Art Gallery of New South Wales

Free harbour-side art museum

Hours: Daily 10am–5pm, Wednesdays until 10pm. Closed Good Friday and 25 Dec
Tickets: General entry free; some special exhibitions are ticketed
Address: In the Domain parkland east of the CBD, on Art Gallery Road

A stone-columned building like a Greek temple stands at the edge of the parkland, with the newer Naala Badu building tacked on beside it. The permanent collection of Australian, European and Asian work, plus the First Nations galleries, is all free. Glass walls frame the bay and the city skyline, so you end up standing at the window instead of the paintings. Only special shows like the Archibald Prize cost money.