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Johannesburg Museums & exhibitions

Our most recommended Johannesburg Museums & exhibitions

Jo'berg in 1 Day: Soweto, Apartheid Museum & City Tour

1. Jo'berg in 1 Day: Soweto, Apartheid Museum & City Tour

After collecting you from your hotel or residence in Johannesburg, your guide will give you a quick pre departure tour briefing before departing to Soweto (South Western Township). On your way to Soweto you pass by the National Football Stadium City, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the World Cup 2010. You enter the Diepkloof area, where you will take a walk past vendors selling just about anything. In Orlando West you visit Vilakazi Street - drive past the former home of Nelson Mandela and past the home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. You will have an opportunity to read about the Soweto uprising on 16 June 1976. On that tragic day an innocent little boy called Hector Pieterson gave up his life and kick-started the liberation of South Africa. During this tour you will pass by the Mandela House. A visit into the museum is optional. You continue your tour driving into one of the shanty towns where you get to interact with some of the locals. By now you will have seen the good, the bad and the ugly facets of Soweto. You drive past the Soweto Campus of the Johannesburg University and end your tour with a stop at the largest hospital in the world: Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. After Lunch on your own account, you will arrive at the world famous Apartheid Museum. Here you will learn about the history and struggle of South Africa during apartheid. Once you are done with the Apartheid Museum, you head into Johannesburg City and start with the view of the impressive 269 metre Telkom Tower, as seen on many postcards of Johannesburg. You then enter the inspiring Constitution Hill – and Court (when not in session) Political activists like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were once held here. During a tour inside you will learn about some of the legal history of Johannesburg. On your way to Newtown you pass by the longest southern African bridge, named Nelson Mandela bridge. At Mary Fitzgerald Square you can walk on the Jazz Walk of Fame. In short, this tour offers you a unique Johannesburg experience at an affordable rate.

Soweto: Walking Tour with a Local Guide and Lunch

2. Soweto: Walking Tour with a Local Guide and Lunch

Discover the history of Soweto, where political icons lived during Apartheid, fighting against the regime. Explore the everyday life, meet the locals, taste local cuisine and get an authentic experience with a Sowetan native guide. Start at the Hector Pietersen Museum and hear about the Soweto uprising that transpired in 1976, which was one the turning point of Apartheid. Be introduced to the famous house of Nelson Mandela in Vilakazi Street, built in 1945, where he lived until he was imprisoned for 27 years. Have a conversation about Arch bishop Desmond Tutu in the famous street in Vilakazi Street. Continue through Orlando East, the first formal settlement of Soweto and Orlando Stadium, Soweto football giants, the Orlando Pirate and ride a minibus taxi to the last stop at the Orlando Towers. Listen to the many personal stories about the family's generations, how apartheid had an impact in each and everyone of them and how Soweto has changed today. Enjoy a traditional, local lunch of Kota (Local burger) or Braii (Barbecue).

Johannesburg: Half-Day Apartheid Museum Tour

3. Johannesburg: Half-Day Apartheid Museum Tour

Explore the rise and fall of the apartheid at the Apartheid Museum, the first of its kind, in Johannesburg. Embark on an emotional 3-hour journey with a guide, and hear the sad story of a state-sanctioned system based on racial discrimination and the struggle of the majority to overthrow this tyranny. After pickup from your hotel in Johannesburg, make your way with your guide to the Apartheid Museum. Once you've entered the museum, discover a series of 22 individual exhibition areas assembled and organized by a multi-disciplinary team of curators, filmmakers, historians, and designers.  Learn about the policy of apartheid, implemented in 1948 by the white elected National Party government, which turned 20 million people into second class citizens, damning them to a life of servitude, humiliation, and abuse. See provocative film footage, photographs, text panels, and artifacts illustrating the events and human stories of apartheid. Bring your dramatic journey to an end with the election of Nelson Mandela, the prisoner you became president, in 1994. The liberation of the nation and people of South Africa from apartheid is the climax of a tale of resistance, courage, and fortitude. It is not uncommon for 3 hours in the museum to feel too short. The local partner's guides will try to adjust the schedule to your liking if this is the case for you. After your museum visit, the tour concludes with drop-off back at your hotel in Johannesburg.

Johannesburg and Soweto Apartheid Full Day Tour

4. Johannesburg and Soweto Apartheid Full Day Tour

Take a comprehensive tour of Johannesburg, Soweto, and the Apartheid Museum (opened from Wednesday - Sunday). Pass important landmarks and learn about the country's difficult history of Apartheid. Be picked up from your hotel for a full-day tour of Johannesburg, the Apartheid Museum, and Soweto. Begin your explorations in the heart of bustling Johannesburg, the third-largest city in Africa. Pass landmark buildings and structures such as the Hillbrow Tower, one of the tallest towers in Africa, the sky-scraping Ponte City, Sentech and Carlton Centre Towers, and the multimillion-rand Nelson Mandela Bridge. Once a prison and military fort, visit the Constitutional Hill Museum and learn about South Africa's journey to democracy. Be humbled as you hear and see the struggles South Africa endured during its societal transitional phases such as the Apartheid. Leaving the hustle and bustle of central Johannesburg behind, the tour will proceed to historical Soweto, an iconic South African township that experienced many student uprisings and much police brutality during the apartheid era. Visit the Hector Pieterson Museum and Memorial, and see the house of Nelson Mandela. After an interesting and thought-provoking day head back to your hotel on a comfortable air-conditioned bus. 

Johannesburg: Soweto Apartheid & Township Tour with Lunch

5. Johannesburg: Soweto Apartheid & Township Tour with Lunch

After collecting you from your hotel or residence in Johannesburg, your guide will give you a quick tour briefing before you depart for Soweto (South Western Township). Explore the good, the bad, and the ugly facets of this area. On the way to Soweto you will pass the National Football Stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 World Cup.  Enter the Diepkloof area, where you will walk past vendors selling just about anything. In Orlando West you will visit Vilakazi Street to drive past the former home of Nelson Mandela and the home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. You will have the opportunity to read about the Soweto uprising on June 16th 1976, which kick-started the liberation of South Africa. During the tour, you will pass Mandela House. A visit to the museum is optional. The tour continues with a drive to one of the shanty towns, where you will have the chance to interact with some of the locals. Then drive past the Soweto Campus of Johannesburg University and see the view of the largest hospital in the world, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. After lunch in Soweto you will visit the world famous Apartheid Museum. Here you will learn about the history of apartheid and the South African liberation struggle.

From Johannesburg: Cradle of Humankind Tour

6. From Johannesburg: Cradle of Humankind Tour

Discover the birthplace of humanity and see the place where our collective umbilical cord lies buried on a day tour to the Cradle of Humankind. Start your morning with a convenient hotel pickup and head to the UNESCO World Heritage Site located just outside of Johannesburg, the Cradle of Humankind. Begin your sightseeing adventure with a tour of the Sterkfontein Exhibition Center and Caves. Follow your guide as you explore the exhibition above ground before heading deep into the caves. Learn about the fascinating history behind this archeological site and the discoveries that have been made here, some dating back more than four million years. Next, head to the Maropeng Visitor Center to see the award-winning, world-class exhibition focused on the development of humans and our ancestors. Take a journey through time and learn about the evolutionary processes that worked together to create the world as we know it today.

Johannesburg: Taste of Africa Food Experience

7. Johannesburg: Taste of Africa Food Experience

The Taste of Africa experience allows you to sample the best flavors of the continent with no visa requirements or expensive flights. Explore local restaurants and sample traditional Ghanaian and Nigerian dishes while learning about the ingredients and techniques that make this cuisine so special.  Meet the local guide at Westminster mensions , a family mansion that has stood the test of time. From Windybrow, hop in a minibus taxi and venture into Yeoville, stopping first at Malalahitoka for traditional Ghanaian Wat, Kifto, and Injera. Next, sample Ghanaian Pondu and Kwanga at Kin Malabo before heading "West" for Nigerian Akara and Killshi at Mama Osu. Check out Baskim, which offers a mixture of African foods such as Konkonte and Ampesie. This will include a walk through the Yeoville food market where you can purchase the fruit and vegetables you have seen in some of the dishes and recreate your favorite African dishes at home. After dinner drinks will be hosted at the famous House of Tandoor, where you can enjoy reggae music and socialize with the locals.

Soweto: Full Day Tour

8. Soweto: Full Day Tour

Starting in Kliptown, one of Soweto´s oldest districts, see the Soccer City Stadium also known as The Calabash. This stadium is located in Nasrec, bordering the Soweto area of Johannesburg, and was one of the many venues constructed for the World Cup in 2010. It has a capacity of just under 95,000 people, and was the location for the final of the tournament. Today, it hosts many concerts by major international artists, as well as many other sporting events. Next, visit the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum, situated in Orlando West. This site commemorates the role of the country’s students in the struggle against apartheid and in particular the role played by the school children who took part in the Soweto Uprising of 1976.  Explore Vilakazi Street, in the heart of Soweto. The street is is where Nelson Mandela spent the first couple of nights of freedom upon his release after 27 years of imprisonment. You will walk by this residence and pass by the home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. As such, Vilakazi Street is the only street in the world that can boast having had two Nobel Laureates as residents. After this, enjoy a traditional kota lunch, followed by a visit to the Apartheid Museum (if full day option selected), illustrating the history of South Africa´s struggle for change and freedom in the 20th century.

Johannesburg, Soweto and Apartheid Museum Day Tour

9. Johannesburg, Soweto and Apartheid Museum Day Tour

Johannesburg, Soweto and the Apartheid Museum are the perfect destinations for learning about the City of Gold. Start the day by visiting key landmarks in Johannesburg city, starting with Constitutional Hill where you will learn about apartheid prisoners. Then, head deep into the city, driving through the tall buildings, most of them built during the gold rush period. The next stop will be Top of Africa where you can see the city from above and take photos. The Apartheid Museum tour is the next stop as you dig deeper into the dark apartheid history of South Africa. This will be a 3-hour tour of the museum before heading into Soweto township. On arrival, you visit Mandela House Museum and get a 30-minute guided tour into his former house before he was sent to prison. The Hector Pieterson Museum will give you some inspiration on the language resistance uprising of 1976. Next, will be a quick drive to the Regina Mundi Church to discover the importance during the apartheid era. Finally, drive by Orlando Towers and the World Cup Stadium to finish the tour.

Pretoria: Private City Tour and Cullinan Diamond Mine Tour

10. Pretoria: Private City Tour and Cullinan Diamond Mine Tour

pickup at 8:00 am Pretoria tour with 4 main highlight 9:00 am Voortrekkers Monument. a monument with a the granite structure is located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Vootrekkers who left Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. 10:00 am Kruger house. the historical president house of the Boer leader and president of south African Republic, Paul kruger. 10:45 am Church Square. Originally Market square, is the the square at the historic centre of the city of Pretoria. statues of four anonymous Boer citizen-soldiers surround that of kruger on a lower level of the plinth. 11:15 am union building. the imposing buildings at the north of Arcadia, close to Church square it can be seen form the Voortrekker monument. it used as the presidential house and office. lunch (optional) 40 minutes drive to Cullinan mine. 2:00 tour in Cullinan. Cullinan is small town in the Gauteng province. it is located 30 km east of Pretoria along the diamond route . the Cullinan diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, weighing 3,106.16 carats(621.35 g) discovered at the Premier No.2 mine in Cullinan at 26 January 1905. 4:00 trop off to the pick up point

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Frequently asked questions about Johannesburg

What are the best day trips and excursions from Johannesburg?

The best day trips and excursions from Johannesburg are:

Apartheid Museum

Other Sightseeing Options in Johannesburg

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What people are saying about Johannesburg

So much fun, charming guides

James picked me up at the hotel. alone because the other two people didn't cancel their tour. Lucky for me, so I had a private tour. james was very attentive and took a lot of time to explain everything to me in detail. the day was very informative. I felt safe at all times and thank you James for a great day.

One of the best and most authentic food tours we have experienced. We booked last minute as our flight did not leave until late night. So glad we did. Do not despair on the location, It is part of the experience. We were completely safe, ate a variety of great food and experienced life in Jozi

Fantastic experience - I would highly recommend to visitors who want to really experience South Africa and not just enjoy the nice beaches and restaurants. Tebogo was an amazing tour guide, everyone was so friendly and welcoming and it was a real highlight of our trip.

Great trip to learn more about South Africa’s history and see different sides of Johannesburg in one day. My guide, Khutso, was wonderful, and even though I was by myself I had fun and felt safe.

Extremely kind. James explained us everything about Johannesburg. it was a full experience for all the city, sharing the culture, food and knowledge. thank so much for this day.