The MCA is a showcase for Australian and international contemporary art, with a rotating permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. Aboriginal art features prominently. The art deco original building has had a modern space grafted on to it, the highlight of which is the rooftop cafe with stunning views. There are free guided tours daily, in several languages.
Museum of Contemporary Art
Circular Quay & The Rocks
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
4.48 MILES
Definitively Sydney, Bondi is one of the world’s great beaches. It’s the closest ocean beach to the city centre (8km away), has consistently good (though…
0.49 MILES
Sydneysiders love their giant 'coathanger', which opened in 1932. The best way to experience this majestic structure is on foot. Stairs and lifts ascend…
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
15.31 MILES
A spectacular mix of sandstone, Australian bushland and tranquil water vistas, this 14,928-hectare park forms Sydney’s northern boundary. It’s located 20…
4.45 MILES
Lovely Watsons Bay, east of the city centre and north of Bondi, was once a small fishing village, as evidenced by the heritage cottages that pepper the…
2.2 MILES
A 12-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay, this forested harbour hillside is full of kangaroos, koalas and similarly hirsute Australians, plus numerous…
0.41 MILES
Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, this magnificent building is Australia's most famous landmark. Visually referencing a yacht's sails, it's a…
5.88 MILES
About 3km south of central Manly, spectacular North Head offers dramatic cliffs, lookouts, secluded beaches, pretty paths through the native scrub, and…
20.22 MILES
This central section of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is a spectacular wilderness, with awe-inspiring vistas over Pittwater and Broken Bay, hidden beach…
Nearby Circular Quay & The Rocks attractions
0.05 MILES
One of few remaining such lanes, the Suez Canal tapers downhill until less than a metre wide (hence the name, also a pun on the word 'sewers')…
0.09 MILES
Built in 1816 for Superintendent of Government Boats John Cadman (a former convict with a commuted death sentence for horse theft), this is the inner city…
0.09 MILES
Dating from 1844, this diminutive terrace of four houses and a shop is a fascinating time capsule of life in the Rocks. A personable guide takes you…
0.09 MILES
Divided into four displays – Warrane (pre-1788), Colony (1788–1820), Port (1820–1900) and Transformations (1900 to the present) – this small, excellent…
0.1 MILES
Designed by Stephen Walker, this four-part bronze fountain (1981) near Circular Quay incorporates dozens of sculptures of native Australian animals; play…
0.12 MILES
Before the outbreak of bubonic plague in the early 20th century and the subsequent slum clearances, this section of the Rocks was a warren of houses…
0.13 MILES
Thought-provoking Foundation Park is set among the preserved ruins of 1870s houses, built against the cliff face. The oversized furniture by artist Peter…
0.14 MILES
Convict labourers excavated this canyon-like section of road clear through the sandstone ridge that gave the Rocks its name. The work began in 1843 with…