The Durban Art Gallery, on the first floor of the City Hall, holds one of the best collections of South African art in the country. The strength is 20th-century South African painting and a substantial collection of Zulu beadwork and ceramics that the museum has been buying since the 1980s — among the best holdings of contemporary indigenous craft anywhere.
The gallery is free, well-lit and rarely crowded. Pair it with a visit to the Natural Science Museum on the ground floor of the same building. The collection rotates seasonally; check the schedule before visiting for special exhibitions.