Egoli might be one of South Africaโs more expensive cities, but if you know where to look there are a list of things to do in Johannesburg for free.
There are food markets (Bamboo Market, Bryanston Organic, Fourways Farmersโ, Market on Main), craft markets (Rosebank Rooftop), and interesting high streets (4th Avenue, Parkhurst, Melville, Greenside) that are all free – but they come with an invisible price tag as, for each, the temptation to stop and have, at least, a cup of coffee and a bagel is almost obligatory.
After splurging on a fancy Johannesburg Hotel, the following, however, are really free and give you access to some of the cityโs true beauty and history…
5 things to do in Johannesburg for free:
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Art galleries
Rosebank is a good place to start for culture vultures as one of the best contemporary art galleries in the country is here, the Goodman Gallery, and it isnโt far from the Everard Read and Circa on Jellicoe (two other free galleries). Top off your tour of things to do in Johannesburg for free by nipping into Braamfontein for the Wits Art Museum.
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Emmarentia Dam
The quintessential weekend picnic works perfectly on the banks of Emmarentia dam, alongside the Johannesburg Botanical Garden (which you can also tour for free). The lawns are extensive enough for ball games, and the waters are a favourite with kayakers.
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Museums
Museum Africa is a little jaded, but itโs still worth a visit.
And if that doesnโt hold your attention then the Workersโ Museum in Newtown, which covers the migrant history of Johannesburg on which the cityโs wealth is built, is also free of charge.
Chancellor House (in Fox Street, Ferreirasdorp), where Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo shared a law office in the 1950s, has its windows devoted to the story of apartheid, opposite the iconic boxing statue of Mandela by Marco Cianfanelli.
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Maboneng
Maboneng precinct started with Arts on Main and then expanded east along Fox Street and beyond, to Albertina Sisulu Road in an inner-city regeneration that has changed the cityโs idea of โdowntownโ. Its spaces are filled with re-developed buildings that house community projects, shops, markets, art galleries, a theatre, cinema and restaurants.
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Keep fit
Westcliff Steps, all 210 of them, are not only a series of particularly photogenic stone steps up to one of the greatest views in the city (on of our favourite things to do in Johannesburg for free), above Westcliff Drive, but the effort will have you out of breath way before your reach the top. Many of Johannesburgโs city parks have outdoor gyms. Look out for them at: Westdene Dam Park, Birdhaven, Zoo Lake, Soweto, Brixton and George Hay Park.
Explore Johannesburg
