Sandton, a northern suburb of Johannesburg, is one of the wealthiest areas in Africa if not the planet.
Established in the 1960s as a residential area for whites, Sandton grew in the 1990s with the "white flight" of people and money from Johannesburg's old Central Business District. Now Sandton is an area of endless streets of plush, secured housing and mega shopping malls, banks and office buildings.
Sandton has become the new financial heart of South Africa and its gleaming skyscrapers are home to many of South Africa's largest corporations and financial institutions. Johannesburg's stock exchange - JSE Securities Exchange - has its HQ in Sandton and the huge Sandton Convention Centre is also here.
© Walter Knirr / City of Johannesburg Sandton CBDSandton is also where the rich, both white and black, come to shop, dine and stay in Johannesburg. Sandton City is the major mall linked to the opulent Nelson Mandela Square complete with a rather uninspiring bronze statue of the great man sculpted by Kobus Hattingh and Jacob Maponyane, staring down at the massive wealth that surrounds him. Sandton City includes over 300 retail outlets plus numerous cafes and restaurants - including KFC and McDonalds, of course.
Upmarket hotels in Sandton aimed at the rich business traveler include the Hilton Sandton at 138 Rivonia Road, the Protea Balalaika Sandton Hotel at 20 Maude Street, the luxurious Sandton Sun & Towers Intercontinental on the corner of Fifth Street and Alice Lane and the soaring Michelangelo Towers Hotel at 8 Maude Street.
Sandton City Shopping Centre
Rivonia Road
Tel: 011 217 6000
Sandton is around 20 km north of Jo'burg's CBD. Take the M1 to Parktown and then the M9 to Sandton. From OR Tambo Airport R24 then M3 until Marlboro Drive, then Katherine Street until you reach Rivonia Road.
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