Art Gallery of New South Wales
One of Australia’s most important art museums, with old and new buildings showing Australian, Aboriginal and international art. Permanent displays are free.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales sits in the Domain parkland beside the Royal Botanic Garden. The neoclassical original building, completed in 1897, holds Australian paintings from the colonial period to the present, European masterworks and Asian art. The new building, opened at the end of 2022 and designed by the Japanese architecture firm SANAA, has glass and stepped terraces that descend the slope to Woolloomooloo Bay. It displays contemporary and Aboriginal art, and its underground galleries, converted from World War II oil storage tanks, are especially distinctive. Permanent displays are free, while special exhibitions cost extra. The café and outdoor terrace overlook the bay. It is about a 10-minute walk from Martin Place station, or you can walk through the botanic garden to reach it.
Opening hours
10:00 am–5:00 pm (Wednesdays until 10:00 pm)
Nearby sights
- Hyde Park Barracks
- St Mary's Cathedral & Hyde Park
- Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
- Australian Museum
- Sydney Tower Eye
- Circular Quay
- Mrs Macquarie's Chair
- Queen Victoria Building