Admission prices in Sydney have jumped in 2026 – from the Archibald to Taronga Zoo. Here’s what you’ll now pay, and how to keep your day out affordable.
Add it to the list of cozzie livs price rises – the admission prices for some of Sydney’s most popular attractions and things to do have gone up. Again.
The entry fee to the Musuem of Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of NSW’s Archibald Prize exhibition have both jumped 20 per cent in 2026 for an adult ticket, up to $25.
Meanwhile, Taronga Zoo has cracked the $50 barrier at the gate, up to $55 from $51 in 2024, and a tour of the Sydney Opera House, the most visited tourism destination in Australia, is also now $50, up from $48 in April 2025. The Opera House has also now increased its “on the day” tour price to $55 to encourage visitors to book early.
Many other major institutions have shifted to peak-and-off-peak pricing, meaning the day you choose to visit now matters almost as much as where you go.
Now of course, many of these exhibitions and experiences are well worth every cent of the admission price – and more – delivering moments and memories. But the price rises are rarely announced, leaving visitors unaware of the price rise until they reach for their wallet.
Archibald, MCA and Opera House all up $5
The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes exhibition is one of the Art Gallery of NSW’s biggest drawcards and in 2026 it’s going to cost you more to go and see it, unless you fall in to the youth category. In good news for young people, the AGNSW have actually dropped prices.
In 2025, the prices were: adult $25, concession $22, family $63 (two adults + up to three youth), youth $13 (12-17 years), children under 12 enter free. The new prices in 2026 are: adult $30, youth (12-17 years) $10, concession $25. There is also a $2 surcharge on all tickets on weekends on public holidays, a popular time particular for tourists.
It must be said that there is no admission to the Art Gallery itself.
Over at the Museum of Contemporary Art, which for 25 years had been free to enter, has already increased the general admission price it only introduced just over 12 months ago.
At the time MCA chairwoman Lorraine Tarabay said she was “disappointed” to reintroduce the general admission charge, but that it would help the museum “remain sustainable” .
The general admission fee is now $25 for an adult – a rise of 25 per cent – $20 for concession and students. In another win for young art lovers and tourists, under 18s get in free.
According to the Sydney Opera House’s 2025 annual report, the iconic attraction welcomed more than 457,525 paid tour patrons in a 20 per cent increase on the 2024 financial year. While patron numbers are down on pre-Covid levels, revenue from the tours is not, according to the annual report. “Revenue is now broadly in line with pre-COVID-19 levels,” according to the report.
Why are admission prices in Sydney going up?
There are several factors at play here. One is that the tourism industry is still recovering from the pandemic with many attractions only now starting to hit the same numbers as they did prior to 2019.
Cultural institutions are absorbing the same wage, energy and insurance increases as everyone else is and many like Taronga Zoo and the Art Gallery of NSW have major capital projects to fund or maintain. Government support doesn’t necessarily keep pace with the operating costs of these vital institutions so the cost is pushed on to the ticket buying tourist or Sydneysider. In other words, cozzie livs.
There’s also been a broader shift to dynamic pricing, which airlines and the concert promoters are now using, which can mean big price increases if you want to visit at a busy time.
How Sydney visitors in 2026 can save
If there’s one takeaway from this year’s round-up of admission prices in Sydney, it’s that when you visit and how you buy your ticket now matters almost as much as which place you choose.
Weekday visitors who book online in advance can still see the city’s best museums, galleries, zoos and aquariums for something close to the price they paid two years ago. Walk-up weekend visitors during school holidays are paying a premium that once didn’t exist
For locals, an annual membership to one or two of your favourite institutions – Zoo Friends at Taronga, Art Gallery of NSW membership, a Merlin Annual Pass if you’ve got young kids — is the single biggest lever you have to keep costs down but that’s not much help for visitors. Travellers and tourists with a tight schedule, combo passes and advance bookings are the equivalent.
And for everyone, many of the best things to do in Sydney – the harbour, the beaches, the coastal walks, the permanent collections at our biggest museums – are free for all.
