The 15km Route

Mandela Bridge

The 15 km route is for people who would like a proper walk and would like to do so safely through the inner city, see the sights, the historic beauty, and the potential of the city.

The route starts at Ellis Park, and follows the 8km – The 44 Main Street Route.

It turns up past the Johannesburg City Hall, representing a significant era of the city's architectural and political history. Completed in 1914, the building is an example of Edwardian Baroque style and has served as a central stage for many of South Africa's most pivotal moments. It now houses the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

The Rissik Street Post Office located directly opposite the Johannesburg City Hall, was built in 1904. It was once the tallest building in the city and served as the primary postal hub during the height of the gold rush.

Past Park Station, it goes up the hill past the Joburg Metro Centre up to Constitution Hill https://www.constitutionhill.org.za/, past the Old Fort, which was built by President Paul Kruger in 1893 – formerly the Johannesburg Jail – is just seven years older than the city itself. And then walkers go around the Constitutional Court and through the rest of the Old Fort prison complex.

And then it’s down to hill again to Braamfontein, before walking over the Nelson Mandela Bridge. Opened by Nelson Mandela in 2003, it was designed as a symbolic link to unite the city, physically connecting the business and cultural hubs of Braamfontein and Newtown across more than 40 active railway lines.

Into Newtown, walkers go past the original Old Park Station . Originally built in 1896 in Holland, this iron-framed structure served as the city's primary passenger hub for over 50 years before being replaced by the modern Park Station complex.

Next, it’s the Market Theatre housed in the grand steel and brick structure of Johannesburg's former Indian Fruit Market, which dates back to 1913. The Market Theatre, founded 50 years ago during the height of apartheid, became a defiant non-racial space where art was used as a powerful tool for social change and political resistance.

Then it’s through the Mary Fitzgerald Square. , named after Mary “Pickhandle” Fitzgerald, who is said to Sci Bono , which is housed in a repurposed 1906 power station, and is a world-class environment for interactive learning, focusing on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. And it’s 44 Main Street and rejoining the 8km – The 44 Main Street Route.

After walking through the Ellis Park Stadium, the 5 km walk finishes next to the Johannesburg Athletic Stadium , where walkers are invited to spend the rest of the day relaxing and listening to the Walk the Talk concert.