Quantcast
Channel: CNN.com - RSS Channel - App Travel Section
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 11157

CNNGo in Johannesburg: Haunted past, happening present

$
0
0
This month, CNNGo visits South Africa's largest city and one of its most exciting -- home to radical theater, apartheid relics and a museum of beer

Johannesburg, or more commonly Joburg, may not be one of the rainbow nation's unusual three capital cities but it sure feels like one -- it's South Africa's largest metropolis and the hub of its wealthiest province.

This month, CNN's roving travel show CNNGo visited Joburg's lively art spaces, some moving reminders of the country's divided past and a hotel renowned for its hearty cooking and high-minded clientele.

Here are five highlights from the show:

Constitution Hill

History in its bricks.

Built in 1893, the building known as Constitution Hill was formerly a fort and then a prison where Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, among many other political activists, were held.

In the mid-1990s, it became post-apartheid South Africa's new Constitutional Court.

Its fraught history endures in its current construction -- the court chamber and two of the staircases in the building are made from bricks recycled from the remand block of the old prison. 

Constitution Hill, Braamfrontein 2017, Johannesburg; +27 11 381 3100


MORE: 4 nuggets of Joburg history

Newtown

Dissident theater ... and the history of beer.

Newtown -- where some of the first forced removals of non-white South Africans took place under apartheid -- is now one of the country's hubs of culture, food and entertainment.

Market Theater -- known for its dissident productions under apartheid -- and Museum Africa, which chronicles the continent's first civilizations, are among the most significant attractions in the area.

The neighborhood is also the home to the Sci-Bono science discovery center, popular with kids, and the SAB World of Beer, which is probably more popular with adults.

Other nightlife and music venues abound in this lively part of the city.

Find out more about Newtown on the district's official website.


Neighbourgoods Market

Cupcake towers are only one eye-widening attraction.

Founded in 2011, this punningly named market opens every Saturday.

As well as supplying farm produce and goods such as cakes and artisanal chocolates, the market's also renowned as a hangout for the local community.

A spectacular 15-story mural by the late South African artist Eduardo Villa is a conversation starter, too.

Neighbourgoods Market, 73 Juta St., Braamfontein, Johannesburg; open every Saturday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.


READ: Cycling in Soweto: 5 things you won't see from a car

44 Stanley

Shopping buzz replaces industrial clang.

Starting life in the 1930s as a cluster of industrial buildings, 44 Stanley is now a collection of around 25 boutiques, cafes and antiques and design stores.

Once housing the garages of the Automobile Association, the shady, tree-lined arcades and courtyards are notable these days for their calm and friendly atmosphere.

44 Stanley Avenue, Johannesburg; +27 11 482 1082


Troyeville Hotel

Hearty food meets high-minded ideas.

The Troyeville is about equally famous for the artists and political activists who've stayed there, as for the hearty Portuguese cuisine it's served up to them.

Operating as a hotel since the 1930s, the Troyeville's intellectually inclined gatherings remain legendary for good food and conversation.

The Troyeville Hotel, 25 Bezuidenhout St., Troyeville, Johannesburg; +27 11 402 7709


MORE: iReport Assignment: Send us your best pics of Johannesburg

Guests

Siya Mthembu, musician, The Brother Moves On

Nechama Brodie, author, "The Joburg Book"

Dario D'Angeli, chef, Cube Tasting Kitchen

Thandiswa Mazwai, musician

Shaldon Kopman, designer, Naked Ape

Soundtrack

"Bring the World to its Knees" -- Dan Patlanksy

"My Shoulder" -- Motel Mari

"It Won't Be Easy" -- Motel Mari

"Funk Afrika Vana Vevhu" -- Thandiswa

"Lahlumlenze" -- Thandiswa

"Miss Owee" -- Dan Patlansky

"Abenguni" -- Thandiswa

"See You Later" -- Motel Mari

"Iyeza" -- Thandiswa

"Daddy's Old Gun" -- Dan Patlansky

"Parktown" -- Brother Moves On



Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 11157

Trending Articles