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Best Attractions in Johannesburg (2026)

Johannesburg's main sights are less about grand monuments than about the twentieth-century history that shaped modern South Africa. The Apartheid Museum in Ormonde is the essential starting point, and it needs at least two or three hours. Constitution Hill in Braamfontein, a former prison that is now home to the Constitutional Court, is best seen on a guided tour; the two-hour Full Tour leaves at 10:00 and 13:00. In Soweto, Mandela House and the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum are a short walk apart in Orlando West, so they are easily combined in one visit, ideally with lunch on Vilakazi Street. Liliesleaf in Rivonia completes the story of the liberation movement.

Sights are spread out, so plan by area and use ride-hailing apps, an organised tour or the City Sightseeing red bus, which stops at Constitution Hill, the Apartheid Museum, Gold Reef City and Johannesburg Zoo. Book Gold Reef City tickets online, as they are not sold at the gate, and check opening days, as several sights close on Mondays or Sundays. For greener days, the Johannesburg Botanical Garden at Emmarentia and Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, with its waterfall and nesting eagles, are good choices. The Origins Centre at Wits University is an excellent introduction to human origins and rock art.

9 places · Updated October 23, 2026

Our top 3 attractions in Johannesburg

  1. Apartheid Museum History museum, OrmondeThe Apartheid Museum beside Gold Reef City tells the story of the rise and fall of apartheid through film, photographs, documents and a striking race-classified entrance.
  2. Constitution Hill Former prison, museum and Constitutional Court, BraamfonteinConstitution Hill is a former prison complex in Braamfontein, now a museum and home of South Africa's Constitutional Court, where Mandela, Gandhi and many activists were held.
  3. Mandela House Historic house museum, Orlando West, SowetoMandela House on Vilakazi Street is the small red-brick Soweto home where Nelson Mandela lived from 1946 to 1962, now a museum of his life and family.

Attraction

1. Apartheid Museum

History museumOrmonde

The Apartheid Museum beside Gold Reef City tells the story of the rise and fall of apartheid through film, photographs, documents and a striking race-classified entrance.

View details — Apartheid Museum

Attraction

2. Constitution Hill

Former prison, museum and Constitutional CourtBraamfontein

Constitution Hill is a former prison complex in Braamfontein, now a museum and home of South Africa's Constitutional Court, where Mandela, Gandhi and many activists were held.

View details — Constitution Hill

Attraction

3. Mandela House

Historic house museumOrlando West, Soweto

Mandela House on Vilakazi Street is the small red-brick Soweto home where Nelson Mandela lived from 1946 to 1962, now a museum of his life and family.

View details — Mandela House

Attraction

7. Gold Reef City

Theme park and gold mine tourOrmonde

Gold Reef City is a gold rush themed amusement park built on an old mine in Ormonde, with roller coasters, family rides and an underground mine tour.

View details — Gold Reef City

Attraction

8. Origins Centre

Museum of human origins and rock artBraamfontein

The Origins Centre at Wits University explores the story of human origins in Africa and holds a large collection of southern African rock art.

View details — Origins Centre