You don't have to be an art buff to be inspired by the many galleries and museums in Sydney city. There's also lots of ways to explore Sydney's cultural side, and it's not always inside a building. So let's take a peak at 30 of the best museums of Sydney.
- Head to Darling Harbour where you’ll find the Australian National Maritime Museum. Explore some of Australia's historic vessels including a submarine and a tall ship, as well as exhibits on immigration and ocean exploration.
Cost: FREE (special exhibitions have a fee)
Where: Darling Harbour (CBD)
- Explore crime scenes, police history, and Sydney’s dark underbelly at the Justice & Police Museum. Delve into Sydney’s criminal past, forensic photography, old weaponry, and be part of interactive crime-solving experiences.
Cost: FREE
Where: Circular Quay (CBD)
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The Australian Museum is home to all things natural history, paleontology, and indigenous culture. There’s over 18 million specimens and artifacts including dinosaur skeletons, Australian fauna collections, and exhibits of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
Cost: FREE (major exhibitions have a fee)
Where: College Street (CBD)
Head to the Australian Museum. Photo: Destination NSW
- The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) has innovative exhibitions, installations, video art, and performance pieces by Australian and international contemporary artists. There’s also a series of cutting-edge contemporary art exhibitions from Australian and international artists that are interactive, playful and thought provoking. Last stop: the rooftop café overlooking Sydney Opera House and Sydney harbour.
Cost: FREE
Where: Circular Quay (CBD)
- Visit the Rocks Discovery Museum to uncover Sydney’s Indigenous and colonial history. Just around the corner is Susannah Place Museum where you’ll find preserved 19th-century working-class terraces that show how people lived during that time.
Cost: FREE
Where: The Rocks (CBD)
- For a look at Sydney’s harsh and brutal convict history, you can’t go past the Hyde Park Barracks Museum. This is a chance to explore the life of convicts and early migrants.
Cost: FREE entry for NSW residents
Where: Macquarie Street (CBD)
Get a taste on how the convicts used to go to sleep at Hyde Park Barracks. Photo: Destination NSW
- The Museum of Sydney is built on the site of the first Government House and is dedicated to exhibitions on Australia’s colonial history.
Cost: FREE
Where: Circular Quay (CBD)
- See the Powerhouse Museum’s eclectic collection of technology, design, and innovation exhibitions. You’ll see everything from steam engines, retro tech gadgets, space travel artifacts to fashion and furniture design. The museum hosts temporary exhibitions that highlight contemporary issues by blending science, technology, and art to make a statement.
Cost: FREE (but special exhibitions have a cost)
Where: Ultimo (CBD)
- Visit the Chau Chak Wing Museum which has the largest collection of ancient artifacts in the Southern Hemisphere. Don’t miss the surprise LEGO installations including a recreation of Pompeii and ancient Rome.
Cost: FREE
Where: University of Sydney (Camperdown)
Not strictly a Sydney museum…or is it?
Art and culture are everywhere in Sydney. Photo: Destination NSW
When does a museum become an art gallery, or can they be both? Ab-sol-ute-ly! A ‘museum’ is defined as a public building where interesting and valuable objects are kept and displayed.
- This makes the Sydney Opera House a museum, gallery and experience all in one. It displays many interesting and valuable objects, it’s a stunning piece of public art, plus visitors can choose so many unique and niche experiences. That’s right, you can do a guided architectural tour of the Sydney Opera House. You can walk around the outside forecourt and marvel at its beauty. Or you can book a performance - opera, theatre, concert or play.
Cost: FREE entry (performances and tours at a fee)
Where: Circular Quay, CBD
- The Art Gallery of New South Wales has a vast collection of Australian, European, and Asian art. The gallery has an impressive array of Australian landscape paintings, contemporary art installations, Indigenous artworks, as well as temporary exhibitions by famous artists. Book in for a free guided tour or talk. Last stop: the rooftop café that overlooks the Sydney skyline.
Cost: FREE (but special exhibitions are ticketed)
Where: The Domain (CBD)
- See over 2,000 contemporary Chinese art works by emerging and established artists at the White Rabbit Gallery. Works include large installations, sculptures, and experimental multimedia. Last stop: visit the gallery’s teahouse for a serve of dumplings.
Cost: FREE
Where: Chippendale
There's always something different at the White Rabbit Gallery. Photo: Destination NSW
- Sydney Observatory has had many functions over the years, starting as a weather station to guide ships to star gazing site used by government astronomers, to a science museum. Today, visitors can enjoy guided walks, virtual reality 3-D space exhibitions, and by night, star-gazing tours that include seeing the stars and planets through an 1874 telescope, a computer-controlled telescope and a hydrogen-alpha solar telescope.
Cost: FREE during the day (night-time star-gazing tours at a fee)
Where: The Rocks (CBD)
- Customs House is one of Sydney's finest colonial buildings that includes a restaurant, library, and a 3D architectural model of Sydney underneath a glass floor. This is a must-visit museum to experience an aerial view of the gorgeous Sydney 3D model.
Cost: FREE
Where: Circular Quay (CBD)
- For a glimpse into the mind of one of Australia’s most influential and mysterious artists, visit the Brett Whiteley Studio. The studio has been preserved and is filled with his unfinished works, eclectic collections, and personal items. (NOTE: This studio is temporarily closed for renovations and will reopen in 2025).
Cost: FREE
Where: Surry Hills
- For a museum that embraces art, theatre, music, dance, circus, food, and markets, you can’t go past the Carriageworks, which is a 19th-century railway workshop. This arts hub has experimental installations, performances, plus a farmers market every Saturday morning.
Cost: FREE entry
Where: Eveleigh
- Drop by the Ken Done Gallery where you’ll find bold and vibrant artworks inspired by Sydney life. Artist Ken Done is known for his bright colours and playful works that include limited-edition prints, clothing, accessories and homewares.
Cost: FREE entry
Where: The Rocks (CBD)
- Visit Martin Place to find the Billich Art gallery. Sydney based artist Charles Billich is one of Australia’s most important living artists whose works can be found in the White House, the Vatican, and palaces around the world.
Cost: FREE entry
Where: Fullerton Hotel, Martin Place (CBD)
- Gallery Lane Cove provides a platform for local artists and emerging talent. The gallery has an engaging program of exhibitions, workshops and events which makes this hidden gem worth exploring.
Cost: FREE entry
Where: Lane Cove
- Artspace Sydney focusing on experimental and innovative works. Enjoy exhibitions, workshops and artists’ talks.
Cost: FREE
Where: Woolloomooloo
- Artbank gallery supports contemporary Australian artists, and has rotating exhibitions that are open to the public. Free tours are also available by appointment.
Cost: FREE
Where: Waterloo
Taking Sydney museums and art galleries to the outdoors
You're on top of the world when you climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Some of the best outdoor museums and galleries are outdoors – on streets, parks, gardens and the waterfront - giving admirers a totally different perspective. These are known as public art and outdoor exhibitions and museums. Even better, they are free.
- Barangaroo Reserve has public art installations along the Sydney harbour waterfront. There’s also walks and tours available to learn about Indigenous history and native plants.
Where: Barangaroo (CBD). Closest train station: Wynyard
- Sydney Harbour Bridge is a world famous landmark that doubles as a stunning piece of art. Why not walk across the bridge for free (to Milsons Point), or book a BridgeClimb and learn about the bridge's history as you scale it.
- Queen Victoria Building (QVB) is an iconic Victorian-era shopping and architectural landmark. In the 70’s, this grand-old-dame was in danger of being demolished. Fortunately a massive restoration project was approved and in 1982 she returned to her former glory. Enjoy QVB by doing a spot of shopping, enjoying the many cafes and restaurants, or booking a guided tour.
Where: George Street (CBD). Closest train station: Town Hall
- Explore the stunning neo-Gothic St Mary’s Cathedral and its stained glass windows.
Where: Opposite the Domain (CBD). Closest train station: St James
- Cockatoo Island is a harbour island that started as a convict prison and later became a naval shipyard. Today, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site offers waterfront camping, tours, cafes and events.
Where: Sydney harbour. Get there by ferry or water taxi.
- Art & About Sydney projects are temporary public art installations and cultural pop-ups. These exhibitions will happen between September 2024 and June 2025.
Where: anywhere in Sydney
- Do the self-guided Newtown Street Art Walk. Newtown has been attracting artists who have a message and a spray can to add colour to its walls since the early 1990s. In fact the first mural on King Street, Newtown was based on Martin Luther King Junior's famous speech “I Have a Dream”. Since then, there’s literally hundreds of murals, graffiti, and eclectic street art that will take your breath away.
Where: Newtown
- Visit the Anzac Memorial Museum in Hyde Park that which honours Australian soldiers and has exhibitions on our military history and wars that were fought.
Where: Hyde Park. Nearest train station: Museum.
- Sculpture by the Sea is Sydney’s annual spring outdoor art exhibition. Marvel at the 100+ sculptures and artworks that adorn the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk between 18 October – 4 November this year. Artists from Australia and around the world flock to Sydney to be part of the world’s largest public sculpture exhibition, which is seen by nearly 500,000 visitors.
Where: Bondi
Cost: Free
Bondi puts on one of the best art shows each year at the Sculpture by the Sea. Photo: Destination NSW