Our most popular reads of 2023

10 Jan 2024

The Cradle Boutique Hotel offers an escape from the city. Photo: The Cradle Boutique Hotel.

From the grill at Kwa Mai Mai. Photo: Nkayiso Shabalala for Honest Travel Experience.

The 15th-floor view from Hallmark House Rooftop. Photo: Johannesburg In Your Pocket.

The year 2023 in Joburg was our reintroduction back into the city post the Covid pandemic. With the threat of gathering no longer on the agenda you, our readers, feasted on our weekly events round-ups, new attractions, exhibitions, and finding out where to shop. Given the list of the 100 stories that grabbed your attention last year, it's clear you couldn't wait to get outdoors, dive into the restaurant scene and markets, explore neighbourhoods, and race to the padel courts.

Here’s what was popular – and revisiting them is a great way to refresh your Joburg what-to-do list.

A luxury room at Thaba Eco Hotel in the Klipriviersberg — A hilltop spa experience and luxury rooms at **Thaba Eco Hote**l in Klipriviersberg fuelled your dreams of escape. Photo: Thaba Eco Hotel.

Weekend getaways

Sometimes it only takes a weekend escape to refresh your senses. It’s no wonder that you kept coming back to where to go for a weekend getaway in Gauteng and great weekend getaways within three hours of Joburg.

Dining outdoors

Perhaps it's a given when a city enjoys sunny weather most of the year, and added to that the idea of it being safer to gather outdoors, but you loved finding ideas for where to enjoy outdoor dining in Joburg. Whether you’re looking for restaurants with great gardens, courtyards, or views, we offer our top suggestions – and it's a long list that is constantly updated. You're welcome!

The colourful Razor Charlie Latin Eatery in Kramerville — The colourful **Razor Charlie Latin Eatery** in Kramerville, hidden among designer furniture showrooms. Photo: Johannesburg In Your Pocket.

Kwa Mai Mai Market

One of Joburg's oldest markets and known as 'the place of healers', Kwa Mai Mai Market keeps us all curious, and for good reason. During Covid the market flourished, its outdoor shisa nyama area becoming the place to see and be seen, while many others flocked here in search of healing, physical and spiritual. Our lowdown on the Kwa Mai Mai Market with tips for first-time visitors' tips drew attention, with more than 17,000 readers, while our list of 10 things you need to know about Kwa Mai Mai was hot on its heels.

Maboneng

Given the number of people who wanted to read about Kwa Mai Mai, perhaps it comes as no surprise that our curiosity about Maboneng, just around a city corner, was high on your list. Added interest certainly came from the performance season at Centre for the Less Good Idea, as well as the hosting of BMW Art Generation by FNB Art Joburg in the precinct in 2023. Whether you have previously explored the precinct or are planning on still doing so, our list of 10 must-do Maboneng experiences continues to prove popular.

Where to eat

Considering most people eat a meal three times a day it's no surprise that Joburgers are constantly in search of the best food spots in the city. Joburg also loves all things new, part of our shiny gold-digging and discovery DNA. Our guide on where to eat in Rosebank was and continues to be super popular, as was our guide on where to eat out in Sandton. The restaurant scene is, of course, ever-changing and we’re looking forward to showing you more. No doubt 2024 will dish out another great crop of new eateries and bars (see what we did there?).

Wine in Joburg

What’s better than a fabulous meal in a golden city? A fabulous meal with a glass of wine. This city might not have Cape Town’s vineyards, but there's no shortage of places to go wine tasting in Joburg. With plenty of cute wine bars, independent boutique wine shops, and spots to enjoy a wine-pairing dinner, Joburg delivers lots of good experiences in a glass.

The bar at the highly instagrammable Solo Sandton — The bar at the highly Instagrammable **Solo Sandton** in Sandton Central. Photo: Solo Sandton.

Views and rooftop bars

In a city of hills and ridges, few things go together as well as spectacular views and rooftop bars, which offer the perfect setting for sipping a sundowner. High-altitude inspiration was high on your list with more than 9,000 reads of our piece on Joburg's best viewpoints and rooftop bars.

Jacaranda season

Come September, the ever-persistent question of where to find the best jacaranda views and streets in Joburg and Pretoria always keeps us on our toes. Later this year, we’re looking forward to joining you, yet again, for another take of our Jacaranda photo walks and tours. We hosted seven experiences that were fully booked, and you used our guide to the best streets to submit another incredible collection of jacaranda photos for our annual photo competition. To see all the photos from the past six seasons just head to Instagram and type in the hashtag #jacarandainyourpocket.

A view from Four Seasons The Westcliff. Photo: Richard Waite. — A purple-infused view from **Four Seasons The Westcliff**. Photo: Richard Waite.

Hiking trails

Hiking took off as an outdoor activity for Joburg during the Covid-19 pandemic, and with an incredible range of hiking destinations within easy reach of the city it has became a long-standing healthy souvenir of that time. If you still haven't mastered the hiking map, here's the place to start with our guide to hiking in and around Joburg and our list of 10 of South Africa's most incredible hikes.

Padel is still huge

You still want to know where to play padel in Joburg and Pretoria. Given that it’s the world’s fastest-growing sport, it’s perhaps unsurprising. Whether you live in Joburg, Pretoria, or the East Rand, find the court nearest to you and join in.