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.

When it reaches 44 Main Street, the building which was the historic heart of the Anglo American empire, it goes past the Johannesburg Magistrate Courts and Chancellor House, which housed South Africa’s first black-owned law firm, established in 1952 by Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo.

Look out for The "Shadow Boxer" Statue, opposite Chancellor House, a 6 meter-tall steel sculpture inspired by a famous photograph of a young Nelson Mandela sparring.

The route continues through Newtown past 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.

Then it’s through the Mary Fitzgerald Square, named after Mary “Pickhandle” Fitzgerald, who is said to have been South Africa’s first female trade unionist.

Next, it’s past 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.

Turning east just after the Market Theatre, walkers pass 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.

And then it’s onto 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.

Walkers pay a brief visit to Braamfontein, before returning over the Nelson Mandela Bridge, back to 44 Main Street and rejoining the 8km – The 44 Main Street Route.

After walking through the Ellis Park Stadium, the 15 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.