Sandton is one of the most prestigious suburbs in South Africa, let alone Johannesburg. It’s more than an opulent residential and designer shopping Mecca, however, as this section of northern Joburg is also one of the most important (if not the most important) financial and business districts in South Africa. It is here where you’ll find the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) which is, admittedly, not high up on tourists’ agenda, but is a point of interest.

It’s also interesting to note that Sandton’s reputation for wealth is not new; it’s been home to the city’s rich and famous since Joburg first rose up out of dust of the gold rush. It was known as the mink and manure district. The only difference now is that the stink of manure from the well-kept horses and carriages has given way to the stink of diesel fumes from suburban SUVs.

Combining money and the high fashion are two of Joburg’s most popular tourist attractions: Sandton City and Nelson Mandela Square.

Sandton City has long been known as the premiere shopping destination in South Africa. Its reputation beats anything from Cape Town into a cocked hat. You’ll find nearly 300 designer stores and restaurants within its vast interior and should all that shopping leave you exhausted you can simply go right next door and check into the five-star Sandton Hotel. As an extra bonus, the centre is a short walk from the Sandton Gautrain Station, so after you’ve dined finely and shopped mightily you can get to the airport speedily.

A quick fun fact: did you know that Sandton City narrowly escaped being called Knoppieslaagte City Shopping Centre? With a name like that, one seriously doubts that it would have attracted the likes of Jenni Button, Hugo Boss and Tanzanite International to rent floor space.

Nelson Mandela Square is right next to Sandton City and is where you’ll find outstanding al fresco and indoor restaurants, as well as even more four- and five-star hotels. It used to be called Sandton Square but when a 6m bronze statue of Nelson Mandela was unveiled the name was changed. It shows the iconic figure doing his iconic Madiba Jive. Unfortunately, it looks as though he’s over-indulged over the holiday season and is hiding mince pies in his cheeks. It’s not a very good likeness, but as South Africans are proud of anything to do with the great man, it will certainly do.

Also within spitting distance of the shopping centre and the square is the Sandton Convention Centre, which hosts some of the biggest international events and shows that come to South Africa’s shores. The centre can host several large scale events, conferences and shows at the same time with 13 special meeting rooms, a pavilion which can seat 4500 guests and a ballroom which can seat 2000 guests. There are two main exhibition levels and the total space occupies 12 whopping great big storeys.

Sandton is not a suburb that does things in half measures; when it decides to go large, it goes very large indeed. This means that if you’re not content to whiz about on the Gautrain, you should find the biggest rental car in Johannesburg and cruise along Sandton with the other Jeeps, Land Rovers and Ford Explorers.

(Image by Marc_Smith, CC by 2.0, via Flickr)