A decade ago downtown Johannesburg was a no-go area of high-rise slums, violent crime and streets filled with trash. Now, many parts of downtown are bursting with chic shops, trendy restaurants, cutting-edge galleries and edgy hotels, thanks to young creatives who’ve transplanted from the suburbs and spurred urban renewal efforts. Downtown, which was never high on travellers’ itineraries, is now attracting a new wave of urban tourists.
So how did downtown make such a dramatic transformation? In the 1980s the withdrawal of foreign investment in South Africa led to the movement of businesses out of the CBD, an exodus which continued into the post-Apartheid years and left the inner city to suffer years of urban decay and neglect. That was until a massive clean up operation took place a few years ago, followed by the move by intrepid developers to buy up derelict properties and convert them into student accommodation, loft apartments, offices, restaurants and shops.
On the edge of the Central Business District (CBD), Braamfontein, which is just next to the city’s largest university, WITS, was an easy target for property developers, as there was a serious lack of student housing. A few years ago a property development group created thousands of student apartments from unused buildings and the bars, shops and restaurants have followed. Now, the area has been dubbed the South African version of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg, with designer restaurants offering artisanal food. There’s specialist pizza joint 86 Public, Ramen, a Japanese noodle bar, whimsical eatery Daleahs, deli-style café Love Food and minimalist coffee shops such as Father Coffee and Post that look like they’re straight out of an uber-trendy magazine.
Saturday is the best day to be in Braamies (locals’ affectionate nickname), when the Neighbourgoods food market, with stalls selling everything from Belgian waffles to gourmet burgers, takes place in a former office block. The hip crowd moves from the market to The Beach across the road, landlocked Joburg’s answer to a sunny day hangout: beach chairs and umbrellas on a sandy rooftop with a DJ and bar.
In terms of nightlife, Braamies has a mix of grungy-cool and upmarket bars and loads of live music gigs. Randlords, an exclusive, swanky bar open mainly for private events, has public openings once a month and offers some of the city’s most spectacular views from its rooftop terrace, while hipster-populated bars Great Dane and Kitchener’s Carvery Bar get going late in the evening and play host to the city’s best known and underground bands and DJs. Late partiers can stay the night at budget contemporary-chic hotels Lamunu and the Bannister across the road: they’re almost the same price as a taxi to a hotel in the suburbs.
To read the rest of the article on AFKTravel.com, click here.
