), the financial center effectively relocated to the northern suburbs, and it is here that you'll find the greatest concentration of hotels, restaurants, and shopping malls.

The northern suburb closest to the city is Parktown, where the randlords built their Edwardian mansions. Just west of Parktown is Westcliff, which, if you can afford it, has the best accommodations option in the city, an elevated cliff-side "village" overlooking the urban forests of Johannesburg -- said to be the largest in the world. It's in striking distance of the pleasant, walkable suburbs of Melville, Greenside, and Parkhurst, and also close to Rosebank, which is your best bet for shopping.

North of Westcliff are Killarney, Rosebank, and Hyde Park, all relatively wealthy, and defined by a mix of residential and commercial prospects. Rosebank in particular has some fine shopping facilities, as well as restaurants and the best-located hotels in the city. East of these enclaves are the well-established, "old-money" suburbs of Saxonwold and Houghton -- the latter is often included in city tours because the house where Mandela and his wife, Graca, stay when they're in town is located here. East of Houghton is the largely Jewish community of Norwood, a popular restaurant and nightlife district. North of Houghton are the small, leafy enclaves of Illovo and Melrose; the latter is where you'll find the Melrose Arch complex, a Eurocentric development where the new multiracial elite frequent expensive boutiques. Melrose has some good places to stay and good nightlife options. Not far from privileged Melrose and Houghton, the paradoxes of Jo'burg life become increasingly evident as you pass through residential areas like Oaklands, Bramley, and Kew and into the city's poorest black township, Alexandra, which can be explored as part of a guided tour.

Northwestern Suburbs For a more lively option, head for Melville, west of Parktown, just minutes from the city center (traffic permitting), and no more than a 15- to 20-minute drive south from Sandton. Adjoining Auckland Park, which is where the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) and University of Johannesburg are located, Melville has a bohemian mix of residents, including actors, artists, producers, lecturers, architects, and film crews, and is considered one of the city's most textured suburbs. Come here to dine at one of the many restaurants, or get steeped in the giddy nocturnal meanderings of Melville's dedicated late-night brigade of barhoppers, hip-hoppers, social players, and cultural activists. In Milpark, a short distance from Melville, is the 44 Stanley Avenue development, with a great collection of arty boutiques and some cheerful, low-key cafe-style establishments, great for daytime dining. Dedicated foodies should head for the nearby suburbs of Greenside (a short drive from Westcliff), Parktown North, and Parkhurst, all great areas for restaurant browsing, and the latter also pleasant for shopping. They're also all within very easy striking distance of Rosebank.

Farther North With its fortresslike homes and gated communities, the northern enclave of Sandton (now really a city in itself) is relatively safe but particularly dull. By day people are sequestered in offices or roaming the megalithic Sandton City mall, while the nightlife scene caters almost exclusively to the rich and unadventurous. Sandton holds the highest concentration of business and retail outlets, and while there are numerous upmarket restaurants, some snazzy anonymous hotels, and clubs for moneyed socialites, there's not much character here; staying in Sandton can be a numbing experience. Head farther north and you'll hit fast-expanding Fourways, a seemingly endless conglomeration of rambling cluster estates where an increasingly fearful population hides out. The only reason you might end up here is to lose money at the hideously ostentatious Montecasino complex, or to dine at one of the fine restaurants at the trendy Design Quarters.

Gone, but Not Forgotten

Sophiatown was once one of the most vibrant black suburbs in the city, where journalists, gangsters, and leaders like Mandela and Sisulu jived to legendary musicians like Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba. Considered a criminal and political hotbed, the entire suburb was razed to the ground in the 1950s, rebuilt for poor whites, and crassly renamed Triomf (Triumph) by the apartheid government. The only remaining Sophiatown building is the Church of Christ the King -- in a nod to some moral sensibility, apartheid's bulldozers were not allowed to flatten religious buildings -- but you can get some perspective on what was lost on a specialized tour of Sophiatown (west of Melville), run at certain times of the year by the Parktown & Westcliff Heritage Trust (tel. 011/482-3349; Mon-Fri 9am-1pm; www.parktownheritage.co.za).