South Africa Guide
Gauteng
The CBD
Johannesburg's CBD (Central Business District), the grid of streets and tightly packed skyscrapers just to the south of the Witwatersrand ridge, is the most recognizable part of the city. For a century after the first mining camp was built, on what is today Commissioner Street, the CBD was the core of Jo'burg's buzzing commercial and financial life. Then, in the 1980s and 1990s it became riddled with crime, precipitating a mass evacuation by businesses, shoppers, restaurants and tourists. When the Jo'burg Stock Exchange moved out in 1999 in favour of Sandton, the city centre was all but written off. However, with determined efforts over the last few years to regenerate the area precinct by precinct, many parts of the CBD are now not only safe, but are drawing businesses and tourists back. A visit offers the chance to see buildings and institutions with a fascinating history and get a taste of the bustle, sounds and thrills of a genuinely African city.
If you're coming into the city centre by car, park either underneath Gandhi Square or in the Carlton Centre nearby. Scheduled city buses from the northern suburbs terminate at Gandhi Square. Another good way to see the city centre is in the company of a guide: Dumela Africa ( 
073 255 8780, 
sayabona@gmail.com) offers expert walking tours of the downtown area as well as Jo'burg as a whole.
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