Museums · Johannesburg · South Africa
5 best museums in Johannesburg
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: NJR ZA, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Start with Apartheid Museum, Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum and Origins Centre. Together the 5 picks below take roughly 7–9 hours across 5 areas; 1 is free.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 5
- Free entry
- 1
- Time to see them all
- 7–9 hours
- Areas
- Ormonde, Soweto and Braamfontein
Museums in Johannesburg
Museum · Ormonde
1.Apartheid Museum
Opened in 2001 next to Gold Reef City, the museum tells the story of racial segregation from the gold-rush era to the 1994 elections through film, photographs, documents and personal testimony.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Rainy day
Museum · Soweto
2.Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum
On 16 June 1976 police opened fire on students protesting against Afrikaans-language schooling, and 12-year-old Hector Pieterson was among those killed.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
Museum · Braamfontein
3.Origins Centre
At the University of the Witwatersrand, this museum explores human origins in Africa and holds one of the finest collections of southern African rock art.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
Museum · Orchards
4.Satyagraha House
Gandhi lived in this thatched house, designed by his friend the architect Hermann Kallenbach, in 1908–1909 while developing his philosophy of non-violent resistance.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Off the beaten path
Gallery · Rosebank
5.Rosebank galleries and Keyes Art Mile
A cluster of commercial galleries around Jellicoe Avenue and Keyes Avenue shows leading contemporary South African and African artists, with design shops and restaurants in between.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Shopping
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Ormonde | Apartheid Museum | 2–3 hours |
| Soweto | Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum | 1 hour |
| Braamfontein | Origins Centre | 1.5 hours |
| Orchards | Satyagraha House | 1 hour |
| Rosebank | Rosebank galleries and Keyes Art Mile | 1–2 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 5, 1 free, 4 low cost. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is Apartheid Museum; group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 2 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Ormonde and Soweto): Apartheid Museum → Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Braamfontein, Orchards and Rosebank): Origins Centre → Satyagraha House → Rosebank galleries and Keyes Art Mile, at least 4 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- June: highs of 16°C (61°F), about 1 rainy days, quiet crowds. Midwinter: bright blue skies but cold mornings and nights, sometimes near freezing; many guesthouses have limited heating.
- May: highs of 19°C (66°F), about 2 rainy days, quiet crowds. Dry and sunny, with cold nights starting; a good month for Pilanesberg and Kruger as vegetation thins.
- December: highs of 26°C (79°F), about 12 rainy days, quiet crowds. Many residents leave for the coast, so roads are quieter and city hotels offer lower rates; storms are frequent.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Rosebank — Galleries, a Sunday rooftop market and a walkable centre by Joburg standards
- Braamfontein — Student district with rooftop bars, galleries and a Saturday food market
More of Johannesburg
All things to do in Johannesburg · Where to stay · When to go.
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Johannesburg?
Apartheid Museum. Opened in 2001 next to Gold Reef City, the museum tells the story of racial segregation from the gold-rush era to the 1994 elections through film, photographs, documents and personal testimony.
+Which of these are free in Johannesburg?
Rosebank galleries and Keyes Art Mile.