Things to Do in N12

Jozi’s magnificent world-class theatre always ensures that vistors receive a warm welcome when walking through the door.With its posh furnishings and luxuriant atmosphere, this lavishly styled 1 100-seat theatre recalls the opulence of the world's great opera houses.The Lyric is regarded as one of Jozi's top entertainment venues, presenting superlative Broadway and West End productions, local and international musicians, ballet, comedy and numerous shows. Tickets for all shows are available at Computicket or The Lyric Theatre Box Office on +27 (0)11 248 5168  ⁄ 5229 ⁄ 5000.

Gold Reef City Casino has a variety of superb restaurants along with unique entertainment. From the renowned Back O' The Moon restaurant and jazz bar, to Italian cuisine and Mediterranean magic, there is excellent variety to choose from. Carnivores won't find better value than Boston BBQ's incredible buffet dishes and the new Maestro Restaurant has a menu that offers something for everyone.In addition to the restaurants, there are a number of coffee shops and a Food Court with fast food outlets. You won't be hungry!

Firehouse, Exclusive Gift and Accessories DestinationFirehouse is an exclusive retail destination store for gifts and décor accessories stocking a selection of local and some imported products with a preference for locally produced and organic wares. Bringing to consumers and corporations unique products produced in South Africa. “We adore the talent of our local designers and support the up-liftment and sustainability of previously disadvantaged communities,” says co-owners Roberta Caon and Simona Panayiotou.Caon and Panayiotou have created a space of refined understated elegance filled with home essentials, luxuries, gifts and exclusive art pieces. The atmosphere instils serenity through colour, visual display and warm notes of world music. The visitor feels enticed to meander through the store thrilled by the discovery of each new item and pervaded by the feeling of “must have it, can’t leave without it”.Caon and Panayiotou aim to have fun while doing something that they are passionate about in an honest and fair way.“We believe in building long term relationships with suppliers and clients. We support local enterprise because we love the creativity that is on offer and we believe and encourage self employment and sustainability with respect for our people and our environment. We want to distinguish ourselves as a gift and decor store by offering products of design beauty created with love in our land, through suppliers that cultivate a philosophy of sustainable living and fair trade,” say Caon and Panayiotou.Firehouse offers an experience that the client will remember and share by offering beautiful and exclusive products with incredible customer service, during and after sales. The store is set apart through unique and gorgeous gift wrapping and presentation.The Firehouse team has put together a range of exclusive products and met with most of the product owners in person to establish a relationship and have established the history and culture of the companies with which they are doing business.

Hosting numerous electrifying performance and events, the Theatre of Marcellus is a superb multipurpose state of the art theatre. Situated at Emperors Palace adjacent to the casino floor, it is a popular venue for product launches and exclusive banquets. The theatre can accommodate over 900 people in cinema style seating and comfortably accommodates 500 for a banquet. The theatre harks to its namesake in Ancient Rome and features extensive international and local dance extravaganzas, musicals and plays. The impressive list of performers to have graced the stage includes Nataniël, Johnny Clegg, Steve Hofmeyr, Kurt Darren, Barry Hilton and Casper de Vries. Television productions for ‘Jerry Springer’s Saturday Night’, ‘Noot vir Noot’ and ‘Dis Hoe Dit Is’ have been filmed here and international shows ‘Tap Dogs’, ‘Bounce’ and ‘Earth, Wind and Fire’ have featured on the bill.

Africa's Greatest Shopping AdventureEastgate Shopping Centre is situated in the suburb of Bedfordview, on a prime site on the major freeway between Johannesburg International Airport and Johannesburg City Centre. Easily accessible from the high way, this super regional shopping centre is home to over 280 stores catering for all tastes and lifestyles. This ultimate shopping destination offers an out of this world retail experience, attracting an abundance of local and international shoppers. In addition to numerous smaller speciality stores, Eastgate is anchored by South Africa’s leading major retailers, including Checkers Hyper, Game, Edgars, Stuttafords and Woolworths.A large Ster Kinekor Cinema complex and a host of restaurants situated in an open air piazza area, make Eastgate the ideal venue of choice for the entire family. Eastgate’s evolution as a trend setting destination continues with the introduction of its high fashion quarter and action wear zone. “Eastgate offers everything for everyone, from popular brands, amazing Friday night entertainment and loads of fun for the entire family”. Eastgate Shopping Centre... Africa’s Greatest Shopping Adventure.

You'll find more than awesome cocktails at this buzzy, trendy spot in Rivonia. The News Café is a high street café and cocktail bar offering a unique, relaxed and entertaining dining experience. It's also very popular as an Internet venue.

Jozi's best live music and entertainment venue, restaurant and bar is smack in the middle of Bryanston. Kick back to cool tunes and tuck into traditional Argentinean, Italian or homestyle fare. Besides their a la carte menu, they have a variety of set, buffet, and snack menu's. They are fairly flexible with regards to the content of the menu, giving you the freedom to create your own meal. There's so much happening at this vibey spot and the programme changes almost daily. Live performances are mostly from local musicians and stand up comedians. Tanz Café have over 12 years experience in booking all the top South African bands, DJs and stand up comics so you are assured of receiving top quality entertainment from South Africa’s best talent. The Buzz Shopping Centre, corner of Witkoppen and Nerine Roads, Fourways.

The City of Gold's beloved theatre complex, now rebranded as The Joburg Theatre, houses four auditoria open to the public.The Mandela has a maximum seating capacity of 1,069. The Fringe is able to seat 251 and The Peoples is operated independently by Gill Girard and Keith Smith as the country's leading theatre for young children, offering seating for 176. The space.com is a versatile 'black box' environment.

Home to South African football, Soccer City is the stadium where the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony took place and where the final whistle was blown. South Africa’s national football stadium, Soccer City was built in 1987 and is headquarters to the South African Football Association. Host to the 1996 African Cup of Nations, Soccer City is South Africa’s prime football venue and it will be the most important venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup – the kick-off site for the opening and the final match. The original seating capacity for 80 000 people was enlarged to accommodate 94 700 people. Along with this, the precinct now has a fully functional transport hub including a railway station. The rail system will serve future industrial, commercial and residential developments planned for the area after the football tournament. Besides the rail station, the transport hub has taxi, bus and rail drop off and pick up points. The total public transport capacity of the hub is projected to be 23 280 an hour. Why we love it? Soccer City is the main match venue for South Africa’s football squad, Bafana Bafana, as well as the simmering contests between local Soweto club rivals, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

Shop till you drop, get a bite or catch a show. Be spoilt for choice at Fourways Mall, a large retail shopping centre with cinema complex, supermarket, restaurants offering a unique and exciting shopping experience to the community and tourists alike. Fourways is conveniently situated in the heart of one of Jozi's most prestigious suburbs with easy access to the N1 freeway connecting Johannesburg and Pretoria as well as excellent link ups to Johannesburg International Airport.

Sandton Convention Centre is one of southern Africa’s most technologically advanced, multi-purpose convention venues.The twelve-storey building is designed to provide a range of convention, exhibition, meeting and special event space.Conveniently situated in the hub of Sandton's business, hotel and entertainment district, the centre offers easy access to over 5 000 hotel rooms.It also lies in Gauteng's top shopping and entertainment regions. Parking is never a problem with over 11 000 secure parking bays.

This incredibly popular square with its impressive statue of Nelson Mandela is an awesome place to chill between frenetic bouts of shopping. Relax at one of the many surrounding restaurants, enjoy the sunshine, and watch open air performances and the passing traffic of people. The square incorporates a theatre, a library and is attached to the well-known Sandton City Shopping Mall. A must on your trip to Jozi!

Friendship, good food, wine and brilliant entertainment – the Barnyard Theatre in Broadacres is where it all comes together. The first Barnyard Theatre started as a homely, rustic farm theatre in Plettenberg Bay where friends and family could be entertained and eat, drink and talk into the small hours of the morning. It proved to be such a winner that more Barnyard Theatres started popping up all over the country. There are currently 12 Barnyard Theatres in South Africa. While each theatre is a product of its individual setting, they all retain the quaint rustic charm of the original farm theatre’s humble beginning.

The Coca Cola Dome is one of South Africa's most versatile venues with features that are suitable for both large and small scale events. The ground level 12 500m² floor space can be adapted to present an amazing variety of exhibitions. It is also a popular live concerts venue with space for 18 000 people standing or 12 000 people seated. Up to 4 000 people can be seated for banquets. The 2 500m² mezzanine level boasts five hospitality suites ideal for conference breakaway rooms, media offices, cocktail functions, VIP dinners or board meetings.

Situated in the heart of Jozi, Coca-Cola Park was the leading venue for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup with the opening ceremony and final game taking place there. And in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Coca-Cola Park hosted five first round matches, a second round match and one of the quarter-finals. Home turf of the Golden Lions, Super 14, Lions, Orlando Pirates Football Club and also the premier concert event in South Africa, Coca-Cola Park was formerly known as Ellis Park Stadium. In 1995 rugby fever hit the country with South Africa's hosting of the Rugby World Cup, the biggest event on the global rugby calendar. Coca-Cola Park was the venue for the Rugby World Cup Final which was played on 24 June 1995. In this spectacular final, New Zealand and South Africa ran onto the field at 14:45 to a thunderous roar of 62 000 spectators and millions of spectators glued in front of their televisions. South Africa won this game 15-12 after extra time was allowed. Coca-Cola Park and the quality of rugby it represents became the symbol of South Africa's achievement as a nation united.

Cresta Centre is conveniently placed in the middle of the affluent residential suburbs between Sandton, Randburg and the Johannesburg CBD.The extensive, elegant mall features three levels – each one offering an extravagant assortment of contemporary products, services and entertainment.Upbeat and market driven, this proactive 33-year old shopping centre has sustained its reputation in an environment that has an overabundance of retail choices.Easy parking and accessibility, an upbeat atmosphere and a diverse selection of merchandise continue to make it a popular one-stop shopping experience all under one roof.Opening hours:Monday to Thursday open until 18:00Friday until 19:00, Saturday until 18:00 and Sunday until 15:00Public Holidays open until 15:00Selected major and national stores trade over and above the stated hoursEntertainment venues, restaurants and sidewalk cafes are open daily till late

Situated in the heart of Sandton, The Blues Room is an upmarket nightclub and restaurant delivering up live blues, jazz, fusion, comedy, and sometimes even rock 'n' roll.

Prepare to be deeply moved and overwhelmed by the striking Apartheid Museum. Situated opposite Gold Reef City, this interactive museum graphically testifies to the horrors and downfall of the Apartheid regime through extensive multi-media exhibits.Anyone who grew up during the Apartheid era should make their pilgrimage for this uncensored look at government-endorsed racism. On view is the footage that people around the globe were able to view except South Africans themselves. And if you were lucky enough to be born since democracy reshaped our nation, then this is a great resource to understand how we became a unity.Visitors are welcome to make a recording of their experiences under Apartheid or donate items such as photos and passbooks that are now deemed ‘artefacts’. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

The Globe Theatre offers a variety of entertaining musical variety shows and comedy. The cosy and informal environment provides cocktail seating, a full-service bar and an appetizing menu of light food and drink.Boasting a colourful past, Jozi's original Globe Theatre opened in the early 1890s and was renamed the Empire Palace of Varieties. For a while it hosted the first moving picture shows in South Africa. Gandhi launched his campaign of ‘passive resistance’ here in 1907. The present day Globe Theatre is a replica of the original erected at Gold Reef City.

Home to cricket team Griqualand West, De Beers Diamond Oval was formerly the De Beers Country Club and Kimberley Country Club. The 11 000-seater stadium hosted three matches during the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup.