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8 incredible rooftop bars in Joburg you need to check out

The sky’s a fiery orange as the sun sets and the streets below are spangled with purple jacaranda blossoms…There’s nothing more dramatic than a Johannesburg Summer evening. Enjoy the season from the best vantage points in the city.

The Copper Bar
With it’s unlikely location on top of a Bryanston office park and a strict entry policy (open to the public only on Thursday evenings if you’ve applied to be on the guest list, unless you’ve booked your private function), The Copper Bar’s exclusivity is part of its allure. The other part is, of course, the vista over the Magaliesberg hills.

Sir James van der Merwe
Kramerville’s cool credentials are incontestable, thanks in large part to venues like Sir James van der Merwe. Part of everyone’s favourite warehouse wonderland, Katy’s Palace Bar, there’s no better place to marvel at the urban forest that is Sandton. Choose a cocktail from the eclectic list, make yourself comfortable amongst décor that would make a stylist drool, and tuck into a gourmet snack platter while watching the thunderstorms come rolling in.

The Living Room
What comes to mind when you think of the Joburg inner city? Grit and grind, sure – but then there’s The Living Room, an escape where you can catch your breath above the urban thrum. A true Joburg institution, and one of the drivers of Maboneng’s glorious rebirth, the venue is as remarkable for its sky-high garden as it is for the view over the city’s myriad twinkling lights.

Marble
There’s been loads of buzz around chef David Higgs’ new eatery in Roam, the new Rosebank art district – with its Mervyn Gers tiles and live-fire theatre, it’s a work of art in itself. The rooftop bar is just as stunning. Order from the special tapas menu and watch the sun sink with a vintage from a top local estate in hand.

San Deck Bar
For those fed up with Sandton traffic and the business district’s brusque hustle, the San Deck is a revelation. There is, unarguably, no better place to admire the Sandton skyline, and with live DJs serving up chilled beats on the weekends, it’s a great spot for shaking off work stress, too.

Hyde Park Hotel
There’s little more decadent than sundowners around the pool – and the Island Bar at the Southern Sun Hyde Park Sandton is the perfect place in to indulge your inner Beverly Hills socialite. Complete the treat with a round of sushi.

Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff
For most South Africans, ‘beautiful’ isn’t the first adjective that comes to mind when describing Johannesburg – unless you’re looking down on the city and taking in its green splendour from above the trees. The appropriately named View Restaurant will always be one of our favourite venues for enjoying classic views of a Johannesburg evening while splurging on afternoon tea.

Elevate
Another chic inner Jozi establishment, Elevate gives a visitors a bird’s eye view over Marshalltown. On the menu? Suitably sophisticated snack platters and scrumptious high teas.

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