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Soweto
Township in Metropolitan Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Soweto

Soweto is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa and one of the suburbs of Johannesburg, bordering the city's mining belt in the south.

Plan a trip to Soweto→From Johannesburg

Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships. Formerly a separate municipality, it was incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in 2002.

Get in

Getting to Soweto

Most visitors take a tour to Soweto from their Johannesburg hotel. However, you can do Soweto independently, either by car or suburban rail. Take a tour or just drive in yourself using GPS set to Vilakazi Street... the road infrastructure and signage are excellent.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Nelson Mandela National Museum
  2. 02
    Hector Pietersen Museum

    8288 Maseko Street, Orlando West,.

  3. 03
    Credo Mutwa Cultural Village

    Open air museum with restored Zulu and Sotho villages Free.

  4. 04
    Regina Mundi Catholic Church

    Largest Roman Catholic church in South Africa.

  5. 05
    Petrus Molefe Eco Park

    Ecological park with a monument to Petrus Molefe who the first member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of ANC, to be killed.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Soweto Theatre
Eat

Where to eat

B's Place, 5541 Shuenane Street, Orlando East,. Sakhumzi Restaurant, 6980 Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, +27 83 337-6925, fax: +27 11 939-4427, dine@sakhumzi.co.za. Wandies, 618 Makhalamele Street, Dube, info@wandies.co.za. Offers some of the best indigenous South African menus, including Mogodu (tripe) and pap. Put you business card on the wall with those of many visitors before.

How locals move

Getting around Soweto the local way

  • Get aroundSeveral tour operators are available: Imbizo Tours.
  • Get aroundProfessional tour guides using luxury minivans.
  • Get aroundSoweto-based tour operator offering fully guided day and night tours of this chaotic but otherwise energetic and vibrant place.
  • Get aroundTours use private cars and minibuses and include visits to many cultural, heritage and historical places including buffet lunch/ dinner/ supper.

From Wikivoyage: Johannesburg/Soweto, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.