Museums · Brisbane · Australia
4 best museums in Brisbane
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Chris Olszewski, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Start with Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Queensland Art Gallery and Queensland Museum Kurilpa. Together the 4 picks below take roughly 7–7 hours across 1 area; 3 are free.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 4
- Free entry
- 3
- Time to see them all
- 7–7 hours
- Areas
- South Bank
Museums in Brisbane
Gallery · South Bank
1.Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA)
Australia's largest gallery of modern and contemporary art sits on the river at Kurilpa Point, known for its large-scale installations, the Asia Pacific Triennial and a strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collection.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- Free
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Architecture
Gallery · South Bank
2.Queensland Art Gallery
The older half of QAGOMA displays Australian, European and Asian art from colonial landscapes to Indigenous works around a calm Watermall.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- Free
- Rainy day
Museum · South Bank
3.Queensland Museum Kurilpa
The state museum covers Queensland's dinosaurs, wildlife, the Great Barrier Reef and First Nations cultures, with the hands-on SparkLab science centre upstairs.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Kids
- Free
- Rainy day
- History
Museum · South Bank
4.Queensland Maritime Museum
At the southern end of South Bank, beside an old dry dock, the museum lets you board HMAS Diamantina, a Second World War frigate, and see displays on Queensland's shipwrecks, lighthouses and pearling history.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Kids
- Off the beaten path
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| South Bank | Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland Museum Kurilpa and Queensland Maritime Museum | 2 hours + 1.5 hours + 2 hours + 1.5 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 4, 3 free, 1 low cost. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA); group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 2 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (South Bank): Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) → Queensland Art Gallery, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 2 (South Bank): Queensland Museum Kurilpa → Queensland Maritime Museum, at least 4 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- February: highs of 30°C (86°F), about 11 rainy days, quiet crowds. Often the wettest and most humid month, with heavy downpours; quieter once school returns.
- March: highs of 29°C (84°F), about 11 rainy days, quiet crowds. Still warm and humid, with rain easing towards the end of the month.
- August: highs of 23°C (73°F), about 4 rainy days, moderate crowds. Dry, sunny and mild; the Ekka show fills the Exhibition Grounds.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- South Bank — Riverside parklands, Streets Beach lagoon and the Queensland Cultural Centre
More of Brisbane
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Brisbane?
Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). Australia's largest gallery of modern and contemporary art sits on the river at Kurilpa Point, known for its large-scale installations, the Asia Pacific Triennial and a strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collection.
+Which of these are free in Brisbane?
Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Queensland Art Gallery and Queensland Museum Kurilpa.