Places to Stay in Johannesburg

As befits the nation’s ‘Soccer Capital’, Johannesburg is where it is all happening in the 2010 World Cup. It hosts 10 Group games, 2 Round of 16 ties, 2 of the Quarter Finals and the Final. If you include the fixtures scheduled for Pretoria and Rustenberg, both within striking distance, 27 games are accessible if you base yourself in Jo’Burg – that’s over 40% of all the ties in the competition. And it’s not a bad place to base yourself. It doesn’t have the spectacular setting of a Cape Town or the balmy climate of a Durban – in fact, it can get downright cold at night – but does have some of the country’s leading cultural attractions, great restaurants, bars and clubs and some of South Africa’s iconic sites, such as Kruger and Sun City, are not too far away. And don’t let the it reputation for crime put your off. Things have improved and the Government’s crackdown on crime continues apace, so with some sensible precautions you should find your visit incident free.

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Stadium

A. Soccer City (capacity: 94,700) & B. Ellis Park (capacity: 61,000)

World Cup Games in Johannesburg

Soccer City

Friday, 11th June 4pm, Game 1 - Group A, South Africa vs. Mexico

Monday, 14th June 1.30pm, Game 9 - Group E, Netherlands vs. Denmark

Thursday, 17th June 8.30pm, Game 20 - Group B, Argentina vs. Korea Republic

Sunday, 20th June 8.30pm, Game 29 - Group G, Brazil vs. Cote d'Ivoire

Wednesday, 23rd June 8.30pm, Game 39, Group D, Ghana vs. Germany

Sunday, 27th June 8.30pm, Game 52, Round of 16, 1A vs. 2B (winner = 2)

Friday, 2nd July 8.30pm, Game 58, Quarter Final, 1 vs. 3 (winner = A)

Sunday, 11th July, 8.30pm, Game 64, Final, I vs II

Ellis Park

Saturday, 12th June 1.30pm, Game 3 - Group B, Argentina vs. Nigeria

Tuesday, 15th June 8.30pm, Game 14 - Group G, Brazil vs. Korea DPR

Friday, 18th June 4pm, Game 22 - Group C, Slovenia vs. USA

Monday, 21st June 8.30pm, Game 32 - Group H, Spain vs. Honduras

Thursday, 24th June 4pm, Game 41, Group F, Slovakia vs. Italy

Monday, 28th June 8.30pm, Game 54, Round of 16, 1G vs. 2H (winner = 7)

Saturday, 3rd July 8.30pm, Game 60, Quarter Final, 6 vs. 8 (winner = D)

Weather in Johannesburg

The good news is that despite the fact it’s Winter, Johannesburg enjoys clear, warm-ish weather in June and July with highs of 18°C (similar to May/June over here) and very little rain. In fact, you’re likely to enjoy more hours of sunshine than you would if you were visiting in the Summer months. The problem is, you’re in the Highveld here and temperatures will plunge after sunset (about 5.30 at this time of year) and frosts are not uncommon. If you're 'ard enought to head down the pub in a t-shirt in January at home, you'll be fine, otherwise take a jacket.

Things to do in Johannesburg

There’s no getting away from the fact that South Africa is synonymous with apartheid (which means ‘separateness’ in Afrikaans) and the Apartheid Museum (Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, R40) charts the history of this blot on the country’s history from its introduction in 1948 to its dissolution at the multi-racial elections of 1994.

On a related note, Constitution Hill and the Constitutional Court (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm, Saturday 10am to 3pm, R22), South Africa’s supreme court, is well worth a visit. Visitors can learn about the South Africa’s path to democracy, can walk along the ramparts of the Old Fort Prison complex, which incarcerated such notables as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Ghandi, and read (and add to) messages on the ‘We are the People’ wall.

Once you’ve familiarised yourself with the recent past, why not take a leap back about 200,000 years and visit the Origins Centre (every day 9am to 5pm, R60). Amongst other things you can see the oldest image made by man (found in South Africa) and witness the oldest known ritual still practiced today – the San/Bushman trance dance.

For something a little less intellectual (unless your into the minutiae of brewing processes that is), we’d recommend a visit to World of Beer (Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm, R25).South African Breweries is the country’s largest beer producer (they make Castle) and the WoB experience includes exhibitions charting the history of beer and the brewing process, ending with a couple of chilled ones in the tap room.

No trip to Johannesburg is complete without a visit to neighbouring Soweto. This township is a thriving city of 1 million in itself and like any city, it houses both extremes of the social scale – from Soweto’s very own ‘millionaires’ row’ to the most basic of corrugated iron shanties. We’d suggest you take a tour rather than try to explore yourself – it’s much safer – and try to take in at least one shebeen. These ‘informal’ drinking establishments manage to elude the authorities and give you a real feel for local life.

Nightlife in Johannesburg

Johannesburg offers loads of nightlife possibilities and where you head just depends on what sort of night you fancy.

Those of you who prefer an executive box and a prawn sandwich will probably want to head up to one of the classier hubs such as Melrose, Rosebank or Sandton.

The ‘cheap seats and chips’ brigade may be better advised to head to Newtown – a real cultural melting pot a world away from the more genteel suburbs of the north.

And for a really earthy experience head to Soweto to experience shebeens, both legal and illegal. But don’t go on your own – if you befriend a local, then fine, otherwise take one of the guided shebeen tours available and you won’t even have to worry about your taxi home.