Although the smallest of the nine provices, Gauteng (Sotho word for the Place of Gold) is the commercial business and industrial capital of South Africa. It generates nearly half the country's GDP. Gauteng's main cities are Johannesburg, the largest city in southern Africa and Pretoria, the administrative capital. Gauteng's primary attraction is business opportunity, but there is more to this province. There is a wealth of culture to be mined in the museums, galleries, theatres, art routes and battlefields. Gleaming skyscrapers contrast with Indian bazaars and African 'muti' (medicine) shops, where traditional healers dispense advice and traditional medicine.

South of Johannesburg is Soweto, a city developed as a township for black people under the apartheid system. Most of the struggle against apartheid was fought in and from Soweto. Soweto is estimated to be inhabited by over two million people with homes ranging from extravagant mansions to makeshift shacks. It is a city of enterprise and cultural interaction, a popular tourist destination with sites such as Kliptown where the Freedom Charter was drawn up, the home of former President Nelson Mandela, the Hector Petersen Memorial site, restaurants and shopping malls. It boasts one of the largest hospitals on the continent and the only African-owned private clinic.

About 50 km north of Johannesburg lies Pretoria, renowned for its colourful gardens, shrubs and trees, partcularly beautiful in spring when the 50 000 jacarandas envelop the avenues in mauve. The city developed at a more sedate pace than Johannesburg, and the town planners had the foresight to include an abundance of open spaces. Pretoria has more than 100 parks, including bird sanctuaries and nature reserves. An air of history pervades much of central Pretoria, especially Church Square, around which the city has grown. Many buildings of historical and architectural importance have been retained or restored to their former splendour.