view of Sydney harbor, Opera House and Circular Quay from north end of Sydney Harbor Bridge

10 Free Things to do in Sydney

During the past 10 years, prices in Australia have been rising dramatically all over the country. Since then costs have increased so much that nowadays all of Australia’s major cities are regularly listed among the top 20 most expensive cities in the world! Sydney is the most expensive Australian city of them all. Various international lists rate Sydney as #3, #5 on down to #17 worldwide. However you measure it, Sydney is very pricey.

Just about everything in Australia is costly these days from groceries to petrol and public transportation to clothing, utilities, taxes, internet usage and accommodation & housing. On top of that, the Australian dollar’s value has increased to the point that it’s generally about equal in value to the US dollar, fluctuating a little more or less from year to year.

That makes Australia, and particularly Sydney, expensive places to visit from overseas.

Happily for visitors to charming Sydney, the city offers many great free attractions, culture, places to see and things to do. Following are my favorite 10 freebies in the city center.

*note – I’ve limited this list to free things within Sydney Central Business District (CBD), partly because city transportation to outlining areas is very expensive and partly because the CBD is packed with so many great freebies that the area can easily keep visitors busy for a week or more.

1. Join a free guided tour of Sydney CBD

At least two different groups offer free daily guided tours of the city, visiting Sydney’s most iconic sights, parks and historic buildings between Circular Quay and Central Station. The tour guides provide a lot of educational information about Sydney’s history, sights and events.

Tours run at 10.30 am and 2.30 pm. ‘I’m Free’ Tours start near Town Hall and meander around the CBD, finishing near Circular Quay. ‘Free Tours Sydney’ does nearly the same tour in reverse, starting at tiny First Fleet Park at Circular Quay. ‘I’m Free’ Tours also offers daily evening walks of The Rocks area, starting at 6 pm.

These guided tours are a fantastic way to see Sydney’s most important places, learn about the city and get your bearings. Afterward, you can revisit your favorite spots in more depth or check out other attractions not covered on the tour.

Pick up brochures about the free tours at any of Sydney’s Visitor Centers, located at The Rocks, Darling Harbor and Sydney Airport.

Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens

2. Stroll through refreshing parks & gardens

Sydney’s plentiful parks and gardens present a surprising amount of nature right within the city. They feature wide grassy lawns, huge shady trees, flower gardens, landscaping, shorelines, a large variety of busy birds and amazing views of the city, harbor, historic buildings and Sydney’s most iconic sights.

Free parks & gardens within the CBD include the Royal Botanic Gardens, The Domain, Hyde Park, Dawes Point Park, Observatory Park, First Fleet Park, Prince Alfred Park,Victoria Park and several smaller parks.

The Botanic Gardens is the largest and most elaborate. It has broad sweeping grass lawns and specialty gardens including rose, camellia, begonia, succulents, ferns, palms, herbs, a rainforest walk, formal gardens and an oriental garden.

The Botanic Gardens is open daily from 7 am til sunset. They offer free daily guided tours around the vast properties at 10:30 am, starting at the Palm Grove Center. Pick up a park brochure at any entrance.

The Domain and Hyde Park are smaller city parks lined by beautiful historic buildings. Dawes Point Park rests under the Harbor Bridge, offering unique views and scenery. Observatory Park, not surprisingly, offers great panoramic views over the city, harbor and bridge.

Many other great parks lie beyond the CBD and in the suburbs, but you’ll need transportation to access them. The largest of those is massive Centennial Park.

Art Gallery of New South Wales – Sydney

 3. Get your art fix

Many of Sydney’s museums have hefty admissions fees, but the city’s two major art museums and various private art galleries are entirely free.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Museum of Contemporary Art are large internationally-acclaimed museums filled with dozens of galleries featuring thousands of art works.

The Art Gallery of new South Wales, adjacent to The Domain, has a vast collection of Australian artists’ works and a decent collection of European paintings. They feature a lot of modern art, but also have historic paintings and a large gallery dedicated to Aboriginal art work. In addition, they present photography, sculptures and multi- media art work.

As its name implied, the Museum of Contemporary Art is dedicated to modern art. It showcases paintings and sculptures from more than 100 Australian artists of the past 20 years. The museum enjoys a pristine location at the Rocks, adjacent to Circular Quay.

The Public Library of New South Wales, located on Macquarie Street, houses three art galleries presenting ever-changing exhibitions of paintings, photography and other art.

Many private art galleries are scattered around CBD, several in The Rocks area and along George Street. The largest private gallery of contemporary Chinese art is White Rabbit, located near Central Station.

Circular Quay – Sydney

 4. Watch life go by at Circular Quay

Go sit along Circular Quay, particularly in the park fronting the Museum of Contemporary Art. It’s a fantastic place to watch all sorts of people and happenings, while simultaneously gazing at Sydney Opera House, Harbor Bridge and Sydney Harbor.

As one of Sydney’s main tourist attractions, Circular Quay is always filled with people from all over the world. As a result, many interesting street performers set up to entertain the wandering crowds. You’ll see human ‘frozen statues’, Aboriginals playing didgeridoos, musicians, jugglers and other performers.

You also can’t help but observe Sydney’s many green ferries and a variety of other boats coming and going at the city’s main ferry terminals, aka Circular Quays. Seagulls linger around the whole area, diving for food and squabbling amongst each other.

Beyond all the street action stand Sydney’s skyscrapers, Sydney Opera House, Harbor Bridge and the neighborhoods on the far side of the harbor, aka North Shore.

You really can’t beat Circular Quay for scenery and people watching. 

Sydney Harbor Bridge

5. Walk across Sydney Harbor Bridge

Make sure you time to walk across the iconic Harbor Bridge. It was one of my favorite experiences in Sydney.

Walking high above the vast Sydney Harbor with a cool breeze blowing and dozens of ships passing to & fro way below is quite exhilarating. So are the ever-changing panoramic views of the Opera House, CBD skyscrapers, the sprawling harbor, ferries coming to and fro, and neighborhoods lining the harbor’s far shores.

Views from Pylon Lookout in the center of the bridge are considered some of Sydney’s best panoramic views, though personally as far as free views go, I think the north end of the bridge offers the most stunning panoramas of the city.

 6. Learn about Sydney’s history

Unlike most of Sydney’s museums, the Rocks Discovery Museum offers free admission. It’s dedicated to Sydney’s splashy history as a penal colony and ongoing developments. Interactive displays, ever-changing art works and unique archaeological artifacts make learning history fun and informative.

Ongoing short videos present informative talks about Aboriginals and Sydney’s history. The museum also has a small resource area full of books on Aboriginal history, Sydney, archaeology and even novels set in the area.

Like all Sydney museums, the Rocks Discovery Museum is open daily 10 am -5 pm. Located on Kendall Lane in the The Rocks.

 7. Explore a trendy boutique neighborhood

While you’re at Circular Quay or The Rocks, stroll through Sydney’s oldest neighborhood.

Just behind the Museum of Contemporary Art is The Rocks historic district, full of cobble-stone roads and renovated stone buildings full of trendy boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, cafes and bars.

On weekends the famous Rocks Market sets up, selling home-made art, crafts, jewelry and upscale fashions.

State Library of New South Wales

8. Read anything from Shakespeare to Fashion Magazines

Sydney’s public library is open to all, residents and visitors alike, members and non-members as well. Everyone is welcome to enter the two main library rooms to read. Mitchell Library is the main reference library for educational books and research. State Reference Library has a large collection of current and archived magazines and newspapers, as well as novels and other books.

The library also has three free art galleries, free 30-minute internet access and its historic Shakespeare Room with gorgeous interiors and many of Shakespeare’s works for anyone to read.

Queen Victoria Building – Sydney

 9. Visit Renovated Historic Shopping Arcades: Queen Victoria Building and Strand Arcade

If you like architecture at all, you must visit these two stunning Victoria Era shopping arcades! Even Pierre Cardin apparently described the Strand as the “most beautiful shopping gallery in the world.”

Queen Victoria Building is an large, imposing stone building featuring several green domes on its roof. Inside are elaborate tiled floors, an equally-elaborate interior design and dozens of upscale boutiques.

The Strand Arcade is situated inside a larger building, so does not have its own stunning exterior like Queen Victoria Building does, but its interior is certainly impressive, as Mr. Cardin indicates.

Even if you’re not into shopping or can’t afford the designer merchandise on sale, it’s worth visiting these arcades to admire their gorgeous architecture and interiors.

Sydney’s free shuttle bus – Route 555

10. Ride Sydney’s free shuttle bus

Sydney’s CBD covers a rather large area between Central Station and Circular Quay/Botanic Gardens, Darling Harbor and The Domain. It can easily take 45-60 minutes to walk directly between Central Station and the Quays, let alone explore other sights in the area.

If you’re visiting gardens, Sydney’s main iconic sights, a couple museums and art galleries, you can easily get worn out. The last thing you might want to do is march an extra hour just to reach your hotel, hostel or most train lines, which emanate from Central Station.

Unfortunately, Sydney’s public transportation is quite expensive, even within the CBD, let alone to reach further neighborhoods & suburbs.

Happily, the city does offer a free daily shuttle bus between Circular Quay and Central Station. Dubbed ‘Route 555’, it runs up and down George Street every 10 minutes. Catch the shuttle at any designated bus stop along that road between 9 am – 3.30 pm on week days, 9 am – 9 pm on Thursdays (late shopping night) and 9 am – 6 pm on weekends.

Give your weary legs and feet a well-deserved rest in between all your sightseeing by taking advantage of this free service.

QUESTIONS:

 Have you enjoyed any of these great free attractions & activities in Sydney?

 Do you have any other great freebies in Sydney to add to this list?

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