Nothing sums up the changing fortunes of inner-city Jo'burg better than Ponte City, which can be visited on tours with Dlala Nje. This 54-storey cylindrical skyscraper was hijacked in the late 1980s by squatters and rapidly declined into a vertical urban slum. Flash forward a couple of decades – the building's owner, Kempston, has taken back control and refurbished the structure, which is now safe and home to an ethnically mixed community of working- and middle-class South Africans.
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Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.9 MILES
Do not leave Jo'burg without visiting Constitution Hill. One of South Africa's most important historical sites, the deeply moving and inspirational…
4.42 MILES
The Apartheid Museum illustrates the rise and fall of South Africa’s era of segregation and oppression, and is an absolute must-see. It uses a broad…
23.42 MILES
One of the most significant archaeological sites in the world, Sterkfontein Caves include a permanent hominid exhibit and a walkway down into the…
9.74 MILES
This powerful museum, named after the 12-year-old boy shot dead during the student protests in Soweto on 16 June 1976, illuminates the role of Sowetan…
28.38 MILES
Partly housed in a building that looks like a giant grassy mound on one side and shiny modern steel on the other, Maropeng is an all-in-one information…
0.86 MILES
Inaugurated in 2004, with its design based on the African concept of 'justice under a tree', the Constitutional Court is a very real symbol of modern…
10.11 MILES
A highlight of Jo'burg's northern suburbs is Liliesleaf Farm. This was the secret headquarters of the ANC (African National Congress) from 1961 until a…
12.02 MILES
Opposite one of the schools from which students marched on 16 June 1976 is this stunning open-air memorial to the bloody events that presaged the Soweto…
Nearby Johannesburg attractions
0.55 MILES
The 269m Telkom Tower is a landmark in Hillbrow, but it's not open to the public.
0.74 MILES
This 10-storey-tall mural by Capetonian street artist Freddy Sam (aka Ricky Lee Gordon) is inspired by the famous photo taken by Robert Gosani of Madiba…
0.76 MILES
Fenced off from the southern end of sketchy Joubert Park is this elegant Lutyens-designed gallery dating from 1915. The JAG has one of the largest art…
0.86 MILES
Inaugurated in 2004, with its design based on the African concept of 'justice under a tree', the Constitutional Court is a very real symbol of modern…
0.87 MILES
These old brick buildings of what used to be a steam-powered laundry have been transformed recently into studios for artists and artisans. The site is…
0.88 MILES
Standing out against the more modern warehouse conversions in Maboneng is this former pub dating from 1902. The handsome whitewashed building now hosts a…
0.89 MILES
Occupying a series of small whitewashed rooms on the upper floor of the building, Hazard is a contemporary gallery exhibiting emerging pan-African arts as…
0.9 MILES
Do not leave Jo'burg without visiting Constitution Hill. One of South Africa's most important historical sites, the deeply moving and inspirational…