Johannesburg
Monograms provides travelers access to a Local Host®, so you will have someone on hand to answer those vacation questions pertaining to Johannesburg, South Africa. No waiting in line at the concierge desk or trying to ask your waitress at breakfast directions to the shopping district. Simply ask your Local Host® about Johannesburg and you'll be on your way in no time. Plus, your Local Host® will share local Johannesburg and South Africa insights and share suggestions for getting off the beaten path, leaving you more time to create lasting vacation memories that are yours alone.
Meet a Local Host®
Ian is a proud South African who has been guiding since 1999. Ian loves animals and over the years he has obtained a comprehensive knowledge of the animals of South Africa, their habits and environments; especially whales, great white sharks and elephants. Ian’s diverse career history stretches from working in the largest winery in South Africa, owning and running an advertising company for 10 years, to selling power transmission equipment from USA. As a tour-guide Ian feels he has found his niche in life and that is to show visitors a truly wonderful country!
Newtown
Newtown Cultural Precinct is where some of Johannesburg’s hot and happening cultural scene can be found. At the heart of Newtown sits the famous Museum Africa as well as the Market Theatre complex. Newtown is part of the inner city regeneration project and promises to be Joburg’s most popular tourist hotspot.
Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens
This nature reserve features over 600 species of flowering plants, 210 species of birds, as well as a number of reptiles and small mammals.
Days of Gold
Spend a day at the famous Gold Reef City, where you can go underground on a mine exploration and relive the old gold rush days of Johannesburg.
Union Buildings
Designed by British architect Sir Herbert Baker Built in 1913 to accommodate the offices of the Prime Minister the buildings now house the offices of the State President. Set in terraced gardens modeled on the famous Villa d’Este at Tivoli near Rome, Italy, you can take in magnificent views of the city or visit the Delville Wood memorial commemorating South African soldiers who died in the Battle of Delville Wood in World War I.
In nearby Pretoria
Kruger House
President Paul Kruger lived in a house situated just three blocks from Church Square, from 1884 until 1900. The Victorian gabled house – which represents a simplified version of the neo-Gothic style - is a museum and displays his furniture, stagecoach, private railway coach and all of his personal effects. A few hundred meters to the west, is Pretoria’s Old Cemetery, Helde Akker (heroes’ acre) where President Kruger lies buried.
Museum Heartland
Pretoria offers a number of fantastic museums, grouped together as Museum Park. Why not visit the Natural Cultural History Museum of Science and Technology, the Transvaal Museum and the GeoScience Museum, to mention just a few.
Voortrekker Monument Heritage Site
Perched conspicuously on top of one of the many hills that surround the city of Pretoria, is the imposing Voortrekker Monument. This enormous granite construction commemorates the Voortrekkers (pioneers) who trekked from the Cape, between 1835 and 1854, in search of independence from British rule.
Tswaing Meteorite Crater
Situated 40 km to the northwest of Pretoria, the Tswaing Meteorite Crater is known as the Pretoria Saltpan. One of the best-preserved meteorite craters in the world, this crater is home to a few stone artifacts of the Late Stone Age as well as an impressive wetland.