Museums in Johannesburg

10 museums listed in Johannesburg, Gauteng with CastAwayZA. Get GPS directions and contact numbers on the free app.

South African National Museum of Military History

Johannesburg, GautengThe South African National Museum of Military History, located in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, serves as the primary repository of the country's military heritage. Spanning an 80-hectare site, the museum houses over 44,000 artifacts that chronicle South Africa's involvement in global conflicts like World War I and World War II, as well as the internal anti-Apartheid armed struggle. The institution is globally renowned for its rare aviation collection, which features unique preservation pieces including the world's only remaining night-fighter variant of the Messerschmitt Me 262 and a wooden de Havilland Mosquito.View details →Museums

Lindfield Victorian House Museum

Johannesburg, GautengBuilt in 1909-1910, this Victorian house museum features period furnishings & guided tours. Stepping into a house museum feels like walking into a still-life painting—time slows, and the past becomes almost tangible. These carefully preserved spaces seem to breathe with quiet life. In every treasured object, you can sense the stories of those who lived there, their presence lingering gently in their absence.View details →Museums

Origins Centre, Wits University

Johannesburg, GautengThe Origins Centre at Wits University in Johannesburg is a premier museum dedicated to documenting the history of humankind, African heritage, and ancient rock art. Opened in 2006, the facility takes visitors on a journey tracing millions of years of human evolution, utilizing an extensive collection of stone tools, replica hominin skulls, and cultural artifacts. A core highlight of the museum is its vast display of San rock art, curated in collaboration with the university's Rock Art Research Institute to showcase the spiritual and ritual history of southern Africa's earliest inhabitants. Located on the Braamfontein campus, the underground museum provides audio guides in multiple languages, operates six days a week, and features supporting visitor amenities including an onsite café and a museum shop specializing in local African crafts.View details →Museums

Museum Africa

Johannesburg, GautengMuseum Africa is situated in the heart of the Newtown Cultural Precinct, it is the Johannesburg's leading history museum. It is housed in what was the first purpose built fruit and vegetable market build in 1913, which at the time was a fine example of the advances made in industrial building techniques.View details →Museums

Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre

Johannesburg, GautengThe Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre is a place of memory, education, dialogue and lessons for humanity. The JHGC explores the history of genocide in the 20th century with a focus on the case studies of the Holocaust and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. It examines the connections between genocide and contemporary human rights issues in South Africa, urging visitors to understand the consequences of prejudice, discrimination and othering.View details →Museums

Constitution Hill Human Rights Precinct

Johannesburg, GautengThere is perhaps no other site of incarceration in South Africa that imprisoned the sheer number of world-renowned men and women as those held within the walls of Constitution Hill’s Old Fort, Women's Jail and Number Four.View details →Museums

James Hall Museum of Transport

Johannesburg, GautengThe James Hall Museum of Transport in Johannesburg is the largest and most comprehensive museum of land transport in South Africa. It was established by the Late Jimmie Hall together with the City of Johannesburg in February 1964. The JHMT gives visitors a rare glimpse of Johannesburg's transport history, dating back more than a century. The museum is the most comprehensive land transport museum in South Africa, with thematic displays and exhibits in the various exhibition halls.View details →Museums

Museum of Illusions Johannesburg

Johannesburg, GautengMuseum of Illusions Joburg is a unique and exciting museum dedicated to providing visitors with a fun, interactive and educational experience that challenges perception and inspires creativity. Our museum features a variety of exhibits that use optical illusions, visual tricks, and hands-on interactive displays to create a playful environment that engages visitors of all ages. Our museum is located @Zone in Rosebank, and we are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable experience for all of our visitors.View details →Museums

Women's Jail

Johannesburg, GautengThe Women's Jail in Braamfontein is a historic former prison that is now a moving museum and part of the larger Constitution Hill Human Rights Precinct. Built in 1910, this red-brick building with its beautiful central atrium held both black and white female inmates in separate sections. The building's polite architecture hid a history of deep pain and abuse. Thousands of ordinary women were locked up here for small "crimes," like brewing beer or violating strict pass laws. The prison closed its doors for good in 1983. Today, the space has been beautifully transformed into a place of hope. Part of the jail now serves as the office for the Commission on Gender Equality and other human rights groups.View details →Museums

The Workers' Museum

Johannesburg, GautengThe Workers' Museum in Newtown, Johannesburg, is a poignant heritage site that uncovers the brutal realities of the migrant labor system in South Africa. Housed in a restored 1913 municipal compound, it stands as one of the last remaining intact examples of a municipal migrant labor hostel. The museum serves as a powerful memorial to the hundreds of thousands of African men who were uprooted from rural homelands and neighboring countries to build Johannesburg’s infrastructure under inhumane, segregated conditions.View details →

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