Africa's Hottest Cities: Johannesburg & Cape Town
It's no secret that South Africa is one of the world's most beloved travel destinations — Scenery? Adventure? Luxury? Great Food? Beaches? Culture? Check, check, check — so it's only natural that its two largest cities are must-visits. Johannesburg is to New York what Cape Town is to LA (or perhaps San Francisco); and though they're but a two-hour flight away from each other, and two completely different worlds, both are equally worth a visit for their culinary scene, new neighborhoods, and hosting some of the most fabulous luxury hotels on the continent.
Keeping reading to get a brief low-down on two of the most "happening" cities in Africa in 2018.
JOHANNESBURG
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Eat
Joburg is slowly stepping outside of Cape Town's culinary shadow (the Western Cape region has a longstanding monopoly on all "Best Restaurants in South Africa" lists) to become a foodie heavyweight in its own right. Take Marble: a sexy restaurant-and-lounge concept in an upscale suburb. It's been buzzing internationally since 2016 for its swanky design, high-end grilled dishes, and vista-blessed cocktail bar.
Housed inside the cavernous Mad Giant Brewery near the heart of downtown, Urbanologi serves avant-garde interpretations of Japanese street food in sensational small plates — think teriyaki-poached sweet potato with goats' yogurt mousse and honeycomb.
For global street food and fun on a Saturday afternoon, Neighbourgoods Market is an absolute must. Sample tasty prawn dim sum, paella, vegan-baked treats, and everything in between in this top-rated food stall space, and then head upstairs to the terrace where DJ's are spinning and cocktail bar drinks are flowing among a young, hip, and diverse crowd.
Neighborhood Watch: Maboneng
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Johannesburg cool meets New York City's Williamsburg in the Maboneng Precinct, one of the world's finest neighborhood regeneration initiatives. What was once a derelict, semi-deserted neighborhood is now a hub for local African creatives and entrepreneurs; six-story high murals, funky boutique hotels, bars, and eclectic restaurants galore and there's no stopping its momentum. Elect for a walking tour with Past Experiences to get the low-down on the neighborhood's artistic and cultural delights; enjoy a rooftop cocktail at Living Room where the skyline is in full view; get front-row seats to Maboneng's fashionable people-watching with drinks and/or African-chic tapas at LoveRevo; spend Sunday afternoon in the Arts on Main market and shop, eat, drink, and mingle with stylish locals and travelers to your heart's content (it's a must); and book reservations for the upscale Marabi Jazz Club, one of the latest and hottest entertainment venues in the city which recently appointed international award-winning local chef Vusi Ndlovu to head the dinner menu.
Meeting Mandela
Though Cape Town's UNESCO-listed Robben Island gets much of the attention as a must-see Mandela site, there are plenty of top-rate choices in Johannesburg, too. The Apartheid Museum is a chilling, comprehensive look into the country's not-so-distant past, and Constitution Hill has preserved the former jail complex where Mandela and Gandhi were once detained (the existing complex is also now home to the highest judicial court in South Africa) and provides excellent tours of both spaces.
Liliesleaf Farm is a painfully underrated complex in the northern suburbs where Mandela and his secretive team plotted tactics to shake up the oppressive Apartheid regime in the early 1960's. It's now a state-of-the-art museum with interactive exhibits and actual rooms where Mandela slept and conducted his history-changing meetings.
Travelers can't resist getting a photo in front of the 20 ft-tall bronze statue of the world leader at Nelson Mandela Square (based in the swanky business and retail hub of Sandton) and downtown's equally tall Shadow Boxer statue with the young rebel poised to strike a punch. The Chancellor House, the site of Mandela's first law firm with its windows now converted into a public exhibition, is located directly across the street from the boxer statue.
Where to Stay
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Luxury travelers have long loved The Saxon Hotel & Spa, a palatial suburb icon that's housed everyone from Oprah, Bill Clinton, and Mandela himself.
Another alternative that feels just as secluded but closer to the city action is AtholPlace Hotel, a bijou nine-suite residential hotel just minutes from the ever-busy shopping and dining in Sandton. Their intimate AtholPlace Restaurant is a Relais & Chateaux member, so you can expect menu items like olive oil-poached prawns with smoked butterbean and compressed apple to hit the spot.
The best value in the city goes to the Maboneng-based Hallmark House, a new, chic inner-city boutique hotel that will only set travelers back $100 a night for swanky, contemporary rooms that would easily be $250 in London or New York.
CAPE TOWN
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Eat
The so-called "Mother City" is undeniably the mother of Africa's culinary scene. Luke Dale-Robert's The Test Kitchen is the only African eatery listed in the World's Top 50 Restaurants, and its forward-thinking, international plates keeps its reservation queue booked for months in advance. Luke's less formal but equally appealing spots include The Shortmarket Club, based downtown, and the small plate-focused Pot Luck Club, which sits above The Test Kitchen.
Also worth your while is the Kloof Street House, housed in a Victorian house with a fanciful courtyard garden. This is where the trendy crowd take in the buzzy vibes with drinks and/or fantastic dishes like ostrich fillet with butternut puree and gorgonzola frittata, and the South African seafood bouillabaisse.
Neighborhood Watch: The Silo District
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This is Cape Town's brand-new destination, and it's already an instant landmark thanks to the late 2017 opening of the so-called "Louvre" of Africa: Zeitz MOCAA gallery. Just above the six-story treasure trove of some of the continent's finest contemporary artists (and beyond) is the The Silo Hotel, which was one of the most anticipated luxury hotel openings in the world in 2017. If you can't front the $900/night rates for a standard-entry room, you can still have a smart cocktail or meal in the plush Willaston Bar, The Granary Cafe, and the so-popular-you-better-book-in-advance rooftop bar — with 360-degree views of Table Mountain, the urban skyline, the Atlantic, and beyond.
Also worth a visit is the Southern Guild, a design enthusiast's dream full of top-tier contemporary South African sculptures, furniture, paintings, and other visually-arresting works.
Where to Stay
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For the hottest hotel in town, with those stunning 'billowed' floor-to-ceiling windows made for Instagram fodder, The Silo Hotel is the place to stay. For a grand dame classic, check-in to one of Ellerman House's 13 elegantly-appointed rooms with its show-stopping cliff views of the Atlantic coast. For something even more exclusive, the opulent-yet-modern 21 Nettleton (just down the road from Ellerman) hosts just five spacious mansion suites overlooking the Table Mountain National Park and some of the world's best beaches. For maximum effect, let the staff serve you a G&T made from an artisanal South African gin brand, accompanied with daily canapes, while you take in the sunset views from their lush garden terrace, and begin your evening(s) in African bliss.
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Visit the South Africa Tourism website for more information.