The best free things to do in Sydney with kids

There's lots of free fun to be had for families in Sydney. From famous beaches and lush parklands to museums, galleries, libraries and the harbour itself – if you know where to go, there's no need to break the budget.

Go for a dip at Sydney's beaches

More than 100 beaches line Sydney’s surrounding coast, ranging from tranquil bays to sweeping surf beaches. The famous waves of Bondi and Manly are perfect for swimming and bodysurfing, or you can seek out calmer waters at Coogee or Malabar. Harbour beaches are ideal for kids, with sheltered conditions and hardly any swell. Popular spots include Camp Cove, Parsley Bay, Chinamans Beach and Balmoral. 

Camp Cove, Watsons Bay

Families will love swimming in the many coastal ocean pools, most of which have no entry fee. Try the Bronte Baths and Mahon Pool in the east; the tiny Fairy Bower Pool near Manly; Palm Beach, Narrabeen and Avalon pools on the Northern Beaches; or the two rock pools at Cronulla Beach in the south. There are also a handful of spots to swim along the Parramatta River, like the Bayview Park Baths and Cabarita Park Beach, and you can even take a dip in Lake Parramatta. Penrith Beach is open for swimmers between December and April.

Fairy Bower Rockpool, Manly

Picnic your way through Sydney's parks & gardens

Stroll through the Royal Botanic Garden, a green oasis in the middle of the CBD, and enjoy a picnic with an incredible view of the Sydney Opera House from the harbourside lawns. Barangaroo Reserve sits on the water on the other side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and is a picturesque spot for exploring native gardens, having lazy picnics and splashing in the protected Marrinawi Cove. Across the bridge, Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden is a hidden-away oasis tucked behind Luna Park, free and open to the public seven days a week.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Mrs Macquarie's Chair

Further north, St Ives is home to the enchanting Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden. Follow winding trails and spot wallabies hopping among the gums, or pop into the nursery for a souvenir to create your own wildflower garden at home. To the south-west, the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan is a lovely expanse of rolling hills, lakes and gardens – perfect for a picnic away from the hustle and bustle. 

Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan

Centennial Park's 200 hectares include lush green lawns, wetlands, and the bamboo forests and timber climbing frames of the Ian Potter Children's Wild Play Garden. Nearby, Paddington Reservoir Gardens incorporates parts of the original 1815 water system, creating a unique green space reminiscent of the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome. Across town, Sydney Park packs a skate park, kids' bike track, adventure playground, wetlands and grassy hills into 40 hectares. Wander the boardwalks through the Badu Mangroves at Bicentennial Park, or cycle some of the 60 kilometres of trails through Western Sydney Parklands.

Western Sydney Parklands, Eastern Creek

Let the kids run wild at Sydney's best playgrounds

In the CBD, The Kids Playground at Darling Quarter has slides for all ages, swings, climbing structures and water play – bring a change of clothes. Stick around Darling Harbour on Saturday nights for the 8.30pm fireworks. Sydney's biggest playground, Blaxland Riverside Park, covers three hectares at Sydney Olympic Park with a double flying fox, oversized swings, tunnel slides and a multi-level treehouse. Afterwards, unwind on the nearby Riverside Walk. On the North Shore, St Leonard's Wadanggari Park pairs colourful climbing frames with sculptures inspired by native flora.

Blaxland Riverside Park, Sydney Olympic Park

Ryde's Santa Rosa Playground is built for older kids, with a twisting net, a ninja circuit and a ping pong table. The St Ives Showground Playground has a red tractor and cubby house for little ones, rope walkways and tunnel slides for older kids, shaded picnic tables and a cafe. In the south, Oatley Park Adventure Playspace blends a four-storey netted treehouse with a sandpit and timber play elements. For accessible, fully fenced play with wheelchair ramps and accessible equipment, look for a Livvi's Place playground. They’re found everywhere from Five Dock to Kellyville to Jordan Springs.

St Ives Showground Playground, St Ives - Credit: Ku-ring-gai Council

Explore the city on foot

The flat, pram- and scooter-friendly Barangaroo Foreshore Walk and Glebe Foreshore Walk show off the harbour from a different angle. The famous Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk is more of a challenge, though it can be broken into shorter sections with stops to swim at Clovelly or snorkel in Gordons Bay. Lighthouse fans should catch the ferry to Watsons Bay and follow the South Head Heritage Trail to the candy-striped Hornby Lighthouse, with a swim at Camp Cove along the way. In Manly, the one-kilometre Fairfax Walk loops around North Head with stunning ocean and city views. Older kids after more adventure can tackle the 10-kilometre trail from Spit Bridge to Manly.

Coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi, Bondi

Away from the coast, the Great River Walk in Penrith is flat and pram-friendly, with river platforms, playgrounds and picnic spots along the way. Or catch the Rivercat to Parramatta, stopping at Olympic Park to walk the boardwalk past Homebush Bay's mangrove-covered shipwrecks before continuing on to the riverside Escarpment Boardwalk. For a classic city view, walk the pedestrian path over the Harbour Bridge, north to south from Milsons Point. If you're heading into a national park, check the NSW National Parks' website for safety updates first.

Great River Walk, Penrith

Discover the best of Sydney Harbour

Sydney Harbour is free (or almost free) to admire from a hundred angles. Wander the Royal Botanic Garden for green lawns framing the Opera House, then cross to Barangaroo Reserve for native bushland, harbourside walking trails and a dip in the sheltered Marrinawi Cove.

For a lookout with a story, climb Sydney Observatory's hill in Millers Point, Sydney's highest natural CBD point. The park and grounds are free and open around the clock, with sweeping views over the Harbour Bridge and The Rocks that make it a favourite for sunset picnics. A small entry fee applies only to the 1858 observatory museum and its telescopes inside.

Marrinawi Cove, Barangaroo

Sydney's ferries aren't free, but they're one of the best-value ways to see the harbour. A one-way trip for an adult is between $6 and $10, and weekend travel is capped at under $10 for the whole day across all transport. That means you can hop between Circular Quay, Manly, Taronga, Watsons Bay, Cockatoo Island and the Parramatta River for less than the price of a single paid harbour cruise.

Circular Quay to Manly Ferry, Sydney

Step back in time at Sydney's museums

The vast Australian Museum is free (excluding special exhibitions). Start in the Dinosaur Gallery, meet the extinct Tasmanian tiger in Surviving Australia, then explore Aboriginal knowledge and Western science side by side in the interactive Burra learning space. All the permanent galleries at the Australian National Maritime Museum are free, including Shaped by the Sea, with First Nations seafaring artefacts, and the Royal Australian Navy exhibit. Climbing aboard the submarines and ships, special exhibitions and the 'Kids on Deck' maker space require a ticket.

Australian Museum, Sydney

Budding detectives will love the Justice and Police Museum, covering everything from bushrangers to forensics. The Museum of Sydney is built on the site of the first Government House and has a fascinating collection of pieces from the earliest days of the colony. For something quieter, the University of Sydney's Chau Chak Wing Museum holds ancient artefacts from Rome, Greece and Egypt – including a child mummy with 4D digital imaging – plus natural history specimens. Nearby, the university's Tin Sheds Gallery rotates contemporary exhibits of interactive art and robotic sculptures.

Museum of Sydney, Sydney

See what’s on at the library

Sydney's public libraries are always free to enter and many are destinations in their own right. The State Library of NSW has multiple galleries with books, painting and other objects, and regularly stages free exhibitions and talks. The Mitchell Wing has an incredible permanent collection of Australiana with a range of books, maps, works of art, photographs, coins, stamps, magazines, sound recordings and digital resources on display. In the evenings, a secret bar opens on the library rooftop.

State Library of New South Wales, Sydney

At Circular Quay, Customs House Library is home to a striking scale model of the Sydney CBD, viewed – and walked over – through a glass floor. It’s always a hit with kids tracing streets with their feet. In Zetland, the award-winning Green Square Library is built largely underground around a sunken garden and skylit courtyard, with a rainbow book wall, free guitars, keyboards and retro video game consoles to borrow, and free coding, robotics and 3D-printing workshops for kids.

Customs House, Circular Quay

Get inspired by galleries & street art

Junior art lovers are well catered for at the Art Gallery of NSW, where entry is free for everyone. Pick up an activity booklet at the welcome hub for kids' art trails, join a free tour of the striking Naala Badu building, get creative at a workshop or check out the cubbyhouse-style children's art library. Liverpool Powerhouse and Powerhouse Castle Hill, both in Western Sydney, are more great free option, with lots of immersive, interactive exhibits.

Yayoi Kusama Flowers that Bloom in the Cosmos 2022, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Sydney's streets double as an open-air gallery. The Sydney Sculpture Walk links ten contemporary artworks by Australian and international artists on a free, self-guided circuit through the Royal Botanic Garden, The Domain, East Circular Quay and the city streets to Martin Place. Head to Newtown, the spiritual home of Sydney's mural scene since the heritage-listed 'I Have a Dream' mural appeared on King Street in 1991. Wander King Street, Enmore Road and the surrounding laneways for work by artists like Fintan Magee and Phibs.

Street art in Newtown - Phillip Street mural

In Chippendale, look out for Scott Marsh's much-loved ibis mural and the murals dotted through Kensington Street and Chippen Lane, and pop into the White Rabbit Gallery for its rotating collection of contemporary Chinese art. Surry Hills and Marrickville round out the inner-city street art circuit, with laneways full of murals and council-commissioned artworks. The Bondi Beach Sea Wall is a street art icon and the mural regularly changes. In Western Sydney, the Liverpool Street Art Trail creates a vibrant path through the suburb.

Streetscape, Liverpool

Step back in time

Learn the legends of Cockatoo Island, one of Sydney's World Heritage-listed convict sites in the middle of the harbour. The ferry ride will cost you, but once you're there the historic jail and dockyard are free to explore. Join the history trail at Vaucluse House, a gothic 1800s homestead set in 10 hectares of gardens with multi-million-dollar harbour views, then cool off nearby at Milk Beach.

Vaucluse House, Vaucluse - Credit: Museums of History NSW

Parramatta Park is World Heritage listed with more than 100 Aboriginal and colonial sites dotted throughout its 85 hectares. See Old Government House, dating back to 1799 and the oldest public building in Australia, and the convict-built Dairy Cottage Precinct. The 1813 Rouse Hill Estate in Blacktown, one of Australia's most important historic properties, opens its grounds for free every Sunday. Meet the farm animals, explore the buildings and join in the family-friendly activities.

Noller Bridge, Parramatta Park

Walk with a local

A walking tour is one of the best ways to feel Sydney's pulse and many are free. The aptly named I'm Free Walking Tours and Best Free Tours Sydney explore Circular Quay and the historic streets of The Rocks. You can pair a tour with a visit to The Rocks Discovery Museum, which also has free entry. Join a guided walk through the Royal Botanic Garden to learn its remarkable history, botany and wildlife.