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Free things to do in Sydney on a rainy day

Official sources checked Oct 5, 2026

Everything here is under a roof and costs nothing. Check the free day on each card: some of these museums are free only at certain hours.

Sydney

Always free in Sydney11

Open to everyone, every day they are open. No ticket to buy.

Illustration: Art Gallery of New South WalesFREE

Art Gallery of New South Wales

The Domain
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsArtArchitecture

The state art museum, spread over two buildings on the edge of the Domain: the old sandstone one with the colonial and European rooms, and Naala Nura, the 2022 building that steps down the hill towards Woolloomooloo. General entry to both is free.

  • Yiribana Gallery of Aboriginal art, by the Naala Nura entrance
  • The Tank, a wartime oil bunker under the new building
  • Wednesday Art After Hours, free until 10pm
Free when
Always · daily 10am to 5pm, Wednesdays until 10pm · closed Good Friday and Christmas Day
Free for whom
Everyone. Some temporary exhibitions are ticketed.
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
2 to 3 hours
How to get there
Train to St James or Martin Place, then 10 minutes on foot across the Domain. Bus 441 from the Queen Victoria Building stops outside.
Worth it? Yes.The best free indoor thing in Sydney. Go on a Wednesday after 5pm, when the gallery runs free talks, films and music until 10pm and the day crowds have left.
Source: Art Gallery of New South Wales · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Australian MuseumFREE

Australian Museum

Hyde Park
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsHistoryNature

The country's oldest museum, opposite Hyde Park: dinosaurs, a hall of skeletons, a large Pacific collection and good galleries on First Nations cultures. General entry has been free since 2020.

  • Bayala Nura gallery of First Nations objects
  • The Long Gallery, Australia's first museum hall, restored
  • Dinosaur gallery on level 2
Free when
Always · daily 10am to 5pm · closed Christmas Day
Free for whom
Everyone. Major touring exhibitions are ticketed.
Reservation
No ticket needed for the permanent galleries. Only special exhibitions are booked online.
Time needed
2 hours
How to get there
Train to Museum or St James, then 5 minutes on foot across Hyde Park to the corner of William and College streets
Worth it? Yes.Yes, and it is the obvious answer to a wet day with children. Start on the top floor and work down, because school groups fill the ground floor first.
Source: Australian Museum · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Hyde Park BarracksFREE

Hyde Park Barracks

Macquarie Street
Always freeBooking recommendedIndoorGood with kidsHistoryArchitecture

The 1819 convict barracks designed by Francis Greenway, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. You walk through with a headset that triggers audio as you move, ending in the dormitory hung with hammocks.

  • Hammock dormitory on the top floor
  • Rat-nest finds from under the floorboards
  • Greenway's brick facade from the courtyard
Free when
Always · daily 10am to 6pm, last entry 4.30pm · closed Good Friday and Christmas Day
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Free. The museum recommends booking a timed ticket online, because the audio tour starts in sessions every half hour.
Time needed
1 to 1.5 hours
How to get there
Train to St James, then 2 minutes on foot to Queens Square at the top of Macquarie Street
Worth it? Yes.Yes. It is the best explanation of how Sydney started, and the audio tour is good enough that people pay for worse elsewhere. Do not turn up after 4.30pm.
Source: Museums of History NSW · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: State Library of New South WalesFREE

State Library of New South Wales

Macquarie Street
Always freeIndoorArtHistoryArchitecture

The oldest library in Australia, with free exhibition galleries hung floor to ceiling with paintings from its collection, a tiny Tudor-style Shakespeare Room and the Mitchell Library Reading Room, a hall of books under a glass ceiling.

  • Mitchell Library Reading Room from the entrance doors
  • Shakespeare Room with its carved ceiling
  • Tasman Map mosaic on the vestibule floor
Free when
Always · exhibition galleries Monday to Thursday 9am to 8pm, Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 5pm
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
45 minutes to 1 hour
How to get there
Train to Martin Place, then 3 minutes on foot up to Macquarie Street. The entrance faces the Royal Botanic Garden.
Worth it? Yes.Yes, and almost nobody on a short trip goes. Look into the Mitchell Reading Room from the door, then spend your time in the picture galleries upstairs. Open until 8pm on weeknights, which helps when everything else has shut.
Source: State Library of New South Wales · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: White Rabbit GalleryFREE

White Rabbit Gallery

Chippendale
Always freeIndoorArtLocal life

Four floors of contemporary Chinese art from a private collection, in a converted Rolls-Royce depot on a back street. Admission is free and the shows change twice a year.

  • Start on the top floor and walk down
  • Tea House on the ground floor, open from 10am
  • Kensington Street laneways are two minutes away
Free when
Always · Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm · closes for several weeks between exhibitions, so check the website before you go
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
1 hour
How to get there
Train to Central or Redfern, then 10 minutes on foot to 30 Balfour Street
Worth it? Yes.Yes, if you like art that is large, strange and funny. It is the most interesting gallery in the city for its size. The changeover closures catch people out, so check first.
Source: White Rabbit Gallery · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Chau Chak Wing MuseumFREE

Chau Chak Wing Museum

Camperdown
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsHistoryArt

The University of Sydney's museum, which pulled its antiquities, natural history and art collections into one building in 2020. It has Egyptian mummies, Greek vases and a Lego model of Pompeii, and entry is free.

  • Mummy Room on the lower level
  • Lego Pompeii, popular with children
  • University Quadrangle and its jacaranda, next door
Free when
Always · Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 12pm to 4pm · closed 21 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, 26 January and Good Friday
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
1 to 1.5 hours
How to get there
Any Parramatta Road bus from Railway Square, by Central station, to the University of Sydney footbridge. The museum is on University Place, beside the Quadrangle.
Worth it? Yes.Yes, and combine it with a walk through the sandstone Quadrangle next door. Weekend hours are short, so go on a weekday if you can.
Source: The University of Sydney · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Anzac Memorial and Hyde ParkFREE

Anzac Memorial and Hyde Park

Hyde Park
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsHistoryArchitecture

The Art Deco war memorial at the southern end of Hyde Park, with a domed hall of 120,000 gold stars and a 2018 extension underneath. The park itself, an avenue of fig trees from here to the Archibald Fountain, is the oldest in Australia.

  • Dome of 120,000 gold stars, one per NSW volunteer
  • Hall of Service floor with soil from 1,701 NSW towns
  • Fig avenue north to the Archibald Fountain
Free when
Always · memorial daily 9am to 5pm · Hyde Park is open at all hours
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
30 to 45 minutes
How to get there
Train to Museum station, which exits into the park beside the memorial
Worth it? Yes.Yes. It takes twenty minutes and is the finest Art Deco interior in the city. Look down from the Hall of Memory into the Hall of Silence before you take the stairs.
Source: Anzac Memorial · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: St Mary's CathedralFREE

St Mary's Cathedral

Hyde Park
Always freeIndoorArchitectureHistory

The Catholic cathedral on the eastern edge of Hyde Park, a full-size Gothic Revival church in honey-coloured Sydney sandstone, begun in 1868 and given its spires only in 2000.

  • Sandstone nave lit through the eastern windows
  • View of the facade from the Archibald Fountain
  • Christmas light projections on the facade in December
Free when
Always · Monday to Friday 6.30am to 6.30pm, Saturday and Sunday 6.30am to 7pm · visitors should stay at the back during Mass
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed to walk in. The cathedral also takes online registrations for tours.
Time needed
20 to 30 minutes
How to get there
Train to St James, then 4 minutes on foot across the northern end of Hyde Park
Worth it? Yes.Worth the ten minute detour between the Barracks and the Australian Museum. The stained glass is best in the morning, and the forecourt with the reflecting pool is the photograph.
Source: St Mary's Cathedral · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Customs HouseFREE

Customs House

Circular Quay
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsArchitectureLocal life

The 1845 customs building facing the ferry wharves, now a public library and lounge. Under a glass floor in the atrium is a scale model of 10 square kilometres of the city centre that you walk over.

  • City model under the glass floor of the atrium
  • Free wifi and seats in the ground floor lounge
  • Free exhibitions through the year
Free when
Always · Monday to Friday 8am to midnight, Saturday 9am to midnight, Sunday 9am to 5pm · the library inside keeps shorter hours
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
15 to 20 minutes
How to get there
Directly opposite Circular Quay station and the ferry wharves, at 31 Alfred Street
Worth it? Yes.A short stop that earns its place: free toilets, free wifi, armchairs and a model that shows you how the city fits together. Useful on the first morning.
Source: City of Sydney · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Museum of SydneyFREE

Museum of Sydney

Circular Quay
Always freeBooking recommendedIndoorGood with kidsHistory

A small museum on the site of the first Government House, built in 1788. The foundations show through glass in the forecourt, and the galleries inside rotate exhibitions about the city.

  • First Government House foundations under glass outside
  • Edge of the Trees sculpture in the forecourt
  • Free 10 minute spot talks at 11.30am and 2.30pm
Free when
Always · daily 10am to 5pm · closed Good Friday and Christmas Day
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Free. Booking a ticket online is recommended but walk-ins are normal.
Time needed
45 minutes
How to get there
Train, ferry or light rail to Circular Quay, then 4 minutes on foot up Phillip Street to the corner of Bridge Street
Worth it? Depends.Worth half an hour if you are already at the Quay or it is raining. It is small, and how good it is depends on the current exhibition. There is a free 15 minute guided introduction if you ask at the desk.
Source: Museums of History NSW · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps
Illustration: Sydney Fish MarketFREE

Sydney Fish Market

Blackwattle Bay
Always freeIndoorGood with kidsFoodArchitectureLocal life

The new fish market building on Blackwattle Bay, which replaced the old sheds next door in 2026. It costs nothing to walk in, look at the counters of oysters, crabs and whole tuna, and sit on the public steps by the water.

  • Retail counters are busiest and best stocked before noon
  • Waterfront steps facing the Anzac Bridge
  • Avoid weekend lunchtimes, the queues are long
Free when
Always · daily 7am to 10pm · individual traders keep their own hours
Free for whom
Everyone
Reservation
Not needed
Time needed
45 minutes
How to get there
Light rail L1 from Central to Wentworth Park (400 metres) or Glebe (450 metres)
Worth it? Depends.Go to look, not to save money. Walking around is free and the building is worth seeing, but a plate of seafood here costs as much as a restaurant. Go before 11am on a weekday, eat somewhere else.
Source: Sydney Fish Market · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

Free on certain days, or for certain people1

Mostly museums. The free window, who it applies to and the booking rule are on each card.

Illustration: Museum of Contemporary Art (free for under 18s only)FREE

Museum of Contemporary Art (free for under 18s only)

The Rocks
Free on certain daysIndoorGood with kidsArt

The contemporary art museum on the west side of Circular Quay. It was free for decades and many lists still say so. It is not: entry has been ticketed since 2025, and only under 18s and members get in without paying.

  • Rooftop cafe terrace looks straight at the Opera House
  • Collection galleries of Australian art on level 2
  • Open until 9pm on Thursdays
Free when
Free for under 18s on any open day · Monday and Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, Thursdays until 9pm · closed Tuesdays and 25 December
Free for whom
Under 18s and MCA members. Adults pay for a ticket.
Reservation
Tickets, including free under 18 tickets, are issued online or at the desk. The museum is cashless.
Time needed
1 to 1.5 hours
How to get there
Train, ferry or light rail to Circular Quay, then 3 minutes on foot along the western side of the quay
Worth it? Depends.For a family with teenagers it is still a good free hour. Adults on a budget should walk ten minutes to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which is larger and charges nothing.
Source: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

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