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Johannesburg's central business district , the grid of streets and tightly packed skyscrapers just to the south of the Witwatersrand ridge, is the most recognizable and feared part of the city. From the time of the first mining camp, located on what is today Commissioner Street, and for nearly a century, it was the core of Jo'burg's buzzy commercial and financial life. Then, in the 1980s and 90s it became riddled with crime, precipitating a mass evacuation by businesses, shoppers, restaurants and tourists. When the Jo'burg Stock Exchange moved out in 1999 in favour of safe, opulent Sandton, the city centre was all but written off. However, determined efforts over the last few years to clean up the streets, make them safe, and reopen some of the neglected buildings have been surprisingly successful. With upgrading now going on precinct by precinct, and yellow-bibbed "city ambassadors" a common sight on street corners, many parts of the CBD are now not only safe, but they are drawing businesses and tourists back. Though the prospect would still horrify most white Jo'burgers, a visit to the CBD offers a rare chance to get a feel for the real Jo'burg. Refreshingly multiracial, the mix of office workers, shoppers and street traders probably comes closer to reflecting the overall demographic mix of white, black and coloured South Africa than anywhere else in the country. Here you can see people going about their everyday business, observe buildings and institutions with a fascinating history, and get a taste for the bustle, sounds and thrill of a genuinely African city.

If you're coming into the city centre

by car, park either in the Carlton Centre or underneath Gandhi Square. Scheduled city buses from the northern suburbs terminate at Gandhi Square, while the City Slicker tour bus comes right into the city, stopping at the Carlton Centre and Newtown. Another good way to see the city centre is to see it in the company of a guide : Dumela Africa (tel 083 659 9928, ) offers expert and interesting walking tours of the downtown area as well as Jo'burg as a whole.

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