Apartheid Museum

Opened in 2001, the Apartheid Museum is a leading institution dedicated to illustrating the rise and fall of apartheid in South Africa. Located in Johannesburg’s Ormonde district, the museum features a range of exhibits, including film footage, photographs, and artifacts, curated by a multidisciplinary team. Visitors can explore the museum’s 22 exhibition areas, each providing insights into the state’s system of racial discrimination and the struggle for democracy. The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 17:00, and is closed on public holidays, except for Youth Day on June 16, when South African citizens receive free entry. Admission fees vary for international visitors and South African citizens, with discounts available for students, pensioners, and children. Guided tours are available for an additional fee and must be pre-booked. The museum is located at the corner of Northern Parkway and Gold Reef Roads, Ormonde, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Planning your visit

The Apartheid Museum is built as a sequence rather than a set of rooms. Opened in 2001 in Johannesburg's Ormonde district, its 22 exhibition areas move chronologically through the rise and fall of apartheid using film, photography and original artifacts, beginning with a ticket that randomly assigns you an entrance marked by race. Most visitors need two to three hours, and the emotional weight of it is part of the design.

Because the museum sits in a wider historical landscape, most bookable options pair it with related sites rather than treating it in isolation. Common combinations include Soweto — the township at the centre of the resistance — as a half or full-day tour, and Constitution Hill, the former prison complex that now houses South Africa's Constitutional Court. Others build in Gold Reef City's mining history or the Lesedi Cultural Village. Guided formats add the historical framing that makes the exhibits land, particularly for visitors new to South African history. Current options are shown below.