Things to do
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Apartheid Museum
Admission is by a ticket marked white or non white, and the entrance splits accordingly, which sets the terms for what follows. Rooms trace segregation from the mining compounds to the 1994 election, through film, documents and a corridor of nooses. Three hours is a realistic visit, and the exhibition is heavy going for younger children.
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Constitution Hill
South Africa's Constitutional Court was built inside the walls of the Old Fort prison, using bricks from the demolished awaiting trial block. Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela Mandela were all held on the site. Guided tours cover the Women's Jail and the court chamber, where hearings stay open to the public when the bench sits.
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Cradle of Humankind
Dolomite caves in the hills northwest of the city have yielded a long run of early hominin fossils, among them the skull known as Mrs Ples. Sterkfontein is the cave entered on a guided descent into the working excavation, while the Maropeng centre handles the wider story above ground. Tours are timed and sections are wet and low, so booking ahead avoids a wasted drive.
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Gold Reef City
A theme park sits over a disused gold mine south of the centre, pairing roller coasters with preserved headgear, a museum of the reef and a gold pouring demonstration. Rides carry age and height limits. Weekends and school holidays are crowded, and the Apartheid Museum next door is a different order of visit entirely.
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Maboneng
Warehouse blocks on the eastern edge of the inner city were converted into studios, rooftop bars and a Sunday market that draws crowds from across the metro. Arts on Main is the anchor of it. The precinct has thinned since its peak and works best on market day, with a booked tour or a driver for the approach.
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Soweto
Southwest of the centre, a township of well over a million residents holds Vilakazi Street, the Hector Pieterson Memorial and a pair of painted cooling towers now used for bungee jumping. Bicycle and minibus tours run from Orlando and open doors that a solo drive does not. Half a day is the minimum, and lunch at a shisa nyama belongs in it.