Fashion District & Little Addis
A fascinating, 4-hour, immersion into the migrant communities of the inner-city, coupled with some of the most exciting shopping you can imagine. This is by far our own favourite tour of the inner-city. The area is frenetic and bristling with energy. The tour is highly recommended once you have done one of our introductory tours such as Understanding Johannesburg or East Town is Alive.
Starting off with a storytelling on the history of the city, we head northeast to the historic garment district, today repositioned as the Fashion District. We visit the Fashion Kapitol and Fashion District Wholesalers, known for its Shweshwe fabrics, as well as Pan-African fabric stores. We pop into the studio of one of the best leather bag makers in town and then head to Little Addis, the Ethiopian Quarter. Here we discover buildings full of mazes of shops and sample everything from the best Ethiopian coffee or beer, to delectable Ethiopian injera with toppings. This walk is a cultural immersive experience that uncovers the fascinating migrant history and communities of the city – and it shows the crucial role migrants play in the economy and regeneration of the city.
Duration:
This tour lasts 4 hours and can be booked for 9am or 2pm starts. The tour is NOT available on Sundays as shops in this area are closed on Sundays.
Rates:
Only available as a private tour at a minimum of R3100 for up to 4 guests
(or R775 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 JoburgPlaces tours at their own risk. Neither JoburgPlaces, nor its guides, accept any responsibility whatsoever for any injury, accident or death that may occur while participating in a JoburgPlaces 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.
