1. Food glorious food
Photo: @thetestbakery.
THE TEST BAKERY
You may have to wait in line for your croissant at The Test Bakery in Milpark but we'll tell you this for free: it's worth it. We met founders Muhammad and Sadika Lavangee in the belly of their weekend-only kitchen to talk about their artful bakes, between butter-rich brioche and a pistachio knafeh cheesecake that made us briefly forget language.
FOREST GELATO
Forest Gelato had us grinning like kids: their scoops are pure joy, with flavours born of ongoing experimentation with fresh, local ingredients. “Some of our recipes are traditional Italian ones,” founder Candice Harrison-Train tells us. “But many come from happy accidents in the kitchen.” Visit them at 44 Stanley or in Parkview to dive in, spoon-first.
GARDENFRESH
GardenFresh in Parktown North is a magical emporium of fresh produce, with colourful fruits and vegetables catching your eye wherever you look. No mountain is too high and no vegetable too obscure for the founders behind this space: Wolf Yorrik Lotto and Christiaan Chadderton. We loved quizzing them for the backstory. P.S. If you've visited lately, you'll have noticed the glorious new Nine Yards development taking shape, a new home for more than 30 boutique brands, eateries, and wellness spaces in a garden sanctuary. Watch this space.
LOST INGREDIENTS
An invitation to the luxurious The Palace at the Lost City at Sun City late last year to experience The Lost Ingredients, an incredible menu developed by Michelin star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen with executive chef Gino Fortune had us in awe. The hotel's Crystal Court – famous for what is probably South Afroica's most sumptuous buffet breakfast – has been transformed to celebrate indigenous, and overlooked staple ingredients in a tribute to South Africa's culinary heritage. The team here have reimagined these from their historical value into a range of contemporary dishes. We sampled the corn menu which included everything from amadombolo cornbread to a popcorn tart. New ingredients are set to be introduced. Breakfast here is the equivalent of a 20-course degustation menu. Clear the morning for this (you must be a hotel guest to experience it). It's truly a standout.
2. Stand-out experiences
NATURE'S WAY
In 2025 we traversed the dizzying depths of the ancient Sterkfontein Caves – newly reopened in the Cradle of Humankind and now managed by Wits University – to the fascinating halls of SANBI's National Herbarium (home to some 1.3 million plant specimens) at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden, with a side quest of conservation and majestic Cape Vultures at Pretoria Zoo.
NEIGHBOURHOOD LOVE
A unique Soweto art tour with Thabo the Tourist was one of our team's highlights of 2025. On the day we also touched down at Credo Mutwa Cultural Village and Eyethu Heritage Hall, got to browse local fashion faves like Thesis and Sowetoism, and enjoyed drinks on the deck of a favourite hangout spot Native Rebels. If you feel like following in our footsteps, book yourself in at Lebo's Soweto Backpackers for the weekend. You won't be sorry. Here's our full Soweto itinerary to make the most of your visit.
Another day we can't stop talking about was our roaming office at The Peech Hotel – nestled within the suburb of Birdhaven. A walk at James and Ethel Gray Park, a bagel from Kleinsky's Deli, and a Thai green curry cocktail from The Pot Luck Club Johannesburg are must-dos in that neck of the woods. Bookmark our list of 10 things to do in Birdhaven.
FUN ABOUT TOWN
It was a great occasion indeed when Joburg's beloved planetarium, now the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome, reopened with major tech upgrades and thoughtful improvements. A singular space in the city to take a wondrous, albeit brief, sojourn into space. We had a behind the scenes visit before the official opening and were treated to a custom show, which left us awed. If fashion is more your thing, Wizards Vintage is one of our ultimate faves – we spent a morning with the the characterful Braam Naude, a maven at putting glorious looks together from all things pre-loved. Outdoor activity something you crave? We joined one of Joburg's coolest crews, Girls on Bikes, for one of their popular group cycles. By the way, they also offer cycling lessons from their home base at 44 Stanley.
TIME OUT WELL SPENT
We had a hunch that it would be so, and our day trip confirmed it: Saxon Spa Steyn City is in a league of its own: a quietly luxurious respite in which to pause and be pampered. Opened in 2025 it's a destination well worth putting on this year's agenda. And if you are keen to travel further afield in search of serenity – with an historic guest list of some of SA's finest writers and artists, you're in excellent company at Quiet Mountain Country House. This Magaliesberg retreat is the perfect antidote to city life – unhurried, nourishing, and surrounded by nature.
3. Championing the city
As we wrote when the fate of the historic Rand Club hung in the balance, "To live in Joburg is to love what frustrates you and to fight for what inspires you. This city has always lived in contradiction: Joburg is a place of decay and dynamism, of despair and design." We're always rooting for the people who see beneath the surface of things – finding pockets of creativity to celebrate and shaping change in community. Here are some of the people, stories, and happenings that changed the way we think about Joburg in 2025:
– The Chaos Precinct: Johannesburg as a port is a book by writer and urban planner Tanya Zack that masterfully weaves together research, personal narrative, and the stories of the many inhabitants in the area now known as "Jeppe" (in and around Jeppe Street in the city centre). In doing so, Zack not only captures what Joburg is now, but points to the possibilities of what it could be.
– In 2025, the world marked 100 years since the architectural style known as Art Deco rose to prominence. While cities like Miami and New York are famous for Art Deco, Johannesburg holds a large and under-recognised collection of these buildings, built during a post-mining boom. We explored the state of Art Deco buildings in Johannesburg – for their beauty, layered histories, and their potential for contemporary life.
– Once the heartbeat of Joburg’s urban revival, Braamfontein has weathered waves of change – from its creative heyday in the 2010s to the quiet that followed Covid-19 lockdown. Yet the district’s spirit of reinvention endures. New energy is stirring as artists, entrepreneurs, and city partners reimagine Johannesburg's streets. At the centre of this renewal is the Ameshoff Street Identity & Placemaking Project – transforming four city blocks in Braamfontein. The launch in October 2025 offered a glimpse of what the city can be when its public spaces are safe, welcoming, and creatively charged.
– Relaunched in 2025 by Jozi My Jozi in partnership with Johannesburg In Your Pocket, Jozi My Jozi Walks is about rediscovering Johannesburg, one footstep at a time. Fifteen walking tours were selected as part of the 2025 line-up on the last weekend of September, and what a celebration it was. We bore witness to the grittiness of Hillbrow, the beauty of Kensington by night, the intertwining of personal stories and history in Fietas, the power of community in Melville, and found inner-city solace within Wits University's gardens. See the highlights in photos.
– The most interesting things in Joburg are often accidental, and the start of NGO Water for the Future is indicative of this. It began eight years ago, when Romy Stander and artist Hannelie Coetzee set out with the “simple” mission of cleaning the Jukskei River. They soon realised that to make the changes needed, they’d have to enlist a community. On a bitingly cold day in June 2025, the impact of the restoration project was particularly affirming to see: It’s not just about clean water, it’s about restoring a sense of place and belonging.
– Another project we had the chance to see firsthand was the amazing work of the Alexandra Water Warriors who are committed to creating a liveable waterway on the Juskei River where it runs beween old Alex and the newer East Bank suburb. The river here turns vicious in the rainy season and has also long been an environmental hazard because of chronic dumping. The work spearheaded by the water warriors and supported by the Johannesburg Inner City Partnership and other funding partners has brought together community art initiatives, created innovative litter traps and recycling initiatives, and even offers swimming lessons to Alex residents.
– The Wits Food Sovereignty Hub is a grassroots example of how food insecurity in Johannesburg can be tackled through sustainable city farming. Described as a "living classroom," this initiative brings students, activists, and gardeners together to cultivate not just vegetables, but also knowledge, community, and a greener vision for life in Johannesburg.
4. A little bit of art
Among many Joburg art wonders in 2025, it was a treat chatting to Lucy MacGarry and Roberta Coci, fast friends and founders of Latitudes – and the city's most glamorous art fair. The Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation gave us Structures, the second annual exhibition in its Worldmaking series, while Melville got an Art Mile that'll be pulling out all the stops every first Thursday (Aubrey Moloto gave us the scoop).
Over at Wits Art Museum (WAM), we wandered through the maze of Serge Alain Nitegeka's first institutional solo in Johannesburg, Black Subjects. Kim Berman's standout retrospective at UJ Art Gallery, Remembering and Forgetting: Landscapes in Dialogue, was vivid and elemental.
The Joburg art world was much abuzz when Strauss & Co saw a record-breaking sale for Vladimir Tretchikoff's 1995 portrait Lady from the Orient and, no year is complete without our annual pilgrimage to the Pretoria Art Museum for the Sasol New Signatures' winning showcase. Read our Q&A's with alumni Miné Kleynhans and Juandré van Eck.
Full of eclectic surprises, The Creatory is an ever-evolving artist residency space within the gallery complex that is 223 Jan Smuts Creative Hub. 2026 applications are open until Wed, Jan 28. Another exciting space that we loved seeing pop onto the radar last year was Asisebenze Art Gallery, opposite the Rand Club. Exciting to see such a well-considered gallery space make the city its home.
Once again we were the media partner to Contra.Joburg, the open studios art festival that showcases the real working parts of Joburg as an art city. We have loved helping to grow this event since the start, and to help support Joburg's artist economy.
A standout space in the art world is Nirox Sculpture Park and we were treated to a personal walkabout by founder Benji Liebmann. It was a day that gave us unique insight into this space that is so much more than one sees on a weekend visit. From artist residencies to a basketball complex, and a workshop for sculptors, Nirox has been conceived around the notion of creating a space to think and reflect, away from the busyness of our active city lives. We'll be sharing more about this in the coming weeks.
5. In our DNA
IN REAL LIFE
While many of our readers know us primarily via our weekly newsletter or Instagram account, we love meeting up with you at our events. In early 2025, we hosted a Concierge Walk in Rosebank aimed at bridging the gap between hotel teams and city visitors. And our seasonal highlights: the Cosmos In Your Pocket and Jacaranda In Your Pocket photo competitions and event series. As part of the latter, we hosted our first Johannesburg In Your Pocket ticketed helicopter experience – teaming up with Bastion Aviation, Four Seasons The Westcliff, and MicroAdventure Tours to add something utterly unique to Joburg's jacaranda season. We also teamed up with Benchwarmers Running Club for our first 5km run through Joburg's jacaranda streets.
IN PRINT AND BEYOND
We loved working on our new printed mini guide for the city and Jo – it’s wisecracking, smart-as-a-whip AI companion. We launched the JHB In Your Pocket GPT in November 2025, a landmark project. The print mini-guide with its map of the city, supported by Jozi My Jozi and Nando's, is our first printed guide since the Covid lockdown on 2020. We are excited to follow where we it leads.
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