Melbourne Museum
Photo: Own work — GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons
Located in Carlton Gardens, Melbourne Museum offers a rich insight into Victoria’s natural environment, cultures, and history. Visitors can explore permanent collections and temporary exhibitions that showcase the state’s diverse heritage. Adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, the museum is part of Museums Victoria, which manages several cultural institutions in Melbourne. The museum is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, with children 16 and under enjoying free general entry to all permanent exhibitions. For more information, visit their official website.
Planning your visit
Melbourne Museum sits in Carlton Gardens beside the Royal Exhibition Building, the UNESCO-listed 1880 hall built for an international exhibition and briefly home to Australia's first federal parliament — the contrast between Victorian pile and the museum's angular modern structure is deliberate. Inside, the strongest section is Bunjilaka, the Aboriginal Cultural Centre, which presents Victoria's First Peoples history including the First Peoples exhibition developed with Aboriginal communities, covering deep time occupation, colonisation and survival on Aboriginal terms rather than institutional ones.
Elsewhere the museum covers Victoria's natural environment with a living forest gallery cut through the building, a science and mind gallery, dinosaurs, and Melbourne's social history — including, memorably, the taxidermied Phar Lap, the racehorse whose 1930s career and mysterious death in America remain a national story. IMAX Melbourne adjoins the museum.
Children 16 and under enter permanent exhibitions free, which makes this an easy family choice; adults pay general admission, with separate charges for touring exhibitions.
Bookable options include entry tickets, guided tours with entry included, and tickets for major touring exhibitions when they are running. Given the museum, the Exhibition Building and IMAX sit together in the gardens ten minutes from the CBD, it is straightforward to build a half or full day around them. Current availability is shown below.
Before you book
Where is Melbourne Museum?
Melbourne Museum is in Melbourne, Australia. The map on this page marks its exact location.
Do I need to book Melbourne Museum in advance?
Tickets can be bought on the door at quiet times, but booking ahead fixes the date and avoids the queue at busy ones. Live availability is shown on this page.
