Top historical and cultural spots to visit around Johannesburg

Apart from being the bustling city where dreams are known to come true, Johannesburg also boasts a rich history and a vibrant urban culture.

Exploring historical and cultural attractions around Johannesburg can be an eye-opening and enriching experience. Visitors often walk away with insight that is not only based on Johannesburg, but parts of South Africa’s culture and history too.

We’ve rounded up our top historical and cultural spots to visit around Johannesburg:

Apartheid Museum

Rich in history, the Apartheid Museum is one of South Africa’s most important attractions.

It affords visitors the opportunity to learn more about the country’s past, and specifically the Apartheid era.

Paying the museum a visit presents the chance to journey back in time as you delve into how segregation took place based on race, language and even hair texture.

You can explore a number of interesting and informative exhibits, including text panels, film footage and painful stories which expose the atrocities of the Apartheid era.

This historical spot stands not only as an informative reminder of the past, but also as a beacon of hope for all mankind.

Cradle of Humankind

The Cradle of Humankind is an important place, not only for those around Johannesburg but for the human race as a whole.

It is home to limestone caves which carry a rich fossil record for human evolutionary studies. Thus, it is the ideal place to learn more about human evolution and heritage. 

The site’s official visitors’ center showcases in-depth detail pertaining to how humans lived using spectacular storytelling methods. Thus, a visit to the Cradle of Humankind is a must-do for a fascinating and insightful historical experience.

Lesedi Cultural Village

Located among the rocky hills of the Cradle of Humankind, the Lesedi Cultural Village offers insight into South Africa’s diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Representing five major tribes—Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Basotho, and Ndebele (each with its own distinct homestead), the village offers cultural performances, storytelling, as well as useful information and a deeper understanding of the tribes’ traditional ways of life.

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Constitution Hill

Constitution Hill is a former prison complex which tells the story of South Africa’s turbulent past, as well as the transition to democracy.

The historical attraction was built in the 1890s. Moreover, it has previously incarcerated a number of well-known political prisoners including Joe Slovo, Mahatma Gandhi, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Nelson Mandela. Today, it is home to the country’s Constitutional Court.

Vilakazi Street

Vilakazi Street in Soweto stands firm as one of the country’s most popular and significant places to visit.

It is the only street in the world which can claim to have had two Nobel Laureates, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as residents.

The street is not only rich in history, but is also the place to be for a taste of the energetic buzz of Mzansi’s township culture.

Hector Pieterson Memorial

Located in Soweto’s Orlando West, the Hector Pieterson Memorial is a historical attraction which commemorates the life of Hector Pieterson and all those who marched through Soweto on the 16th of June 1976.

Visiting the memorial offers the chance to learn about the Soweto youth uprising, the country’s unfair history, as well as what it took for South Africa to be where it is today.

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