Soweto and Apartheid Museum Tour
- Starts by being collected from your hotel in the morning. Before entering Soweto we pass by the National Football Stadium where the opening and closing ceremony of the 2010 Soccer World Cup took place.
- Taking us into the suburb of Diepkloof passing by the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto Campus of the University of Johannesburg and the Orlando Towers.
- Making our way to Orlando West where you will have the opportunity to read about the Soweto uprising of the June 16, 1976 in the Hector Pieterson Museum.
- In Orlando West we visit Vilakazi Street, passing homes of 2 noble peace prizes winners who once lived in the same street. Home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former home of Nelson Mandela.
- The Apartheid Museum (Available on Full Day Tour) opened in 2001 and is acknowledged as the pre-eminent museum in the world dealing with 20th century South Africa, at the heart of which is the apartheid story.
Optional visit into the Mandela House Museum.
Visit our
Half Day Soweto Tour or our best seller the
Jo'burg Ultimate Tour.
Soweto
A vibrant township steeped in history and culture of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality located in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city’s mining area in the south portion. Previously a different municipality, it is presently fused in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. It turned into an autonomous municipality with chosen Black councilors in the 1983, in accordance with the Black Local Authorities Act.
Soccer City Stadium
This iconic 87 436 seats, is the largest venue in South Africa and the country’s proud global colossal located in Nasrec, south of Johannesburg.
The unique design of FNB Stadium is highly regarded internationally, and is often fondly referred to as the “Calabash” or “African Pot” after being reconstructed to the tune of R 3.3 billion in time for the first ever African Soccer World Cup in 2010.
Previously known as Soccer City, the stadium has been the centre of historic events, starting with the first speech from former President Nelson Mandela in 1990, a few days after being released from prison where he served 27 years.
The venue has hosted the biggest sports and music events this country has ever seen, including the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The continental Africa Cup of Nations final in 2013 was also played at the stadium.
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital
The 3rd largest Hospital in the world and being the largest in Africa.
Orlando Towers
Has become one of the most distinctive landmarks in the neighbourhood of Soweto. The power station was shut down in 1998 and was transformed into an entertainment and business centre in 2008.
Vilakazi Street
Vilakazi Street is the Soweto street of the greats, named after Dr Benedict Wallet Vilakazi, a distinguished writer and educator who wrote the first poetry book published in Zulu.
The homes of two Nobel Peace Prize laureates – South Africa’s first democratically elected president, the late Nelson Mandela, and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu – are found on Vilakazi Street. This is the only street in the world that can boast having had two Nobel Laureates as residents.
Hector Pieterson Museum
In the early 1990s, the Hector Pieterson Memorial was erected on Khumalo Street in Soweto, not far from where Pieterson was shot, commemorating all those who died or were injured that day and June 16 became the National Youth Day public holiday.
On June 16, 2002, the Hector Pieterson Museum opened next to the memorial. Dedicated to preserving the memory of the 1976 uprising and the events surrounding it, the museum contains a moving collection of oral testimonies, pictures, audiovisual displays and historical documents relating to the events of 1976.
By now you will have seen the good, the bad and the ugly side of Soweto. After visiting the memorial that concludes our half day Soweto tour and we make our way back to your Hotel passing by some of shanty towns exiting Soweto.
The Apartheid Museum (not included in half day tour)
The Apartheid Museum, the first of its kind, illustrates the rise and fall of apartheid.
An architectural consortium, comprising several leading architectural firms, conceptualised the design of the building on a seven-hectare stand. The museum is a superb example of design, space and landscape offering the international community a unique South African experience.
The exhibits have been assembled and organised by a multi-disciplinary team of curators, film-makers, historians and designers. They include provocative film footage, photographs, text panels and artefacts illustrating the events and human stories that are part of the horrific period in our history, known as apartheid.
