The best free things to do in Melbourne
Some of the best of Melbourne costs nothing at all - the galleries, the gardens, the trams and the markets. Here is how to fill a day in the city without opening your wallet.
The short answer: Melbourne is one of the easiest big cities in the world to enjoy for free - the major art galleries, the botanic gardens, the State Library and the trams around the city centre all cost nothing. A genuinely full day here need not cost more than a coffee.
For all its reputation as a place to spend money on good food and drink, Melbourne quietly gives a lot away. Its biggest cultural institutions are free to enter, it is ringed by grand public gardens, and the heart of the city has a free public transport zone. In this guide we pull the best no-cost options into a day you can actually follow. Opening hours change, so check a venue’s own page before building your plans around it.
What free things should you do first?
Start with the galleries, because Melbourne’s best are free and world class. The National Gallery of Victoria keeps its permanent collection free across two sites - NGV International on St Kilda Road and NGV Australia at Federation Square - and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image at Fed Square is free to enter for its general galleries.
Add the State Library Victoria on Swanston Street, also free, whose domed La Trobe Reading Room is one of the great interiors of the city. Our guide to Melbourne’s arts institutions goes deeper on all of these, including which special exhibitions are ticketed.
Is there really a free tram zone?
Yes - travel within the Free Tram Zone in central Melbourne costs nothing. The zone covers the CBD grid, Docklands and the area around the Queen Victoria Market, and you can ride the trams within it without touching on or paying, including the City Circle tram that loops the centre.
It makes the city centre effectively free to get around, which pairs well with a day of free attractions. Just note that the moment you travel beyond the zone’s edge you need a valid myki fare, so check the Free Tram Zone map if you are heading out to the inner north or the bay.
Where can you go outdoors for free?
Head for the gardens - Melbourne is generously supplied with them, all free to enter. The Royal Botanic Gardens on the south bank of the Yarra are the grandest, a large and beautiful landscape a short walk from the city centre, with the popular walking and running track known as the Tan around their edge.
Closer in, Fitzroy Gardens and Carlton Gardens - the latter home to the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building - are easy central escapes. Further out, the inner-north suburbs have their own big informal parks, like Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy.
What about markets and street art?
Both are free to wander, and both are essentially Melbourne. The Queen Victoria Market costs nothing to walk through and is a sight in itself, even before you buy anything, and the Rose Street Artists’ Market in Fitzroy is free to browse every weekend. Our Fitzroy guide covers the latter.
For street art, the CBD laneways - Hosier Lane most famously - are a free, ever-changing open-air gallery, and they sit right alongside the laneway coffee scene, so you can combine the two.
A free day, mapped
| Time | Free thing to do |
|---|---|
| Morning | State Library Victoria, then Hosier Lane street art |
| Midday | NGV or ACMI (free general entry) |
| Afternoon | Royal Botanic Gardens and the Tan |
| Anytime | City Circle tram, Queen Victoria Market wander |
The takeaway
Build a Melbourne day around its free institutions, gardens and trams, and you will see the best of the city for the price of lunch. It is one of the reasons the place is so liveable - a lot of what makes Melbourne good is simply open to everyone. Spend the money you save on a proper dinner in Chinatown, and you have had a near-perfect day for the cost of a plate of dumplings.