Culture Destinations

Fascinating Museums in Africa you should visit

For lovers of history and culture, art and music, a museum is the best place to view relics from ancient time. Museums are known places to explore the culture and heritage of a particular city or nation. Typically, museums provide an avenue for interested visitors to explore the history and the important events that have occurred in the past years which have shaped the present day state of that city. Several museums are scattered across different parts of the continent however in this article, we preview fascinating museums in Africa where tourists can visit to explore the heritage of the select cities.

Red Castle Museum (Libya)

This museum also known as Assaraya Alhamra Museum is the national museum of Libya. It contains interesting artefacts that date back to over 5000 years ago. The museum was established in 1919 by the Italians who saw a need to display the archaeological facts across the country. It remains one of the best museums in the country and the continent at large.

Blue Penny Musuem (Mauritius)

The Blue Penny museum was established in November 2001 by the Mauritius commercial bank. The museum is dedicated to the history and culture of Mauritius. This museum would be exciting for people (most likely stamp collectors) who are interested in seeing the Blue and Red Penny stamps used in 1847.

Iziko Museum (South Africa)

The Iziko museum is South Africa is a breath-taking museum. It was founded in 1825 and is located in the city of Cape Town. Any visitor to this edifice must can’t leave here without passing by the famous prisoner site of Robben Island. It houses artefacts from millions of years ago including fossils, marine animals and meteorites and also stocks interesting discoveries found on a daily basis. It is indeed a tourists dream.  https://www.iziko.org.za/museums/south-african-museum.

House of Slaves (Senegal)

Located in Dakar Senegal, the museum is dedicated to the Atlantic slave trade which took place on Goree Island some kilometres from the capital city. The museum was opened in 1962. The island is known as the door of no return as anyone who passes through the island was said to have been shipped to a foreign land with no hope for returning to his homeland. Thankfully, today sees many visitors to the site returning safely to their homes. The museum has welcomed top personalities across the world such as Barack Obama, Pope John Paul, and Nelson Mandela amongst many others and is eager to welcome many more. Visitors to Senegal would be marvelled by this tourist site.

The Zinsou Foundation Museum (Republic of Benin)

The Zinsou museum is a museum for contemporary art. It is located in the Republic of Benin close to Nigeria. The museum is a prime location for lovers of contemporary art. The museum would open you to contemporary African art. For a sneak peek of what obtains in this museum, an application named Wakpon is provided. The application can be found on the Android and IOS app stores.

Museum of Marrakech (Morroco)

The museum is not only known for its collection but also for its architectural masterpiece. Founded officially as a museum in 1997, Museum of Marrakech has become a favorite tourist destination in the North of Africa. Visitors to this facility would have the opportunity of viewing the traditional and modern day coin, art, book and poetry of Morocco.

Museum of Modern Art of Algiers (MaMa) (Algeria)

As with the Museum of Marrakech, the architecture of this museum is best described as neo-moorish. It is aesthetically pleasing to the human eye. The museum was founded in 2007 and boasts a wide range of historical artefacts which would keep tourists spellbound.