The best museums in Sydney

Whether it's the Harbour, the beaches or Finding Nemo, Sydney's bound to the water like a babe to the breast. Circumnavigate the Maritime Museum if you're keen jump aboard a submarine and live out all your Hunt for Red October fantasies. Got kids to keep occupied? There's always school holidays activities aplenty. 

Art, science, history and ancient cultures meet under one roof at Sydney's newest museum, whose collections are 150 years in the making. The museum combines three powerful collections from the vaults of the University of Sydney – including three ancient Egyptian mummies. 

Funnel webs, king browns, red backs, salties – find Australia's most deadly at the country's oldest museum, stuffed or behind glass – as well as some prehistoric terrors and creatures from around the globe. Laugh in mortality's face, glory in the wonders of natural history, and scare the rellies off your sofa bed and onto the next flight home. After closing down for 15 months for an extensive 57.5 million dollar renovation, the Australian Museum reopened in late 2020 with a fresh facelift and new collections.

Home to convicts, wastrel women, immigrants, law courts, a vaccine institute and a government printer, this place has seen it all. Discover the people who built this city and, if you're really quiet, hear their footsteps echo down the halls. Make the most of your visit with the immersive audio tour, and keep an eye out for the funky after-dark events program which brings live performances, food trucks and pop-up bars to the square.

Smack bang on top of the foundations of Australia's first Government House in the CBD, the small but packed MOS is a celebration of the city's past, present and future. With video walls, poetry, storylines and panoramas out onto the city, this is a one-stop shop for visitors and curious locals.

For history with a macabre twist of the knife, look no further. This old court house has seen many rapscallions sentenced for dastardly deeds. Spiked gates and winding stairways take you to pokey cells, murderous mug-shots and weapons to make the stomach turn.

The SJM explores human rights through the lens of the Holocaust. The architecture is stunning, and in-person talks from founding Holocaust survivors (as well as interactive AI-generated conversations) are not to be missed and won't be soon forgotten.

With its deep, shady verandas and stone-flagged floors, it became the prototype for the Australian homestead, and parts of the original 1793 construction – the oldest surviving European building in Australia – remain. The interior and gardens have been restored to 1830s condition, and the farm is run by Sydney Living Museums. This is an "access all areas" museum – they welcome kids sitting on the antique beds, playing on the grand piano and mucking in at the farm kitchen. 

This world heritage listed monument is Australia’s oldest public building, built by convicts between 1799 and 1818. Today it boasts the nation’s most important collection of Australian colonial furniture, as well as early textiles and significant homewares from the time of the colony's early governors.

Originally built in the late 1800s, Sydney Observatory opened to the public in 1982. Night tours (booking essential) include a talk and tour, 3D Space Theatre session and viewing through a 40cm (16in) reflecting telescope. 

Note: While Sydney Observatory is undergoing heritage conservation works, it is only open for night tours (Wed-Sat) and monthly for Sydney Observatory Late program. Find out more here.

Located in the heart of the Rocks, this terrace of four houses built by Irish immigrants – including a corner shop, original brick privies and open laundries – has been home to more than 100 families. It gives an idea of what 19th-century community living was really like. Entry is free, but you can only get in by booking a one-hour guided tour.

It’s worth a trip down south to Wollongong just to visit this fun, interactive science museum. Science Space is a big cheerful building near the beach that boasts more than 90 interactive exhibits. See your body through a heat-sensitive lens, test your strength, come face to face with animatronic dinosaurs, and be amazed by the power of magnetism. 

February 2024 update: The Powerhouse Ultimo has temporarily closed its doors for a major renovation. You can learn more about the plans for the future of the Powerhouse over here.

When it was open, this hotbed of science, design, innovation and culture was big on hands-on exhibits for budding gadgeteers and button-pushers, as well as blockbuster fashion, design, pop-cultural exhibitions – and a tiny vintage cinema to boot. If you were after a big day of discovery, the Powerhouse was a sure bet. And we hope it is again soon, after its $500-million dollar makeover. Once it's back, keep an eye out for the Powerhouse's ultra-cool after-hours events with pop-up bars, dancefloors and intellectual fun.