Historic site
Robben Island
In South Africa, Southern Africa
Photos
Robben Island in pictures.
A short ferry ride from Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, Robben Island served for centuries as a place of banishment and, during apartheid, as a maximum-security prison for political prisoners. Nelson Mandela spent eighteen of his twenty-seven prison years in its cells before becoming president. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is toured by former inmates who recount its history first-hand.
