My 10 Favorite Shots of the Joburg Skyline

by | Apr 21, 2016 | Johannesburg, Johannesburg City Centre, Museums and Buildings | 29 comments

This morning, I woke up thinking about the Joburg skyline.

Johannesburg has one of the most beautiful city skylines in the world, and I’ve photographed it dozens of times from many different angles. But as far as I can remember, I’ve never written a post specifically about the skyline. So this morning I went straight to my computer, browsed through the archives and picked out 10 of my favorite Joburg skyline shots. Here they are.

Joburg skyline from the roof of the Carlton Centre1) Downtown Johannesburg at sunrise, viewed from the roof of the Carlton Centre, the tallest building on Africa. (2015)

Joburg Skyline from Situation East2) Just after sunset from the top of Situation East, a building on Fox Street in Maboneng. (2014)

Hillbrow from the top of Ponte City3) Nightfall from the 51st floor of Ponte City. (2016)

Joburg skyline from Joker in the Pack4) Another shot from Maboneng, just above the Living Room at what is now an amazing AirBnB. (2012)

 Joburg skyline and Mandela from Hallmark House
5) This is kind of an unconventional skyline shot but I felt compelled to include it nonetheless. It was shot from Hallmark House, just off Joe Slovo Drive. The Nelson Mandela mural was painted by Freddie Sam. (2015)

Joburg skyline from Hallmark House6) Another shot from Hallmark House, looking west instead of east. (2015)

Joburg skyline from Orion Braamfontein7) Joburg’s night sky shot from the top of the Orion Building in Braamfontein. (2011)

Joburg skyline from Artisan Lofts8) Another shot from Maboneng, this one from the Artisan Lofts condo building on Albertina Sisulu Street. The zebra-striped roof in the foreground is the legendary Zebra Inn. (2013)

Joburg skyline from Yeoville Ridge9) I think Yeoville Ridge is my favorite place in town for photographing the Joburg skyline. This particular photo is a panoramic shot taken with my iPhone. (2014)

Joburg skyline from Lister building10) Sunset from the top of the Lister Building, which is right in the center of town on Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly Jeppe Street). I love the chaotic feel of the city in this shot. (2013)

Bonus Shot

It was too hard to choose just ten. Here is my favorite Joburg skyline shot of all, taken from the 50th floor of the Carlton Centre at sunset.

Joburg skyline from Carlton at sunsetHazy Blue Hour. (2012)

I took most of these pictures from buildings and rooftops in the city center. But there are also some great parks and other spots in the suburbs to shoot the Joburg skyline. The Melville Koppies, James and Ethel Gray Park, and the Wilds are some of my favorites.

29 Comments

  1. Mfanafuthi

    Troyville facing Johannesburg Stadium is also very scenic

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Yes! I also love that view.

      Reply
  2. Gail Scott Wilson

    Stunning! My favourite spot must be Langermann Kop in Kensington, just so sad that it is not a very safe place to go. Carlton a very close second.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      I’m ashamed to admit this but I’ve never been to Langermann Kop.

      Reply
  3. Jaina

    Shot #5 is fantastic – I like that it’s totally different from the other skyline shots. And the artwork is featured so beautifully.

    You’ve done a fab job of highlighting just how varied the Joburg skyline can be. Every single one of these are beautiful photos.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Thanks so much, Jaina. Downtown Joburg is surrounded by hills, which creates tons of great, different views of the skyline. It’s one the coolest things about the city.

      Reply
      • Jaina

        What I wouldn’t give for a hill with a view. Everything is so flat in Bahrain!

        Reply
  4. Eugenia A Parrish

    Joburg definitely is beautiful in your pictures. By that, I mean the love and expertise you put to taking the shots is most of it. I have a feeling you would be able to take “beautiful” shots of just about any city, since they are all fascinating in their own way.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Aw, thanks so much! I can’t imagine a better compliment.

      Reply
  5. autumnashbough

    Just gorgeous, especially the sunset ones. Although I kind of like the murals, which are so unusual.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Thanks Autumn 🙂

      Reply
  6. Sine

    loved this! The last one is also my favorite, or the last location I should say. My son went on a class trip to the Carlton Centre once with his school, and since I hadn’t been there, I compelled him to not come back without a picture. The picture he took is now the background image on my computer – I never changed it!

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Thanks Sine. I love that view too.

      Reply
  7. Anita

    Love no 9 from Yeoville Ridge. Is that place safe-ish to go to with a proper camera?

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Thanks! It’s ok as long as you go with a group.

      Reply
  8. tenneymason

    Impressive series

    Reply
  9. Lani

    They look lovely, but the pics are quite small (or smaller than usual) on Firefox. Did you change your formatting?

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Oh, weird! I’m trying to think if I’ve done anything differently…This post is the first time it’s happened?

      Reply
      • Lani

        Yes. It looks fine in Chrome. Went back thru Firefox but by your homepage and its fine. Maybe it was WP reader.

        Reply
        • 2summers

          Hmm, ok thanks. I’ll check this out when I’m home. I used to be a Firefox user too but haven’t checked it in ages.

          Reply
  10. WeezaFish

    Makes me miss Jozi so much! Beautiful pics. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      My pleasure.

      Reply
  11. UnderAnAfricanSun

    I always love your skyline shots and to have all these here together in one post is a real treat !

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
    • 2summers

      Thanks!

      Reply
  12. Sarah Findlay

    Hi there! These photos are absolutely exquisite – they capture Jozi so beautifully. I was just wondering if I might use one of them as a Twitter header please? I’m not sure what Copyright issues there are. Many thanks!

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Hi Sarah, thanks for the message. Is this for a personal Twitter account or a business account? If you’d like to discuss further, please send me a message through my Contact page.

      Reply

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