2 cities · 3 museums
Best Museums in South Africa
Independent visitor guides with admission, hours, and collection highlights.
Quick answer
World Museum Guide covers 3 museums in South Africa across 2cities — including Apartheid Museum, Robben Island Museum, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa — with admission prices, opening hours, and highlights for each. 1 of them offer always-free standard admission.
Planning your visit
How many museums are in South Africa?
World Museum Guide covers 3 museums in South Africa — 1 with free standard admission.
What are the best museums in South Africa?
Apartheid Museum, Robben Island Museum, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.
Are museums in South Africa free?
1 museums offer always-free standard admission. Special exhibitions may require separate tickets.
Browse by city
Johannesburg
Apartheid Museum
The Apartheid Museum opened in 2001 on a seven-hectare site next to Gold Reef City in Johannesburg. It was the first museum in South Africa dedicated to documenting the apartheid era and the struggle for democracy — conceived before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had completed its work.
Cape Town
Robben Island Museum
Robben Island — 'Seal Island' in Dutch — lies 7 km off the coast of Cape Town in Table Bay. For over 400 years it served as a prison, leper colony, and military base. From 1961 to 1991 it held political prisoners of the apartheid regime, including Nelson Mandela, who spent 18 of his 27 imprisoned years here.
Cape Town
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) is a contemporary art museum located in the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. The museum opened on 22 September 2017 and is the largest museum of contemporary African art in the world.