Parktown Architecture Walk (Self Guided), Johannesburg, South Africa

Parktown Architecture Walk, Johannesburg

Parktown Architecture Walk (Self Guided), Johannesburg

For everyone who is interested in architecture, Parktown is an exceptional area to explore. It is the oldest and most elite district of the city and you will find stately buildings that date back to the late 19th century. There are some true gems among these somewhat imposing structures, such as The View 鈥� named for its once impressive views of the distant Magaliesberg 鈥� a Victorian-style house built in 1897. It has a rather ugly corrugated-iron roof, but the red brick walls give it a certain elegant splendor. The house, which is the oldest in Johannesburg, is now a museum so you can wander through it to admire the intricate plasterwork on the ceilings and the oak-paneled walls.

Another impressive building is Dolobran, which was built in 1905 and has a roof made of red tiles shipped here from the South of France, and amazing stained-glass windows. Northwards House was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and was built of Koppie stone by local craftsmen. Its rather cozy, homey air is a distinct contrast to Hazeldene Hall which was built in 1903 and boasts wrought-iron verandas imported from Scotland and the reputedly haunted North Lodge, built in 1906. Perhaps the most beautiful building in the area is Emoyeni, an English Renaissance-style stately home built in 1906, and now a Johannesburg Heritage Site.

How it works: A discovery walk features a route using which you can explore a popular city neighborhood on your own. This walk, along with other self-guided walks in over 1,500 cities, can be found on the app "51爆料网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" which can be downloaded from Apple App Store or Google Play Store to your mobile phone or tablet. The app's built-in GPS navigation functions allow following this walk route with ease. The app works both online and offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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Create Your Own Self-Guided Walks in Johannesburg

Guide Name: Parktown Architecture Walk
Guide Location: South Africa » Johannesburg
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Discovery)
Travel Distance: 3.0 Km or 1.9 Miles
Author: Linda

1) Saint Andrews Road, The View

2) Ridge Road, Hazeldene Hall

3) 15 Jubilee Road, Emoyeni

4) Jubilee Road, Gable End

5) 16 Victoria Avenue, Dolobran

6) 21 Rockridge Road, Northwards

7) 21 Rockridge Road, Northwards

8) Sherborne Road, Dysart House

9) 12 Seymour Avenue, House Gordon

Walking Tours in Johannesburg, South Africa

Create Your Own Walk in Johannesburg

Creating your own self-guided walk in Johannesburg is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.

Historical Buildings Walking Tour

Since founded in 1886, following the discovery of gold on what used to be farmland, Johannesburg has evolved into an economic powerhouse of Africa. While most of the city's early buildings adopted architectural styles from its colonial parent, the British Empire, some of them also emulated the prowess of New York City. Let's take a closer look at some of these construction marvels.

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Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 0.7 Km or 0.4 Miles

Johannesburg Introduction Walking Tour

Johannesburg, or Joburg, or "City of Gold", as it is often informally called, is South Africa's largest city. The area's original inhabitants included hunter-gatherers from the San tribes and the Ndebele, a tribe associated with the Zulu. A gold rush in 1884 lead to Johannesburg's founding in 1886. Within a decade, the population had grown to 100,000 inhabitants.

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Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.9 Km or 1.8 Miles

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