The best museums and galleries in Canberra

Canberra gets a bad rap compared to other Australian capital cities, so you might be surprised that it’s home to one of the top ten free tourist attractions in the world. At the Australian War Memorial, you can discover the Australian experiences of war and connect with the stories of people and events that shaped our nation. Place a poppy on the Roll of Honour to remember the sacrifice made by our servicemen and women, and stay for the moving Last Post closing ceremony at 4.30pm daily.

Time Out tip: Join one of the Memorial's free, daily 80-minute guided tours, which cover the Commemorative Area and the First and Second World War galleries. 

Address: Treloar Cres, Campbell
Opening hours: Daily 10am-4pm
Entry fee: Free

Come face-to-face with our country’s most topical and trending Australian characters at the nation’s leading portrait gallery. From Archie Roach and Adam Goodes to Carla Zampatti and Cate Blanchett, these are the people and artists who have shaped our Australian identity. You can take a squiz at the 500-plus portraits, before popping just across the road to the National Gallery of Australia, Questacon or Old Parliament House. 

Time Out tip: Can't make it to Canberra just yet? You can explore the gallery's impressive collection of notorious and glorious portraits online.

Address: King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Opening hours: Daily 10am-5pm
Entry fee: Free (excl. some special exhibitions)

A trip to Parliament House is obviously a must while you’re in town, but visitors are often surprised to learn there’s a lot more to do than simply listen in to Question Time. Visitors are welcome to freely explore all public areas and watch our robust government in action from the galleries on sitting days. Join the ‘Best of Parliament House’ tour to see visitor favourites, including the towering flagpole and Great Hall Tapestry.

Time Out tip: Check out the Lego Parliament House, which took artist Ryan ‘Brickman’ McNaught 740 hours – or almost 31 days – to build. 

Address: Parliament Dr, Canberra
Opening hours: Daily 9am-5pm
Entry fee: Free (excl. some special exhibitions and events)

Opened in 1982, Australia’s heritage-listed national gallery is home to the largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art collection in the entire world. The NGA's collection comprises more than 155,000 Australian, Indigenous and international masterpieces, including Jackson Pollock’s ‘Blue Poles’ and the Ned Kelly series by Sidney Nolan. Its repertoire extends outdoors into the manicured Sculpture Garden that sits on the shore of Canberra’s tranquil Lake Burley Griffin. 

Time Out tip: Try to align the conclusion of your visit with dusk, when pioneering light artist James Turrell’s permanent installation, ‘Within without’, really comes alive.

Address: Parkes Pl E, Parkes
Opening hours: Daily 10am-5pm
Entry fee: Free (excl. some special exhibitions)

Science brings smiles to everyone’s faces at Questacon – the National Science and Technology Centre. This playground for adults and kids alike is full of weird and wonderful spaces for you to play and discover. Feel the force of an earthquake, watch an explosive science show, make friends with dinosaurs and experience the exhilaration of weightlessness as you slide down the two-storey vertical ‘Free Fall’.

Time Out tip: Save time to explore the Questacon gift shop, which is kind of like a candy land for curious minds, big and small. From slime and robots to insects and astronauts, there's plenty of science-fuelled fun to take home.

Address: King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Opening hours: Daily 9am-5pm
Entry fee: $23-24.50 for adults

The striking loops of the National Museum of Australia’s exterior have been a feature of the Canberra skyline since the institution opened in 2001. You can delve into the rich and diverse tapestry of Australia’s history while browsing the museum’s permanent collections, which feature Indigenous art, textiles, vintage cars and Phar Lap’s heart (which weighs 6.35kg). 

Time Out tip: You can come back to the NMA time and time again too, with free host talks in the Great Southern Land, First Australians or Landmarks galleries or the Garden of Australian Dreams, on the hour between 10am and 4pm daily.

Address: Lawson Cres, Acton
Opening hours: Daily 9am-5pm
Entry fee: Free (excl. some special exhibitions and events)

You’ll find the Mint – the place where every Australian coin is made (fun fact: it also produces circulating coins for other countries, as well as collector coins, medals and medallions) – in suburban Deakin. Take a walk above the factory floor and learn about the manufacturing process for coins on a free 30-minute guided tour. Or, check out the permanent display of rare and unique coins, including ‘misstrikes’ (imperfect coins), rare pennies and the first coins to land on our shores. 

Time Out tip: You can even strike your very own one-dollar coin in the Gallery Press.

Address: 62-114 Denison St, Deakin
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-4pm
Entry fee: Free

At the largest glass-making facility in the Southern Hemisphere, you can watch professional glassblowers perfect their craft and even try your hand. Downstairs, there's a small exhibition space with rotating showcases from our nation's top glassblowing experts. Upstairs, you can watch the artists in action, take a behind-the-scenes history tour of the Hotshop too, or join a Make Your Own class, emerging with a paperweight in just 20 minutes or a glass tumbler in 40. Whether you want to fuse it, cast it, blow it or try flameworking (melting and shaping glass over a hot torch), there’s a taster course for everyone. 

Time Out tip: Looking for a little memento of your time in Canberra or a gift for someone back home? You can shop a range of Australian glassworks, ranging from delicate vases and bowls to colourful paperweights and festive Christmas baubles.

Address: 11 Wentworth Ave, Kingston
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 10am-4pm
Entry fee: Free (excl. workshops) 

Plug into political history at the MoAD, located inside Old Parliament House – the building that housed Australia’s federal government from 1927 to 1988. By day, you can trace the steps of people who shaped Australian democracy, in the very place it happened, with a museum tour. Then, by night, you can join esteemed mystery investigator Tim the Yowie Man on a torchlight snoop through the secret nooks and crannies of the landmark building. 

Time Out tip: Little ones with love PlayUp – a dedicated exhibition for kids where they can enjoy storytime, craft activities, a fuzzy felt wall, a kindness café and listening pods.

Address: 18 King George Terrace, Parkes 
Opening hours: Daily 9am-5pm
Entry fee: Free (excl. some special exhibitions and events) 

Inside this beautiful building, you can engage with more than 10 million collection items, fascinating exhibitions, three reading rooms and two galleries. Leaf through the pages of the country’s largest reference library on a free tour hosted daily at 11am, or uncover the most valued treasures to be found among the whopping 279 kilometres of shelving. 

Time Out tip: Grab a bite to eat from one of the library's two cosy cafés. Bask in the sun beneath the stained-glass windows at Bookplate, or get takeaway from Paperplate to enjoy on the lawns overlooking Lake Burley Griffin.

Address: Parkes Pl W, Canberra
Opening hours: Mon-Thur 8am-8pm; Fri 8am-5pm; Sat-Sun 9am-5pm
Entry fee: Free

Hidden in the leafy suburb of Watson is Australia's tiniest gallery. This less-than-six-square-metre gallery zooms in on emerging and established artists from Canberra and beyond. Walk-ins are welcome from Thursday to Sunday to admire all things fabulous and small, including textiles, ceramics, paintings, jewellery and print media. 

Time Out tip: After your visit, take a ten-minute stroll to The Knox Made in Watson for fresh pastries and perfectly-brewed coffee. 

Address: 27 Wade St, Watson
Opening hours: Thur-Sun 11am-4pm
Entry fee: Free

Travel back in time 700 million years with Australia’s largest permanent displays of dinosaurs and prehistoric fossils at the National Dinosaur Museum in Gold Creek Village. Over the last 30 years, this interactive museum has built an impressive collection of 23 full dinosaur skeletons, including Stan, Canberra’s larger-than-life T.Rex, who is 20 metres long (half the length of the museum!) and towers above the entrance at a lofty six metres tall.

Time Out tip: While you're in Nicholls, pop across the road to Cockington Green Gardens – a super-fun, Insta-worthy miniature village with tiny buildings and a steam train. 

Address: 6 Gold Creek Rd, Nicholls 
Opening hours: Daily 10am-5pm
Entry fee: $20 for adults, $12 for children aged four to 16

The National Film and Sound Archive's collection of more than 4 million items includes fabulously memorable pieces, such as the thong dress from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and costumes from Elvis and Moulin Rouge! in the Australians and Hollywood exhibition. But there's so much more to see and hear, from cult cinema classics to new releases and thought-provoking panel conversations. 

Time Out tip: The NFSA is home to Arc Cinema – a stunning Art Deco theatre that plays a diverse range of Aussie and international films every Thursday to Sunday night. You can check the program here.

Address: McCoy Cct, Acton 
Opening hours: Daily 10am-4pm
Entry fee: Free (excl. some special exhibitions and events)