Top 10 Free Places to see in Sydney
Sydney ain’t cheap.
A simple breakfast can set you back AUS$70 while for dinner, a family of four could pay double that. However, among the numerous boutique shops and diners are several world-class attractions that are all free. Here’s our budget-friendly top ten free places to visit in Sydney.
10)
Centennial Parklands and Ian Potter Wild Play Garden
Daily 10am-5pm
Although it takes a 20-minute bus ride from the city centre to reach this sprawling park, it’s worth the effort. The park itself has its own horse-riding, track ponds and numerous bin chickens scavenging for titbits, but the wild play garden is the highlight. Our children climbed, crawled and crept through various obstacles, while surrounded by nature. It’s a simple but brilliantly-designed space. If that’s not enough, there’s a more traditional playground nearby with swings and slides (plus cafe).
Ian Potter’s nature play in Sydney
9)
Visit from Friday to Sunday and you’ll find one of the most buzzing markets in Sydney. Surrounded by chic cafes and shops, the weekend market features buskers, local artists and crafts. When we visited, in the middle of July, the place was filled with Santa images and tinsel as part of their ‘Christmas’ celebrations (the weather was suitably chilly). At 8.30am and 9.30am on Sundays, there are also free yoga sessions under the famous bridge (or they’re online if the weather’s bad).
8)
Daily 10am-5pm
This small but fascinating museum reveals how Sydney came to be developed, but also who originally lived on the land. Appropriately, it’s set in The Rocks, the original settlement in the city and brings to life the story of how it was developed. Set on two floors, it features some interactive elements and plenty of detail that makes it well worth an hour of browsing and learning.
7)
Daily 9am-6pm (Thursdays until 9pm, Sundays 11am-5pm)
Known as the QVB, this is a majestic mall that is free to explore (though the actual boutique shops will burn a serious hole in your wallet).
Outside sits a regal, and suitably grumpy-looking statue of Queen Victory. Be sure to find the nearby statue of one of her dogs, which greets visitors when you walk past. Built in 1898, its Romanesque style and hanging clocks are spectacular – to find out more there are guided tours available.
QVB
6)
From Milsons Pt, it’s an easy stroll across this iconic bridge. If you want to see things from a different angle, you can even walk over the bridge. The world’s tallest steel-arch bridge, known locally as the ‘coathanger’ dominates the skyline.
5)
Daily 10am-5pm
This enormous gallery has a regularly-changing range of exhibitions that showcase the best of Australian and global art. Regular hands-on activities and tours will keep younger visitors entertained, too.
4)
7am-sunset
Most cities have parks; few have ones as magnificent as these. Start your walk at the Art Gallery of New South Wales then walk north into Australia’s oldest botanic garden. As well as floral displays, there’s the ‘Alchemy of a Rainforest’, a sensory exhibition ideal for younger visitors, the Oriental Garden and the main pond, with views of the nearby Opera House. The website is particularly well-designed and has suggested itineraries.
3)
Hours: 10am-5pm daily
Give yourself a good few hours to explore this gigantic museum. Its Aussie-flavoured dinosaur exhibition, featuring more than just your standard T-Rex and Triceratops. The Westpac Long Gallery is also a must-see spot as it features 100 truly-special objects, including Captain Cook’s Hawaiian ‘Ahu‘ula, or feathered cape, Eric the pliosaur (including the fossilised bones of fish still inside his stomach) and a 2,200-year-old Egyptian mummy from human remains from a tomb in Thebes (modern-day Luxor).
2)
State Library with Shakespeare Room
A lady in a bright-red dress bends down to ask my daughter ‘have you seen the smallest book in the library yet?’
With a shake of the head, we are whisked off to a large wooden display case. My daughter is encouraged to pull open a drawer, which reveals a book about half the size of a fingernail.
It may be a controversial choice for second place on our list, but this is so much more than a library. Divided into two huge buildings, there’s Mitchell Wing, which dates back to 1910, and the Macquarie Street Wing, which opened in 1983. The library holds a frankly ridiculous number of rare items, including Shakespeare’s First Folio, the original William Bligh log from HMS Bounty on a 1788 Voyage to the South Seas, and even a lock of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley’s hair. Plus another six million items.
Our favourite, by far, was the Shakespeare Room, which holds thousands of texts about the Bard and a chair that’s said to include a small piece of a tree that Shakespeare planted.
1)
This iconic building is in the heart of Sydney and is one of the world’s most iconic structures. Opened in 1973, 16 years after Danish architect Jørn Utzon won a design competition. It’s free to walk around the exterior and admire the famous ‘shells’, or you can take a tour to visit the spectacular concert halls. Walk to the rear to see if Benny, a local seal, is in his local basking spot.
Sydney Opera House
