What to see at Powerhouse Parramatta

After 11 years of planning and $915 million spent on development, Powerhouse Parramatta is finally open to the public.

For many Sydneysiders, visiting the Powerhouse in Ultimo is a core memory. We recall trailing behind other kids in matching uniforms during the annual school excursion or rainy afternoons spent here with our parents in the holidays. Yet, what I remember most is the thrill of getting to explore it for myself, and that ethos remains a core part of the experience at the new Powerhouse Parramatta, which opened over the weekend.

Powerhouse Parramatta opens on the banks of the Parramatta River

It’s the largest museum in NSW’s history and one of Western Sydney’s first major cultural institutions. More than 26,000 people registered to attend the free opening weekend, and another 6,500 tickets have been sold for paid events during the opening festival, which runs until 29 November.

Minister for the Arts John Graham said, “The opening of Powerhouse Parramatta is about people. It is about the industry, artists, scientists and creatives around the museum, the vast collection and the people whose stories are told. It will be a magnet for visitors from around the region, the state, the country and the world."

You can expect to see more than 3,000 objects across the five opening exhibitions, including more than 1,600 from the Powerhouse collection. Australian Traveller was lucky enough to head west for a first look, and this is everything we’d go back for.

Powerhouse Parramatta is officially open, becoming the largest museum in NSW history. With fascinating exhibitions, immersive installations and more than 3000 objects on display, it signals a new era of arts and culture in Western Sydney.

Powerhouse Parramatta: The highlights

The Dark – free

Built for kids aged four to 12, The Dark is a phone-free space where you can explore a bedroom that looks like it belongs in a Michel Gondry film and a forest straight out of Where the Wild Things Are. There’s something absorbing about it for grown-ups, too. The best gag comes on the way out. Look up and you’ll see children peering down at you. Somewhere along the way, you’ve become a toy in their toy box.

The Turning – free

Es Devlin’s installation brings together five commissions, including The Forest of Us, a mirrored labyrinth where looking for your own reflection means catching sight of everyone else. Our pick was The Collective Portrait. Take a seat at the 24-metre table and draw a stranger in silence on a continuous sheet of paper. On the way out, you can choose one of Devlin’s sketches to take home. As she explained during the visit, you leave a trace of yourself and take one with you.

Task Eternal Sean Fennessy — *Task Eternal* exhibit will enthral space lovers. (Credit: Sean Fennessy)

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

Overflow – free

Head to the fourth floor for Overflow, a First Nations exhibition about water Country. The video work plays on a huge screen and is reflected in water below. With the Parramatta River just outside, it feels like a love letter to the stretch of river the museum calls home.

The Mall – free

There’s kitschy green carpet, a fountain to meet your mates by and old Telstra handsets you can pick up to hear stories. If you ever reverse-charged a call to Mum for a lift home from the movies, The Mall will take you right back to your teenage years. Beneath the nostalgia is a look at what made shopping centres such an important gathering place in Western Sydney, even when you had no intention of buying anything.

Task Eternal – ticketed

Start with Leonardo da Vinci’s studies of flight and work your way through spacesuits, satellites and space junk. Task Eternal has the scale and curiosity of a classic Powerhouse exhibition. The finale (an optional add-on when purchasing tickets to Task Eternal) is a light work by American artist James Turrell that feels like stepping into an abyss. Give yourself time here, as it’s a great place to get lost in for a while.

Plan your visit

Opening hours: The museum opens daily, from 10am to 5pm Monday to Wednesday, with extended hours until 9pm Thursday to Sunday during the opening festival, which runs from now until 29 November. Dining venues Simara and Folded open from 8am until late.

Entry and exhibition costs: Entry to the museum is free. Under-16s get free entry to all exhibitions. Some museum programs and events are ticketed. See the Powerhouse program for exhibitions and event bookings.

Bate Bay’s sweep of beaches has been crowned Australia’s best for 2026, placing Sutherland Shire in the spotlight as a top coastal destination just south of Sydney’s CBD.

The beaches fringing Bate Bay – Cronulla, North Cronulla, Wanda, Elouera and Greenhills – have topped Tourism Australia’s 2026 list of best Australian beaches (as curated by Beach Ambassador Brad Farmer). For locals, it’s less revelation, more recognition.

The mood shifts from the moment you step off the T4 train service from Central to Cronulla and catch a glimpse of the ocean. At dawn, the Esplanade is already buzzing with regulars, and by mid-morning, parents have staked out a toasty spot on Cronulla Beach where excited toddlers clamber over rocks, and the Jellybean swim squad at Oak Park have donned their bright pink caps while singing Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’.

By the afternoon, towels are being collected from across the sand as visitors wander back to Cronulla in loose formation.

North Cronulla beach — Dive into the world’s best beaches.

That’s the thing about Bate Bay beaches. This isn’t a story about a single beach. This long, uninterrupted sweep of sand and sea, where you can walk for kilometres without breaking stride, is not just enjoyed over summer; it’s a year-round destination. Here, Cronulla’s buzz gives way to Wanda’s wild edges, before stretching out to the quieter reaches of Greenhills.

But while Bate Bay’s beaches may have taken top honours in the 2026 Best Australian Beaches list, they’re only part of the drawcard. Sutherland Shire stacks up as a full-spectrum coastal escape, where good food, national park adventures and on-the-water experiences sit within easy reach of the shoreline. Whether you’re planning a long weekend or stretching out a stay, here’s how to make the most of Cronulla beyond the sand, sea and surf.

Beyond the beaches

Dining

The Sutherland Shire dining scene delivers from early morning to late at night with a mix of vibrant cafes, bars and pubs. Start your day at Grind Espresso, where the coffee comes strong and fast. From there, drift towards HAM for pastries, best eaten buttery warm.

By midday, locals linger across sun-lit tables. Loaf and Next Door appeal to the surfers who come in for snacks after chasing waves. Blackwood’s Pantry and The Press are also popular for breakfast and lunch, while Pilgrim’s continues to hold a special place in the hearts of vegans.

Newer arrivals signal where Cronulla is heading: Homer Rogue Taverna is being hailed as one of the best restaurants in Cronulla, with the confidence that comes from understanding what locals want. Ask a local to reveal their favourite restaurant for a special occasion, and it’ll likely be Pino’s Vino e Cucina al Mare, Yalla Sawa or Alphabet Street. Summer Salt, Sealevel, Benny’s, Bobbys and Pippis are a few of the best waterfront restaurants in the Shire.

Finally, when most places are winding down, Duke’s Providore shifts gears to become Duke’s After Hours – a low-lit romantic spot perfect for a date night. Parc Pavilion, Northies Cronulla and bars The Blind Bear, Las Chicas and Low & Lofty’s are also part of Cronulla’s identity.

Visit Bundeena

Bundeena Ferry Wharf — Catch a ferry to Bundeena.

A short ferry ride from Cronulla, Bundeena offers a counterpoint to Cronulla’s mighty surf beaches. If Cronulla is the Shire’s social heart, Bundeena – or Bundenesia, as it’s affectionately known – is the place to go to exhale and unwind.

Hop on the ferry from Cronulla, and within 30 minutes, you’ll be inhaling the eucalyptus-scented air. Check the creative pulse of the local community by timing your visit with the Bundeena Maianbar Art Trail on the first Sunday of every month.

One of the best things to do in Bundeena is paddle into Cabbage Tree Basin with Bundeena Kayaks. Follow the five-kilometre Jibbon Beach Loop Track that leads past quiet coves to ancient Indigenous rock art, or simply find a stretch of pearl-white sand to relax on.

Pristine walking trails

Royal National Park Cape Baily Walking Track — Cool off with a coastal stroll.

Beyond the coastline, Sutherland Shire offers myriad ways to shift gears. Royal National Park – the oldest national park in Australia – sits just minutes from the surf. Clifftop walks trace the edge of the continent, the rugged bushland is threaded with creeks and hidden waterfalls, and a network of tracks rewards those willing to go a little further.

Take the Coast Track, where the land drops cleanly into the ocean over sheer cliffs that have been stacked together like giant Jenga. Or veer inland, where pockets of forest cool the air and filter the light. It’s a reminder of how close nature sits to the bustle of suburbs in the Sutherland Shire.

Enjoy whale watching

humpback whale sighting noosa experiences — Spot whales from May to October. (Credit: The Edit Suite)

Twist your binoculars until the ocean is in focus, stretched like a creased blue sheet all around. Come May, the East Coast becomes the humpback highway. Thousands of whales migrate along this stretch of coastline each year, their movements tracked by keen eyes from vantage points like the Cape Solander platform in Kamay Botany Bay National Park, one of the best places for whale watching in Australia. There’s something quietly thrilling about seeing that first telltale spout or the arc of a breaching body against the vastness of the sea. From June to October, whale-watching cruises depart from Cronulla, offering a closer look at the migration.

Awards come and go. But places like Cronulla endure because they belong as much to the visitors as they do the early-morning swimmers, walkers and surfers.

Plan your escape at visitsutherlandshire.com.au.

Powerhouse Parramatta: NSW’s biggest museum just opened in Western Sydney. Here’s what to see

After 11 years of planning and $915 million spent on development, Powerhouse Parramatta is finally open to the public.

Powerhouse Parramatta opens on the banks of the Parramatta River