Nelson Mandela: The Top 10 Places to Celebrate Tata Madiba’s Legacy Across South Africa
By Nicole Banister
Nelson Mandela's legacy lives on in all aspects of daily life in South Africa. From a night out on Long Street where people dance alongside one another to my Nigerian boyfriend and our visas in the country to the national shutdown protesting load shedding—a free and open South Africa exists today thanks to Tata Madiba's many sacrifices and countless others leaders made for this nation. Although there is still a long way to go to reach equity and justice for people of color in South Africa—as is the case for nearly all formerly colonized nations—we still take time to give thanks, honor our ancestors, and show up for those who showed up for us before we were even the slightest thought.
With a list full of some places you'll recognize and some places you won't, Nelson Mandela's legacy lives physically at strategic locations in Cape Town and Johannesburg and across the Rainbow Nation in Bloemfontein and also outside of Durban. Here are the top 10 places to visit in South Africa to learn about Nelson Mandela's life and legacy—and one place you'll be surprised I recommend you not go.
Mural of Poseidon facing the Tagus River in Lisbon Portugal.
Gauteng
1. Apartheid Museum - Johannesburg
The Apartheid Museum is the most comprehensive and immersive review of South Africa's most treacherous history: Apartheid. A must-see when visiting this country, the Apartheid Museum portrays the devastating rules and effects of Apartheid in graphic detail. Go here to learn how Mandela and several Mzansi's other esteemed Freedom Fighters forever changed the narrative for South Africa.
2. Constitution Hill - Johannesburg
Built on the grounds of a former prison complex, Constitution Hill not only showcases a museum dedicated to the incredible legacy of some of its most famous residents (Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Joe Slovo, Albertina Sisulu, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and Fatima Meer), but it's also home to South Africa's Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court is the highest court of South Africa, upholding the country's first democratic constitution, signed in 1994. You can get here by car or public transportation or hop on Johannesburg's City Sightseeing Bus tour to hit Constitutional Hill and other famous Jozi sites.
3. Hector Pieterson Museum and Memorial - Soweto
Located in the bustling and vibrant heart of Orlando West in Soweto, this museum commemorates the people nearest and dearest to Tata Madiba's heart—children. Remembering the brutal murder of 12-year-old Hector Pieterson by Apartheid police on June 16th, 1976, this memorial and museum pay homage to the thousands of young people who bravely left school to protest South Africa's institutional injustice. Now celebrated annually as Youth Day in South Africa, this stop marking the nation's first young casualty in Soweto is not to be missed.
4. Nelson Mandela's House - Soweto
Soweto is THE hub for Johannesburg's cultural scene, and after the Hector Pieterson Memorial, you can head over to Madiba's house. Infamously known as the only street in the world housing residences of two Nobel Peace Prize laureates, visitors are encouraged to check out both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Soweto house—the latter of which is not available for entry because Tutu's family still lives in it today. Don't forget to pause for delicious South African food and music at the nearby Sakhumzi restaurant on Vilakazi Street.
5. Dancing Madiba - Johannesburg
Located in the bustling Nelson Mandela Square—one of Sandton's premiere restaurants and shopping blocks—the Dancing Madiba statue here honors the spirit of celebration and joy inherent in South African people. Although initially criticized for a location among the nation's elite, the Square and Mandela's statue honors the new wealth of Black citizens in post-apartheid South Africa. Housing the largest number of millionaires per square mile on the entire African continent, Sandton is where Mzansi's elite live, see, and be seen. It is the financial hub of South Africa and its hub of Black Excellence, and you'll be able to honor Mandela while simultaneously honoring the stomach's politics.
6. Union Buildings - Pretoria
The Union Buildings house South Africa's legislative arm of Parliament and the offices of the President of South Africa. Deemed as a South African national heritage site, you can tour the extensive facilities to learn more about South Africa's executive branch. Unmissable in the center of the property is the world's tallest statue of Nelson Mandela. With arms wide open ready to embrace Mzansi and all its people, this statue of Madiba stands 9m tall, 8m fingertip to fingertip, and it's located on the highest plot of land in Pretoria. Similar to the White House and Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. South Africa's presidential inaugurations are hosted at this monumental landmark.
Western Cape
7. Parliament
The members of South Africa's Parliament are based in Cape Town and elected to represent all people of Mzansi. Declared a National Heritage Site and regarded as the site of South Africa's legislative capital, Cape Town's Parliament building can be toured and entered via appointment only. However, you can walk around and take selfies outside, living your best life, or take up flyers and protest your preferred injustice.
8. Iziko Slave Lodge
Part of the Iziko Museum collective of South Africa, the Iziko Slave Lodge is based in Cape Town and specifically dedicated to the theme of "from human wrongs to human rights." According to their website, the Iziko Slave Lodge features "exhibitions on the lower level of this museum [that] explore the long history of slavery in South Africa; and through our changing, temporary exhibitions, we address issues focused on human rights awareness. "An extremely emotional stop in Cape Town for all people of color, this is another one of the hard but must-see places to honor South Africa's liberation.
North West
9. Nelson Mandela Statue at Naval Hill - Bloemfontein
Located within the Franklin Game Reserve and with panoramic views of Bloemfontein, this 8m tall Madiba statue is the second tallest in the world. In addition to the Nelson Mandela statue, the stunning natural landscape and various wildlife draw visitors from near and far.
KwaZulu-Natal
10. Capture Site - Howick
Nelson Mandela was arrested on August 5th, 1962, near Howick, outside Pietermaritzburg, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. He spent the next 27 years of his life in prison and went on to become the beloved Father of South Africa as its first democratically elected President. The Nelson Mandela Capture Site commemorates this early moment in Mandela's history with a visitor center and a world-renowned sculpture.
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Well, you're at the end of this top 10 list and confused because South Africa's most infamous Nelson Mandela tourist trap—Robben Island—did not make the list. Here's why.
The Robben Island tour is at first intriguing because it's 1) well-marketed and 2) led by former inmates who had previously served sentences on the island. The whole situation gets murky the moment you hop on the island's tour bus, and the island's flora and fauna are more prominently discussed than its history. And as a Black person, you lose all faith when you ask the tour guides critical questions—like why on earth would you come back and work full-time at this gross site of historical and your oppression—and they dodge you completely.
You know when you have that gut feeling that something ain't right? Well, I've been to Robben Island three times to understand the hype around this internationally acclaimed tourist attraction, and I'll tell you straight up—something ain't right. So skip this waste of space that should've been reborn into a botanical garden or a more woke version of its current existence and opt for something on my list instead.
Amandla. ✊🏽
