Sights in Africa
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Kliptown Open Air Museum
The Kliptown Open Air Museum tells the story of how the Freedom Charter came to be drafted through photos, newspaper clippings, art and song.
reviewed
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A
Huguenot Monument
reviewed
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B
Huguenot Memorial Museum
This museum celebrates South Africa’s Huguenots and houses the genealogical records of their descendants. Behind the main complex is a pleasant cafe; in front is the Huguenot Monument, opened in 1948, and across the road is the annexe, which offers displays on the Anglo-Boer War and natural history.
reviewed
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Home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Just down Vilakazi St, by Sakhumzi Restaurant, is the Home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
reviewed
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C
Donkin Reserve
Located on a hill, immediately behind the town centre, Donkin Reserve is a handy point for getting your bearings. Climb up inside the lighthouse for good views over the bay. The pyramid on the reserve is a memorial to Elizabeth Donkin, beloved wife of Sir Rufane Donkin, once the governor of Cape Province.
reviewed
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Credo Mutwa Cultural Village
The Credo Mutwa Cultural Village is a series of clay sculptures and buildings inspired by African folklore, and created in 1974 by Credo Mutwa, an artist and healer (though some of the buildings were destroyed after he made controversial comments about the 1976 Soweto uprising). After years of neglect, a restoration was completed in 2008.
reviewed
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D
Campanile
This bell tower, visible from the city centre, was erected to commemorate the landing of the 1820 British settlers. Unfortunately, it’s near the entrance to the harbour and railway station, a bit of a dodgy area. If you’re keen to climb the 53.5m structure via 204 steps to view the largest carillon of bells in the country, do so in a group if possible.
reviewed
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E
Bayworld
This ageing complex includes a small museum, an oceanarium and a snake park. Alongside the many stuffed and pickled marine mammals in the museum is some beautiful Xhosa beadwork incorporating modern materials, and a replica of the Algoasaurus dinosaur. Trained seals perform at the old-fashioned oceanarium at 11am and 3pm daily.
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Avalon Cemetery
At Avalon Cemetery, you’ll find the graves of Hector Pieterson (Plot EC462) and Joe Slovo (Plot B35311), former leader of the South African Communist Party.
reviewed
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F
Shell Museum
The Shell Museum, next to Jeffrey’s Bay Tourism, contains over 350 deep-water and rare shells. Out of the sea they look beautiful but rather sad in their glass boxes.
reviewed
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G
VOC Kruithuis
The VOC Kruithuis was built in 1777 to store the town’s weapons and gunpowder and now houses a small military museum.
reviewed
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H
Village Museum
A group of exquisitely restored and period-furnished houses dating from 1709 to 1850 make up this museum, which occupies the entire city block bounded by Ryneveld, Plein, Drostdy and Church Sts and is a must-see. Also included are charming gardens and, on the other side of Drostdy St, stately Grosvenor House.
reviewed
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University of Stellenbosch Art Gallery
In an old Lutheran Church, the university’s art gallery focuses on contemporary works by South African artists and art students. It’s well worth a visit.
reviewed
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J
Toy & Miniature Museum
This delightfully surprising museum features a remarkable collection of amazingly detailed toys ranging from railway sets to dollhouses – ask curator Philip Kleynhans to point out some of the more interesting pieces.
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Sasol Art Museum
Featuring one of the country’s best selections of local art, both famous and emerging, this museum also contains an irreplaceable collection of African anthropological treasures.
reviewed
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L
Fick House
On the northwest corner is Fick House, also known as the Burgerhuis, a fine example of Cape Dutch style from the late 18th century. Most of this building is now occupied by Historical Homes of South Africa, established to preserve important architecture.
reviewed
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M
The Braak
At the north end of the Braak, an open stretch of grass, you’ll find the neo-Gothic St Mary’s on the Braak Church, completed in 1852. To the west of the church is the VOC Kruithuis, which was built in 1777 to store the town’s weapons and gunpowder and now houses a small military museum. On the northwest corner of the square is Fick House, also known as the Burgerhuis, a fine example of Cape Dutch style from the late 18th century. Most of this building is now occupied by Historical Homes of South Africa, which was established to preserve the country’s important architecture.
reviewed
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Joan St Leger Lindbergh Arts Centre
The great-granddaughter of the founder of the Cape Times, Joan St Leger was an artist and poet. She bequeathed her Sir Herbert Baker–designed home and adjoining properties to make this excellent arts and cultural centre. There are changing art displays, a wonderful library, a gallery of evocative photos of how Muizenberg once looked, and a café. Concerts are generally held on the Thursday morning at the start of the month (R50) and Wednesday evening at the end of the month (R105).
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Montecasino Bird Gardens
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O
Mary Fitzgerald Sq
Mary Fitzgerald Sq (named after South Africa’s first female trade unionist) is probably the best place to start a visit to central Jo’burg. As well as being the staging ground for a number of annual events – check Jo’burg city’s website (www.joburg.org.za) for details – it’s also a good place to people-watch at one of the area’s cafes. The square is lined by an array of heads carved by Newtown artists from old railway sleepers, and is bordered by the Jazz Walk of Fame, a Hollywood Blvd–style walkway that pays tribute to South Africa’s most influential jazz musicians. There’s also a bronze sculpture honouring Brenda Fassie, one of the country’s most popular musicians, who…
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P
Market Theatre
The lively Market Theatre complex, next door to Museum Africa, puts on regular shows and has a couple of restaurants and some craft stalls.
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Constitutional Court
The Constitution Hill development focuses on South Africa’s new Constitutional Court, built within the ramparts of the Old Fort, which dates from 1892 and was once a notorious prison, where many of the country’s high-profile political activists, including Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, were held. Ruling on constitutional and human-rights matters, the court itself is a very real symbol of the changing South Africa: a lekgotla (place of gathering) rising from the ashes of one of the city’s most poignant apartheid-system monuments, with cases heard in all 11 official languages. The modern structure incorporates sections of the old prison walls, plus large windows that…
reviewed
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AECI Dynamite Factory Museum
The AECI Dynamite Factory Museum, housed in an original 1895 homestead 16km northeast of the city centre, charts the development of South Africa’s explosives industry (a crucial factor in Jo’burg’s development as a mining centre).
reviewed
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Q
Graeco-Roman Museum
One of the sights not to miss is the large collection of realistic terracotta statuettes (tanagra) from the Hellenistic period. Also look for three different carved heads representing the city's founder, Alexander. From the Delta region, an impressive wall-hung mosaic from the 3rd century BC portrays Berenice, wife of Ptolemy III. Equally impressive is the giant Apis bull in basalt from the time of Hadrian, found at the Serapeum, and two carvings of the god Serapis - one in wood, the other in marble. Serapis is a wholly Alexandrian creation, a divinity part Egyptian (the husband of Isis) and part Greek, with echoes of Zeus and Poseidon. Ptolemy I promoted him as a way of…
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