Evolving Johannesburg Walking Tour
While this tour stands on its own, it works even better as a follow up to our Understanding Johannesburg walking tour. While the Understanding Johannesburg tour focuses on the background history of the city, this tour focuses on the recent history of the late 20th and the 21st centuries. It provides insight into the contemporary culture and future development of the city. Together, the two half-day tours make for a perfect full day tour, of course with a lunch stop in between. Or two separate tours on different days.
The Evolving Johannesburg tour covers our recent storytelling theme – Changing Times (1973-2026). This tour is a must for anyone who wants to genuinely understand modern-day Johannesburg and South Africa. Of course, the highlight of the tour is recounting how South Africa moved ahead from an Apartheid-pariah state in 1990 to a respected constitutional democracy, led by Nelson Mandela in 1994. It is an inspiring story of incredible change that everyone should hear at least once.
Along the tour we delve into they hey days of the struggle against Apartheid, from the Soweto Uprising to the dawn of democracy. The bulk of our attention goes to how the inner-city has evolved during the democratic era. We take in the many regeneration initiatives, including the mass conversion of vacant buildings to residential apartments. We visit landmark regeneration projects such as Towers Main at Absa, and Jewel City – where the old diamond cutting district has been transformed into a thriving community, complete with pedestrian streets, retail spaces, apartments, offices, schools, astonishing street art and vibrant public spaces.
We also amble through Maboneng, a district that has seen astonishing regeneration efforts, then some decline once again, but that still boasts stellar street art, trendy cafes and a community that cherishes the urban lifestyle.
This tour covers the eastern half of the inner-city, the area that we call ‘East Town is Alive’ (whereas Understanding Johannesburg covers the western half, around Marshalltown).
RATES:
Only available as a private tour, 7-days a week (subject to availability) The tour lasts 4-hours and can be booked for a 9am or 2pm start.
Available as a private tour at a minimum of R3000 for up to 4 guests
(or R750 per person if you are more than 4 guests).
Any food, drinks, or shopping along the way for guests’ own account.
BOOK NOW:
To book your tour, send an email to gerald@localplaces.co.za or a WhatsApp to + 27 82 894 5216.
Please do not phone as we are mostly busy hosting guests.
Send a message and we will contact you as soon as is possible.
We will respond to your booking request and provide an online payment link for you to pay by bank card to secure the booking.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Guests participate in all LocalPlaces tours at their own risk. Neither LocalPlaces, nor its guides, accept any responsibility whatsoever for any injury, accident or death that may occur while participating in a LocalPlaces tour, whether in a public or a private space.
A tour booking is only secured upon payment.
Provisional bookings will automatically be cancelled if not paid within 48 hours from making a booking.
Bookings cannot be cancelled once paid for any reason whatsoever and no refunds will be offered for cancelled bookings.
Bookings can be postponed to another date if postponed more than 30 days in advance of the booked date. However, bookings cannot be postponed for any reason whatsoever within 30 days of the tour date, as we would lose the opportunity to take another booking for that slot.
STARTING POINT
We will stipulate the starting point for your tour in your booking confirmation letter. Most (but not all) tours start at the at JSE Newtown, 17 Diagonal Street (cnr Pritchard). We provide detailed directions of the safe route to drive if you come with your own car and need to park. However, we recommend that you Uber there.
SAFETY
We care for all our customers’ safety as our reputation depends on our guests feeling safe and enjoying their experiences. We have been doing tours safely in downtown Johannesburg for 13 years. Regardless of what your hotel receptionist, concierge or even other residents in the suburbs of Johannesburg, may tell you, it is safe to come on a walking tour in town. We would not recommend that you set out and go and explore on your own before having done a walking tour. As a tour will orientate you and give you the local streetwise knowledge of how to navigate the city and what to avoid. Gerald lived in the inner-city of Johannesburg for 10 years and loved walking around. Charlie lives in Maboneng on the eastern edge of the inner-city and loves it too!
Our starting point is carefully chosen so that we can meet safely in the foyer of a building and with our directions in the confirmation letter, you will know how to get there easily and simply. JSE Newtown is in Diagonal Street on the edge of the Southwestern Improvement District, opposite Bank City, the offices of First National Bank. It is the most beautiful, easily walkable and safest part of the city, with many security guards working for the many bank offices and for the improvement district in the area.
For private tour bookings, it is possible to arrange pick up and drop off from your hotel or accommodation, possibly for an additional fee, depending on location.
