Johannesburg Historical, Apartheid Museum & Soweto

What's included

What you'll see and do

1. Standard Bank Ferreira Mine Stope

   In the 1980s when Standard Bank was preparing the foundations for its new headquarters in the Johannesburg city centre, builders uncovered the entrance to a long-forgotten mine stope that dates back to the city's very earliest gold-mining days. During the completion of the building the mine stope was preserved and it is now open daily to visitors. The stope is named for Ignatius Phillip Ferreira, a farmer, soldier and prospector who left his hometown of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape to join the Gauteng gold rush in 1886. He founded one of the area's very first mining camps in July 1886, and just three months later struck gold.

   Pass by without stopping

2. Constitution Hill Human Rights Precinct

   Constitution Hill represents South Africa’s dark past and its bright post-apartheid future. Johannesburg’s most notorious historic prisons (all of them now museums) sit side by side with the home of the Constitutional Court, a symbol of South Africa’s triumphant democracy. The site is located on the ridge between two city neighbourhoods, Hillbrow and Braamfontein, overlooking central Johannesburg.... Historical background Before Constitutional Hill opened its doors as a museum in 2004, the precinct housed a collection of notorious prisons which included the Old Fort, a high-security prison built in the 1890s to house prisoners of war during the Anglo-Boer Wars (1899-1902), the Number Four prison block, a so-called “Native Prison”, and the Women’s Gaol. During the apartheid era the prison complex became a detention centre for political dissidents, striking mineworkers, those deemed “anti-establishment” and those who simply violated the inhuman pass laws of the time. Many ordinary and famous people were incarcerated here during its years as a prison including former president Nelson Mandela and passive resistance leader Mahatma Gandhi, who were both imprisoned for their pro-democracy activism.

   90 minutes here · Admission included

3. Maboneng Precinct

   Entrepreneur Jonathan Liebmann bought up dozens of rundown industrial warehouses and factories on the eastern edge of the inner­ city and set about transforming them. He was inspired by his travels to other cities where he had enjoyed the vibrancy of 24/7 urban life The name Maboneng is a Sotho word meaning “place of light”, and the growing precinct aims to transform an area that was once blighted by urban decay and crime into a safe, happening and inspiring place to live, work and play. Frequently compared with trendy, rejuvenated neighbourhoods such as London’s Shoreditch or New York’s Brooklyn, this pioneering precinct draws the inner-city public, as well as the chic, outgoing and party­loving crowds of the city’s northern suburbs. Best Place to be...(Sunday)

   60 minutes here

4. Newtown

   Today, Newtown remains resolutely color-blind with artists of all races gathering here. Strategic regeneration projects in downtown Johannesburg have facilitated the development of Newtown as a tourist attraction, residential zone and cultural area.The bridge, which spans the railway tracks which separate the Newtown and Braamfontein neighbourhoods in the Johannesburg city centre took 18 months to build and was completed in 2003. It is the largest cable-stayed bridge in southern Africa Designed by leading architectural firm Dissing and Weitling, the bridge was specially designed to be lightweight –The construction of the bridge was part of a larger city project to rejuvenate and modernise the inner city and inspire both local and foreign visitors to the city, while also providing an easy, convenient and safe way for residents to travel between the two districts on foot or by car. Some of the trendiest places to visit in Johannesburg can be found in Newtown and Braamfontein.

   Pass by without stopping

5. Apartheid Museum

   Apartheid museum the first of its kind, illustrates the rise and fall of apartheid...

   120 minutes here · Admission not included

6. Johannesburg

   A stamp battery, or stamp mill, was a piece of equipment used to crush gold-bearing rock brought from underground.

   20 minutes here

7. Diepkloof Park

   Diepkloof Extension Upper Class Diepkloof is also characterized by Hostels, which were Built to House large numbers of single male migrant workers.

   15 minutes here · Admission not included

8. The largest hospital in Africa and the third-largest hospital in the world.

   Pass by without stopping

9. Orlando Towers

   Cooling towers make for one of the world’s most epic bungee jumps.

   15 minutes here · Admission not included

10. Vilakazi Street

    Vilakazi Street may be the only street in the world that can claim to have had two Nobel Laureates as residents - the late Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. The true electricity of this street comes from those who now call it home, each with their own beautiful stories.

    15 minutes here · Admission not included

11. Mandela House

    8115 Vilakazi Street, Soweto, is a small, face-brick house where the Mandela family lived from 1946 to the 1990s. Today the house is a museum celebrating his life through artwork

    30 minutes here · Admission included

12. Hector Pieterson Memorial

    Commemorates 12-year-old Hector’s ultimate sacrifice on June 16, the first child to die by a police bullet. He is buried in Avalon Cemetery, where many of apartheid’s victims are buried.

    30 minutes here · Admission not included

13. Pass Demonstrations at Mzimhlophe station, Soweto. During the time of the Treason Trial, there were many protests to highlight the injustices of the South African Government. Home to unique Elephant Houses

    Pass by without stopping

14. Coloured township. It is colloquially called "Bulte"(meaning Hills) by its residents and neighbors, as depicted by the Mine Dumps surrounding the Township. The name "Bulte" was coined as a form of endearment by the residen…

    Pass by without stopping

Where it starts and ends

Before you book

Cancellation

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Languages

en

Ticket

Mobile Only

Runs on

Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun

Group size

Up to 15 travelers per booking

Operated by

Lets Go Travel and Leisure

Know before you go

• Wheelchair accessible
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
• All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Photos