Mandela House (Vilakazi Street), Soweto: Visitor Guide

Mandela House (Vilakazi Street), Soweto: Visitor Guide: History & Culture

Discover Mandela House (Vilakazi Street), Soweto: Visitor Guide

Mandela House is the small red-brick home at 8115 Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, Soweto, Johannesburg, where Nelson Mandela lived from 1946 to 1962. It is now a museum and one of the most visited heritage stops in Soweto. This guide covers the history, what you will see, the entry fees listed on the official site, and what to do on the street outside.

Quick facts

• Address: 8115 Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, Soweto, Johannesburg
• Province and country: Gauteng, South Africa
• Lived in by Mandela: 1946 to 1962
• Heritage status: National Heritage Site since 1999
• Reopened to the public: 19 March 2009, after restoration
• Payment: cashless since 1 December 2025, according to the official site
• Closed on: Good Friday, Family Day, Christmas Day, Day of Goodwill and New Year’s Day, according to the official site

The history of Mandela House

The house is a single-storey red-brick matchbox house built in 1945. Mandela lived here from 1946 to 1962. The walls still show bullet holes, and the facade carries scorch marks from Molotov cocktail attacks. These marks are part of the story the museum tells.

On 1 September 1997 Mandela donated the house to the Soweto Heritage Trust. It was declared a National Heritage Site in 1999. After restoration it reopened to the public on 19 March 2009. The official site describes the aim as a world-class visitor attraction and a centre for preserving Mandela’s heritage.

What to see inside

The house holds original furnishings and memorabilia. These include photographs, citations given to Mandela, and the world championship belt given to him by Sugar Ray Leonard. There is also a visitors’ centre and a small museum. The official site offers a virtual tour if you want a preview before you go.

Entry fees

These fees come from the official Mandela House website. Check them again before you travel, because prices can change.

Local and African Union visitors

• Adults (18+): R105
• Seniors (60+): R55
• Children 7 to 18, school groups and students under 23: R45
• Children under 7: free

International visitors

• Adults and seniors: R185
• Children 7 to 18 and students under 23: R75
• Children under 7: R5

Because payment is cashless, bring a card rather than counting on cash at the door.

Vilakazi Street

The street is named after Benedict Wallet Vilakazi (1906 to 1947), a Zulu poet, novelist and educator who lived here. In 1946 he earned the first PhD awarded to a black South African. He received the Order of Ikhamanga posthumously in 2016.

Vilakazi Street is often described as the only street in the world to have been home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners: Nelson Mandela (1993) and Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984). Desmond Tutu’s former home is also on the street.

Beyond the two homes, the street offers:

• Sakhumzi Restaurant: serves African cuisine on Vilakazi Street.
• Craft stalls: browse local crafts along the street.
• Street presentations: performances and presentations take place along the street.

Things to do nearby

The Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum is close by. It commemorates the 1976 student uprising and the 12-year-old boy shot by police. Many visitors pair it with Mandela House for a half-day heritage loop through Soweto.

Mandela House is a standard stop on guided Soweto tours. Operators such as Peek and Marriott Activities list tours that include it. Some combine it with a local lunch. Others add an apartheid museum and the Constitutional Court. A guided tour suits you if you would rather not plan the route yourself.

Plan your visit

• Allow time for the house, the museum and a walk along Vilakazi Street.
• Check the closure days above before you go.
• Check the official Mandela House website for current opening hours, fees and contact details.
• Mandela House is part of the wider Soweto experience, so look at our Soweto destination page for more places to visit.

Photo: Earnest B, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.