Why go
- Largest city in South Africa.
- 1 curated must-see attraction on record, including Nelson Mandela Houghton Estate.
- Served by Rand Airport (QRA).
History
Johannesburg, colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "the City of Gold", is the capital city of the province of Gauteng and the largest city in South Africa. In 2022, the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality had a population of 4,803,262, and the wider metropolitan area a population of 15,099,422, making it one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. It is also the seat of the country's highest court, the Constitutional Court. Situated on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand, the city has long been at the epicentre of the international mineral and gold trade. The richest city in Africa by GDP and private wealth, Johannesburg functions as the economic capital of South Africa and is home to the continent's largest stock exchange, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Must-see attractions
Airports
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 49 airlines, 81 direct destinations
- South African Airways SA (A319, ER3, A320, A330-200, A340-300, 737-800…) · 68 routes: Abu Dhabi, Accra, Addis Ababa*, Antananarivo*, Bangkok*, Beira*, Blantyre, Bloemfontein*, Brazzaville, Bulawayo*, Cairo*, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar Es Salaam, Dubai*, Durban, East London, Entebbe, Frankfurt, Gaberone*, George, Harare, Hoedspruit*, Hong Kong, Kasane*, Kigali, Kimberley*, Kinshasa, Lagos, Libreville, Lilongwe, Livingstone, London, Luanda, Lubumashi*, Lusaka, Mahe, Manzini*, Maputo, Maseru* … +28 more
- British Airways BA (734, 737-300, 737-800, A380, 747-400) · 9 routes: Cape Town*, Durban*, Harare*, Livingstone*, London, Plaisance*, Port Elizabeth*, Victoria Falls*, Windhoek*
- Air Mozambique TM (Dash 8-400, ERJ-145, 735, Embraer 190) · 6 routes: Beira, Inhambane, Maputo, Nampula, Tete, Vilankulu
- Mango JE (737-800, 737-300) · 5 routes: Cape Town, Durban, George, Port Elizabeth, Zanzibar
- US Airways US (A340-300, A340-600, A330-200) · 5 routes: Dakar, Frankfurt, London, Munich, New York
- Air Botswana BP (ATR 72, ATR 42) · 4 routes: Francistown, Gaberone, Kasane, Maun
- Comair MN (737-800) · 4 routes: Cape Town, Durban, East London, George
- Air Zimbabwe UM (762, 732) · 3 routes: Bulawayo, Harare, Victoria Falls
- Ethiopian Airlines ET (737-800, A319, A320, 777-200LR) · 3 routes: Addis Ababa, Blantyre, Windhoek*
- Qatar Airways QR (787-8) · 3 routes: Cape Town, Doha, Maputo
- Alitalia AZ (A330-200, A380) · 2 routes: Abu Dhabi, Paris*
- Asiana Airlines OZ (777-200) · 2 routes: Cape Town*, Singapore*
- Kenya Airways KQ (A319, 737-800, 767-300, 737-700) · 2 routes: Nairobi, Windhoek
- Lufthansa Cargo LH (A330-200, A340-300, A340-600, A380) · 2 routes: Frankfurt, Munich*
- Qantas QF (A340-300, A340-600, 747-400) · 2 routes: Perth*, Sydney
- Singapore Airlines Cargo SQ (777-200) · 2 routes: Cape Town, Singapore
- Turkish Airlines TK (330) · 2 routes: Cape Town, Istanbul
- United Airlines UA (A340-300, A340-600) · 2 routes: Dakar*, New York*
- Virgin Australia VA (777-200) · 2 routes: Cape Town*, Singapore*
- VivaColombia 5Z (BEH) · 2 routes: ELL, Margate
- Air Austral UU (737-800) · 1 route: St.-denis
- Air France AF (A380) · 1 route: Paris
- Air India Limited AI (A330-200) · 1 route: Mumbai*
- Air Madagascar MD (737-300) · 1 route: Antananarivo
- Air Mauritius MK (A319, A340-300) · 1 route: Plaisance
- Air Namibia SW (A319, ER3) · 1 route: Windhoek
- Air Seychelles HM (A330-200) · 1 route: Mahe*
- American Airlines AA (380, 747-400) · 1 route: London*
- Baikotovitchestrian Airlines BU (A320) · 1 route: Lubumashi
- Cathay Pacific CX (747-400) · 1 route: Hong Kong
- Delta Air Lines DL (777-200LR) · 1 route: Atlanta
- Egyptair MS (330) · 1 route: Cairo
- El Al Israel Airlines LY (767-300) · 1 route: Tel-aviv
- Emirates EK (777-300ER) · 1 route: Dubai
- Etihad Airways EY (A330-200) · 1 route: Abu Dhabi
- Hainan Airlines HU (A330-200) · 1 route: Abu Dhabi
- Interair South Africa D6 (732) · 1 route: Ndola
- Jet Airways 9W (A330-200) · 1 route: Mumbai
- JetBlue Airways B6 (A340-600) · 1 route: New York
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL (777) · 1 route: Amsterdam
- Rwandair Express WB (737-700) · 1 route: Kigali
- Saudi Arabian Airlines SV (777-200) · 1 route: Jeddah
- Swiss International Air Lines LX (A330-300, A340-300) · 1 route: Zurich
- TAAG Angola Airlines DT (777-200) · 1 route: Luanda
- TAM Brazilian Airlines JJ (A330-200, A340-300, A340-600) · 1 route: Sao Paulo
- Thai Airways International TG (777) · 1 route: Bangkok
- Transaero Airlines UN (A340-600) · 1 route: London
- Virgin Atlantic Airways VS (A340-600) · 1 route: London
- World Scale Airlines W3 (A330-200) · 1 route: Lagos
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 3 airlines, 2 direct destinations
- Comair MN (737-800) · 2 routes: Cape Town, Durban
- Mango JE (737-800) · 1 route: Cape Town
- South African Airways SA (737-800) · 1 route: Cape Town
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Where things are
Photographs
credit: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons · See source page
When to go
The warmer, longer-day half of the southern-hemisphere year.
Milder and quieter, with better value.
The southern winter — check local conditions before travelling.
Getting there & around
Getting there. The nearest airport on record is Rand Airport (QRA); 30 other airports serve the wider area. Check rail and road links from the tourism sources below. By air: JNB has direct flights to 81 destinations on 49 airlines (incl. Cape Town, London, Windhoek, Abu Dhabi, Durban…).
Getting around. Use the map above to orient yourself; nearby hotels, attractions and places to eat are listed from the live Ultimate data for Johannesburg, South Africa. Local transit details will be added as the guide is expanded.
Coaches & shuttles
Private aviation
On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.