I had the opportunity of visiting Johannesburg in a very different light in January of this year, as a tourist. For you see I was born and raised there, but my boyfriend is very much English and had never been to Africa. When you are born somewhere you tend to disregard alot of the tourist stuff (much what my boyfriend does in London) which I can now see I missed out.

Yes there is a safety aspect to life in Johannesburg, but so is there to most places you go too, and generally if you hold your wits about you and be smart for the most you will be fine and shouldn't come across anything too big (although this is not a guarantee). I know how off putting it can be when you hear the stories that come out, and I will not deny them I have been a victim more than once myself but such is the world we live in and you could just as easily come across the same problems in your own country.

Around Sandton you will find alot of great places to eat and bars many of these can be found in Sandton Square which is located next to Sandton City shopping centre. From Pizzerias to fish to Grill houses you wont be short of choice. To give you an idea of a meal, we decided to go to The Meat Company in Monte Casino (which is about 20 minutes drive from Sandton), We ordered two bottles of wine and a bottle of water, all of us had a main course of rump steaks, fillets etc including a service charge this came to roughly just under £60 (and this is a top notch steak house and the wine was £20 a bottle).
One thing I can promise is there is no shortage of good food in Johannesburg so bring a very big empty stomach! Some of the places I would recommend would be:

Jimmy Killer Prawns - the bedfordview branch is definetly the best but there are plenty to choose from, they often have all you can eat prawn specials

Carnivores - This fantastic game restaurant in Muldersdrift is a little out of the way but is a must a visit, we went for New Years eve. It is all you can eat game meat , served on skewers to your table, where the likes of anything from Zebra to Crocodile will cross your plate, rougly £20 a head.

I could list a million more but it would take months! Eating is one of the best parts of Johannesburg and not to be missed.

During the day there is much to choose from some of my top choices would have to be:

The Soweto and Johannesburg Tour - We decided to take this tour so that my boyfriend could get a good insight into Johannesburg. I must say even as a local I found it fascinating. They pick you up from your hotel and you make your way to Central Johannesburg where you will see the amazing restoration that is going into the city. From the financial district and its historical buildings to the Art district of Newton with its artist community and growing theatre life. You even get the chance to visit an African witchdoctors shop. We then moved onto Soweto where you get to drive through the posh district and then onto a squatter camp (not to worry it is an extremley safe tour) where you get to see the conditions of how millions of South Africans live, we also got to step into one of the shacks, wow they are hot inside!

Haartebeesport Dam - Less than an hours drive from Sandton you will find the Dam where you can choose to shop at the fantastic African Market (be warned you can be hassled a bit but a firm no is all that is needed, also don't give donations to people even if they are children most of them are scams, if you feel you want to donate rather give to a registered organisation) or you can visit the dam itself where you can go boating, jet skiing etc

Okay back to Johannesburg! transport is a difficult one. At the moment there is not a fantastic choice and choosing the local taxis is not a wise idea as most of these are not roadworthy. Your best bet is either to hire a car (Avis and Tempest generally have good deals) or to use a taxi firm recommended by the hotel. If you choose to drive make sure that you are equipped with an adequate map and an understanding of the highways. Generally everything is well marked. Some safety tips:

Weather in Johannesburg is very hot in summers and quite cold in winters. It normally rains in spring (remember there summer is our winter) which can sometimes last for a few hours or set in for a few days. The UV Rays are extremely strong so wear a good sun factor.