Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
A Stripped Classical/Art Deco harbourside building, free to enter, holding over 4,000 works of Australian contemporary art.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Sydney offline.
The MCA occupies a Stripped Classical/Art Deco former Maritime Services Board building on the western edge of Circular Quay. Entry is free — a policy introduced to widen access — and the collection runs deep on painting, photography, sculpture, moving image, and includes significant representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander works. A modern wing by architect Sam Marshall opened in 2012.
What to look for
- The Art Deco facade of the old Maritime Services Board building — look for the Stripped Classical detailing before you go in
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander works, which have significant representation within the 4,000-work collection
- The contrast between the original building and the Sam Marshall-designed 2012 wing
Free general admission; on George Street in The Rocks, west side of Circular Quay — walkable from the ferry terminals.
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia is one of 23 sights worth the detour in Sydney, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Sydney pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Sydney
- Sydney Opera HouseJørn Utzon won the design competition in 1957, directed construction, then resigned before it ever opened — Queen Elizabeth II cut the ribbon on 20 October 1973.
- Sydney Harbour BridgeWalk the arch of the world's tallest steel bridge — nicknamed "the Coathanger" — with Sydney Harbour spread out below you and the arch top rising 134 m above the water.
- Accor StadiumBuilt in 1999 for A$690 million, this was the largest Olympic stadium ever constructed — originally squeezing in 115,000 people.
- Sydney Tower EyeAt 309 m above the CBD, this is the highest observation deck in the Southern Hemisphere by deck elevation — clearing Auckland's Sky Tower by nearly 30 m.
- Australian MuseumThe world's fifth oldest natural history museum has been in Sydney since 1827 — older than the colony could really afford it.
- Taronga ZooFive thousand animals on the Mosman shore — and the Sydney skyline watches from across the water.