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A sense of luxury rings through the streets of Sandton, Johannesburg and South Africa’s chief financial district. Affluent and modern, it developed throughout the 1990s when many financial institutions and businesses moved out of Johannesburg’s original CBD. It’s now one of the most upmarket suburbs in South Africa, where villas are nestled in the hills, and glass-fronted semi-skyscrapers are the headquarters of the African Stock Exchange and many banks. Sandton is located in the north of Johannesburg, on the road and rail lines towards Pretoria.

Officially, Sandton is a suburb of Johannesburg. It feels like a city, covering a huge area that incorporates a number of mini suburbs. At its heart stands Nelson Mandela Square and a six-metre bronze statue of modern South Africa’s founding father. Visitors will find an excellent gallery and theatre on the square, the former offering one of the widest collections of local artwork in the country. The huge Sandton City shopping mall fills two sides of the square, with the rest populated by upmarket restaurants and cafes. The rest of central Sandton is filled with commercial buildings, mostly banks and financial institutions.

Head further away from the rising skyline and the suburb is surprisingly green and rural. Villas and gated communities are dotted across winding boulevards in mini suburbs like Bryanston, Hyde Park, Morningside, and Sandhurst. The tranquillity, yet proximity to an important business centre, has turned these suburbs into some of Africa’s most sought after addresses. Each features quiet streets lined with flowering trees, which rise on rural green hills and offer excellent views towards the high-rise central Sandton skyline.

Sandton Station is located on Nelson Mandela Square. Built for the 2010 World Cup, the station is on the excellent Gautrain railway, which links Sandton to Pretoria, central Johannesburg, and O.R. Tambo International Airport. Metered taxis are easy to find in the area while local minivan taxis are the main form of public transport. Most people prefer to drive as Johannesburg is a huge city with many distinctive suburbs, and avoiding rush hour makes a huge difference to every journey.

Historically, Sandton was an affluent white area. This old-world wealth is still seen in the buildings, but most of Sandton is now extremely multicultural. It’s a suburb where multiple languages mix on the streets and a sense of modern South Africa is at the fore.