Johannesburg Day Tours

Lesedi Cultural Village and Lion Park Day Tour – Quick View

Lion Park

A Conservation enclosure for animals. It is in the Cradle of Humankind in the North West province. It moved to Cradle of Humankind in July 2016.

The park offers animal interactions guided game drives and self-drives. Guests also have the opportunity to engage in the experience of hand feeding a selection of animals including giraffes, ostriches, and various other antelope species that roam freely on the 600-hectare property.

Lesedi Cultural Village

A tourist village that was initiated as a tourist attraction in 1995. The village celebrates the South African traditional cultures of different tribes which are Zulu, BaSotho, Ndebele, Xhosa, and Pedi. The Village reproduces traditional dwellings and offers a demonstration of dances and other cultural activities.

Pretoria City Day Tour – Quick View

Pretoria City

Pretoria is named after the Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius and sometimes called “Jacaranda City” due to the thousands of jacaranda trees planted in its streets, parks and gardens.

The administrative capital of South Africa. It is one of the country’s three capital cities, serving as the seat of the administrative branch of government.

Pretoria has a reputation for being an academic city with three universities, the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), University of Pretoria (UP), and the University of South Africa (UNISA) Pretoria is the central part of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

Cullinan Diamond Mine

Cullinan is a small town east of Pretoria along the diamond route that is heavily reliant on tourism and the mine that dominates the skyline.

The town is named after Thomas Cullinan. Operators offer tours around the Cullinan; tourists can choose between tours around town within the mining area and even underground mining tours. The mine forms the main source of income.

The Cullinan forms part of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. Cullinan mine is one of the world’s most celebrated diamond mine and one of the major sources of the blue diamonds in the world. It is the third richest mine in the country. The mine is owned by Petra Diamonds in the town of Cullinan.

Church Square

Church square started out as marketplace for farmers. Its name changed with construction of a mud-walked at center of the square. The Church burned down in 1882 and another church was constructed and eventually demolished.

Today Church Square is a flat open expense that affords clear views of the buildings that surround it.

The founder of Pretoria, Marthinus Pretoria determined that the square be used as a market place and churchyard.

It was named for the church buildings that stood at the center of the square from 1856-1905. The square is surrounded by historical buildings.

Union Building

The union building forms part of the logo for the city of Tshwane the administrative capital of South Africa. The sandstone building designed by Sir Herbert Baker was started in 1910 to commemorate South Africa’s union-status obtained in that year.

Unfortunately, you cannot go inside the buildings themselves because the Union Buildings form the official seat of the South African Government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa.

Paul Kruger Museum

The last house of Paul Kruger which today is a museum displaying life during the days he stayed in this house. The house has been refurbished to showcase the life and time during the period Kruger resided here, between 1884 and 1900, when he left for Europe in exile.

The house was built in 1884 by Charles Clark and it was designed by an architect named Tom Claridge.

Paul Kruger was State President of the South African Republic and was renowned internationally for his struggle for freedom from the British during the Second Boer War (1899 – 1902).  Both the Kruger National Park and the Krugerrand coin are named after him.

Pretoria, Soweto And Apartheid Museum – Quick View

Pretoria City

Pretoria is named after the Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius and sometimes called the “Jacaranda City” due to the thousands of jacaranda trees planted in its streets, parks, and gardens. The administrative capital of South Africa.

It is one of the country’s three capital cities, serving as the seat of the administrative branch of government.

Pretoria has a reputation for being an academic city with three universities, the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), University of Pretoria (UP), and the University of South Africa (UNISA) Pretoria is the central part of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

Voortrekker

The Voortrekker Monument Pretoria stands over 40 meters tall on its hilltop home and is visible from a large part of Pretoria. The monument was built in honor of the Voortrekkers (Pioneers) who left the Cape colony between 1835 and 1854.

Gerard Moerdijk was the architect and it was his idea to design a monument that would stand a thousand years to describe the history and meaning of the Great Trek to its descendants.

Two elements make the site worth visiting: The Historical Frieze and The Cenotaph Hall.

Paul Kruger House

The beautiful Victorian-style home was interestingly built using milk instead of water for mixing the cement as the cement of the time was deemed to be of poor quality.

Paul Kruger’s home was one of the first in the city to use electricity, and he had one of the first telephones installed in Pretoria in 1891.

The museum was opened in 1934 and was declared a National Museum in 1936. The Kruger House Museum lies just a few blocks from Church square where his bronze statue takes Centre stage facing the Palace of Justice.

Church Square

The square is surrounded by historical buildings. At the center square stands a large bronze statue of the 19th-century leader Paul Kruger dressed in a top hat and carrying a walking cane.

The statue was commissioned by the wealthy industrialist Sammy Marks and sculpted in 1896 by famed South African sculptor Anton van Wouw.

First installed in the front of Princes Park and then later moved to the Pretoria Station, the statue was finally moved to its plinth on Church Square in 1954.

Union Building

Visitors are free to explore the terraced gardens that look out over the city. The gardens are popular for family picnics or to have wedding photos taken and also often functions as the venue for major concerts and festivals.

It was in the gardens of this building that former president Nelson Mandela’s inauguration ceremony was held on the 10th of May 1994.

Within the gardens, you will find various monuments to important historic South Africans figures including a monument of General Louis Botha riding a horse and imposing 9m tall bronze statue of Nelson Mandela that was unveiled here just after his death in 2013.

Mandela House

The Nelson Mandela National Museum, commonly called Mandela House was built in 1945. Nelson Mandela lived in the house from 1946. Former South African President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and his family lived here from 1946 into the 1990s.

The house is located at number 8115 at corner of Vilakazi and Ngakane streets. Mandela donated the house to the Soweto Heritage Trust (of which he was the founder) on 1 September 1997, to be run as a museum.

It was declared a National Heritage Site in 1999. Nelson Mandela returned here for a brief 11 days after his release from Robben Island in 1990, before finally moving to his present house in Houghton.

The Mandela House is managed by the Soweto Heritage Trust, a partnership project between the City of Johannesburg, the Standard Bank Group, and the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation.

Hector Pieterson Museum

The museum is in Orlando West two blocks away from where Hector Pieterson was shot and killed during school protest in 1976 on the 16th of June.

Today the 16th of June is recognized as public holiday in South Africa. The museum is named in his honor and covers the events of the anti-Apartheid Soweto Uprising, where more than 170 protesting school children were killed.

The Hector Pieterson Museum became one of the first museums in Soweto when it opened on 16 June 2002. A companion museum nearby is Mandela House, the former home of Nelson Mandela and his family.

Sakhumzi Restaurant

Sakhumzi Restaurant is in Soweto – the largest black township in South Africa. Vilakazi Street, the tourist Mecca of Soweto, is where Sakhumzi opens its doors to anyone and everyone – from locals to tourists and even corporate groups.

Sakhumzi is a restaurant with true ‘Kasi’ flavor. Kasi, meaning township. The lounge became the eating area, which soon spilled over into the bedrooms and every part of the house. Complete with original doors, walls, flooring and rooms, Sakhumzi Restaurant was born in 2001.

Regina Mundi

The church is located in the middle of Soweto, in Rockville, in the neighborhood of Moroka, it was built in 1964, replacing Moroka’s former parish church. While the A-shaped exterior of the building is quite ordinary in design, its main feature is the vast interior that can accommodate as many as 5000-7000 people.

The stained-glass windows are decorated with scenes of Mary’s life and were donated by Poland in 1998.  Regina Mundi (Latin for “Queen of the World”) designed by architect Anthony Noel Errol Slaven, is the largest Roman Catholic Church in South Africa.

It is located in Rockville, Soweto, and a popular black urban residential area within the city of Johannesburg. Due to the role it played as a place of gathering for the people of Soweto in the years before, during, and after the anti-apartheid struggle, it is often referred to as “the people’s church” or “the people’s cathedral”.

Apartheid Museum

Apartheid museum was opened in November 2001. It is part of the Gold Reef City complex. Apartheid Museum illustrates the rise and fall of apartheid.

The museum demonstrates how people were treated during apartheid by showcasing exhibitions organized by a multi-disciplinary team of curators, filmmakers, historians, and designers. They include provocative film footage, photographs, text panels and artifacts illustrating the events and human stories that are part of history.

The museum has 3 different types of exhibition, Permanent exhibition consists of 21 exhibitions, Mandela Exhibitions has 6 exhibitions and Temporary Exhibitions has 11 exhibitions.

Mandela Bridge

It is the 4th of five bridges that cross the railway lines and sidings. It separates the Newtown and Braamfontein neighborhoods in Johannesburg city. It is the largest cable-stayed bridge in Southern Africa.

The bridge is named in honor of South Africa’s first democratically elected president, and the structure itself is symbolic of Nelson Mandela’s role in bridging the apartheid divide and uniting South African society.

In 2010 ahead of the World Cup the lighting on the bridge was upgraded and now every night the bridge is lit up in the colors of the rainbow. Designed by leading architectural firm Dissing and Weitling, the bridge was specially designed to be lightweight – a combination of structural steel and concrete composite deck ensures that it is as light as possible while offering stability and strength.

Construction of the bridge proved to be operationally and logistically challenging: the engineering team had to devise a way to construct the bridge across 42 railway lines without disrupting rail traffic.

Johannesburg City

Johannesburg was founded on the 4th of October 1886bduring the Gold Rush period.

One of the youngest of the world’s major cities, Johannesburg was founded in 1886, following the discovery of gold. The city was initially part of the Transvaal, an independent Afrikaner, or Boer, republic that later became one of the four provinces of South Africa.

Today the city is a part of Gauteng (a Sotho word meaning “Place of Gold”), one of the nine provinces of South Africa.

Cradle of Humankind Tour – Quick View

Sterkfontein Caves

Sterkfontein Caves are world-famous for their fossil finds and are a popular visitor destination. The Sterkfontein Caves are owned by the University of the Witwatersrand, whose scientists have been responsible for the main excavations at this World Heritage Site.

They are credited with many of the most notable discoveries in the caves, including the world-famous fossils of Mrs. Ples and Little Foot, the latter being an almost complete Australopithecus skeleton dating back more than three million years.

You will be introduced to “Mrs. Ples”, the “Taung Child” and “Little Foot” before heading underground to explore the caves, where scientists have discovered many hominid and other animal fossils dating back more than 4-million years to the birth of humanity.

Maropeng Museum

The Maropeng Visitor Centre is an award-winning, world-class exhibition, focusing on the development of humans and our ancestors over the past few million years.

See fossils, learn about how humankind was born, and view stone tools that are up to one million years old. Maropeng also offers astronomy talks and exhibitions by a resident astronomer, as well as archeological tours and excursions.

Constitutional Hill, Apartheid Museum and Soweto Tours – Quick View

Constitutional Hill

Constitution Hill is a museum that tells stories of South Africa’s journey to democracy, the site is a former prison and military forth that bears testaments of South Africa’s turbulent past.

Constitution Hill is also a place of contrasts: of injustice and justice, of oppression and liberation.  Constitution Hill is almost as old as the city of Johannesburg, and the story behind its historic museums is outlined in the pages on the Old Fort, the Women’s Jail, and Number Four.

The highest court in the land, South Africa’s Constitutional Court is a deeply symbolic and significant site.

Though its doors were first opened by then-President Nelson Mandela on 14 February 1995, it occupied temporary accommodation elsewhere for a decade, until the new court was inaugurated at Constitution Hill as an act of reclaiming a place previously affiliated with the violation of human rights.

Top of Africa

Located on the 50th floor of Johannesburg’s Carlton Centre. The Carlton is the tallest building in Africa that provides a great view of Johannesburg’s unique geography, and at one point was the tallest in all of the southern hemisphere.

Since 1973 the Carlton Centre has been the tallest skyscraper on the continent. At 223 meters, it deserves to be known as the Top of Africa. The building houses both offices and shops and has over 46% of its floor area below ground level.

The Carlton Centre was designed by the American architectural firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill and cost over R88 million to build.

Apartheid Museum

Apartheid Museum was opened in November 2001. It is part of the Gold Reef City complex. Apartheid Museum illustrates the rise and fall of apartheid.

The museum demonstrates how people were treated during apartheid by showcasing exhibitions organized by a multi-disciplinary team of curators, filmmakers, historians, and designers. They include provocative film footage, photographs, text panels, and artifacts illustrating the events and human stories that are part of history.

The museum has 3 different types of exhibition, Permanent exhibition consists of 21 exhibitions, Mandela Exhibitions has 6 exhibitions and Temporary Exhibitions has 11 exhibitions.

Mandela House Museum

The Nelson Mandela National Museum, commonly called Mandela House was built in 1945. Nelson Mandela lived in the house from 1946. Former South African President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and his family lived here from 1946 into the 1990s.

The house is located at number 8115 at the corner of Vilakazi and Ngakane streets. Mandela donated the house to the Soweto Heritage Trust (of which he was the founder) on 1 September 1997, to be run as a museum.

It was declared a National Heritage Site in 1999. Nelson Mandela returned here for a brief 11 days after his release from Robben Island in 1990, before finally moving to his present house in Houghton.

The Mandela House is managed by the Soweto Heritage Trust, a partnership project between the City of Johannesburg, the Standard Bank Group, and the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation. You have to experience these place while on your tours in Johannesburg.

Hector Pieterson Museum

The museum is located in Orlando West two blocks away from where Hector Pieterson was shot and killed during school protest in 1976 on the 16th of June.

Today the 16th of June is recognized as a public holiday in South Africa. The museum is named in his honor and covers the events of the anti-Apartheid Soweto Uprising, where more than 170 protesting school children were killed.

The Hector Pieterson Museum became one of the first museums in Soweto when it opened on 16 June 2002. A companion museum nearby is Mandela House, the former home of Nelson Mandela and his family.

Regina Mundi Church

The church is located in the middle of Soweto, in Rockville, in the neighbor-hood of Moroka, it was built in 1964, replacing Moroka’s former parish church. While the A-shaped exterior of the building is quite ordinary in design, its main feature is the vast interior that can accommodate as many as 5000-7000 people.

The stained-glass windows are decorated with scenes of Mary’s life and were donated by Poland in 1998.  Regina Mundi (Latin for “Queen of the World”) designed by architect Anthony Noel Errol Slaven, is the largest Roman Catholic Church in South Africa. It is located in Rockville, Soweto, and populous black urban residential area within the city of Johannesburg.

Due to the role, it played as a place of gathering for the people of Soweto in the years before, during, and after the anti-apartheid struggle, it is often referred to as “the people’s church” or “the people’s cathedral”.

Orlando Towers

The site of the world’s first bungee jump between two cooling towers, as well as other thrilling adventure sports such as abseiling.

Construction of the Orlando Power Station began in 1935 and was only completed in 1955, due to delays caused by the Second World War. After 56 years of service, the power station was shut down in 1998 and was transformed into an entertainment and business center in 2008. The Orlando Towers extreme sports site was opened in 2008 by local company Skyriders.

Soweto Township Tour and Cradle of Humankind – Quick View

Soweto Township

Soweto falls within the municipality of the Johannesburg Metro Council in the province of Gauteng which appropriately means place of Gold. These is the most visited place on Johannesburg Tours.

Soweto obtained its name from the first two letters of South Western Township which was the original description of the area. “Soweto is a symbol of the New South Africa, caught between old squatter misery and new prosperity, squalor and an upbeat lifestyle, it’s a vibrant city which still openly bears the scars of the Apartheid past and yet shows what’s possible in the New South Africa”

Johannesburg And Pretoria Sightseeing Tour – Tours in Johannesburg

Johannesburg City

Johannesburg was founded on the 4th of October 1886bduring the Gold Rush period.

One of the youngest of the world’s major cities, Johannesburg was founded in 1886, following the discovery of gold.

The city was initially part of the Transvaal, an independent Afrikaner, or Boer, republic that later became one of the four provinces of South Africa. Today the city is a part of Gauteng (a Sotho word meaning “Place of Gold”), one of the nine provinces of South Africa.

Pretoria City

Pretoria is named after the Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius and sometimes called the “Jacaranda City” due to the thousands of jacaranda trees planted in its streets, parks, and gardens.

The administrative capital of South Africa. It is one of the country’s three capital cities, serving as the seat of the administrative branch of government.

Pretoria has a reputation for being an academic city with three universities, the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), University of Pretoria (UP), and the University of South Africa (UNISA) Pretoria is the central part of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

Full-Day Sun City Tour from Johannesburg – Johannesburg Tours

Sun City

History was made in 1979 when Sun City was opened in the North West to become the best holiday resort in South Africa, and for good reason.

Sun City is a unique family resort in the North West province of South African. It was established by South African hotel magnate Sol Kerzner during the dark days of apartheid when the government cordoned off independent homelands or “bantustans” for the various indigenous peoples of South Africa.

One of these homelands was called Bophuthatswana and was intended as an independent homeland for the Tswana people. Today the resort lies in a tranquil basin of an extinct volcano in the Pilanesberg platinum belt. These is one of the attractions that should form your bucket list on you Johannesburg Day Tours.