Guides
Shows & Culture, at a civilised hour
Comedy with seats and early sessions, theatre matinees, concerts and the big exhibitions — what's worth paying for, what the seniors price actually is, and how to book without surprise fees.
Showing 30 guides — ACT plus everything national and overseas.
Floriade: Canberra's Free Spring Flower Festival for Over-50s
Floriade is the kind of event that rewards the traveller who plans well and arrives early on a Tuesday. Canberra's Com…
Seniors Festivals State by State: Free Events and Real Highlights
Every Australian state and territory runs an annual seniors festival, and together they form a loose national calendar…
Theatre Subscriptions: The Original Exclusive Club
A season subscription to a state theatre, opera or orchestra company is one of the shrewdest cultural decisions an ove…
Agricultural Shows Beyond the Royals: Australia's Country Show Circuit
Australia's country show circuit runs almost year-round, with hundreds of agricultural shows spread across every state…
Australian War Memorial: The Last Post at Day's End
The Australian War Memorial sits at the foot of Mount Ainslie and holds a quiet authority that very few institutions i…
Australian Wooden Boat Festival: Hobart's Free Waterfront Spectacle
Every second February, Sullivans Cove fills with the warm smell of timber and linseed oil as hundreds of wooden vessel…
Canberra Glassworks: Watch Molten Glass Become Art
In a converted heritage powerhouse on the Kingston foreshore, Canberra Glassworks offers free entry to watch professio…
Canberra Symphony at Llewellyn Hall: The Capital's Concert Habit
Llewellyn Hall on the Australian National University campus is where the Canberra Symphony Orchestra calls home, and i…
Canberra's Balloon Spectacular and Lake Dawns
Canberra's Balloon Spectacular turns the skies above Lake Burley Griffin into a slow, colourful theatre each March, an…
Enlighten Festival: Canberra's Buildings Painted in Light
Each autumn, Canberra's parliamentary triangle transforms after dark as Enlighten Festival projects large-scale artwor…
Heritage Picture Palaces and Art Deco Cinemas, State by State
The picture palace was once the social heart of every Australian town, and a remarkable number have survived demolitio…
HOTA and Beyond: The Gold Coast's Surprising Culture Day
The Gold Coast has a cultural side that most visitors walk straight past on their way to the beach. HOTA — Home of the…
Innisfail: Australia's Unexpected Art Deco Town
Rebuilt after a devastating 1918 cyclone, Innisfail wound up with one of Australia's most coherent collections of art…
Murwillumbah's Tweed Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre
On the banks of the Tweed River in Murwillumbah, the Tweed Regional Gallery quietly houses one of the most affecting a…
National Film and Sound Archive: Australia's Screen Memory in Acton
The National Film and Sound Archive sits in one of Canberra's finest art deco buildings, quietly holding the nation's…
National Film and Sound Archive: Free Screen History, Canberra
The National Film and Sound Archive sits in one of Canberra's finest heritage buildings, a few minutes from the city c…
National Library and High Court: Free Lakeside Icons
Canberra's cultural circuit is richer than most visitors realise. While the Australian War Memorial, the National Gall…
National Library of Australia: Exhibitions and the Bookplate Lunch
The National Library of Australia sits quietly on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin, one of Canberra's most civilised i…
Old Parliament House: Democracy's Living Museum for a Few Dollars
The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House in Canberra offers one of the country's most quietly absorb…
Questacon and the National Museum: Canberra for the Curious
Canberra's lakeside precinct delivers two of Australia's most thought-provoking cultural institutions within easy walk…
Regional Live-Music Pub Venues Worth a Detour, State by State
Australia's regional pub music circuit has been quietly sustaining itself for decades, long after the city venues move…
Regional Theatres and Arts Centres, State by State
The most satisfying live performance experiences in Australia don't always require a capital city. From the beautifull…
Royal Shows Compared: Ekka, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth
Australia's Royal Agricultural Shows are among the oldest continuous public events on the continent, and they reward t…
The Australian Opal Centre: Lightning Ridge's New National Museum
Lightning Ridge is one of those Australian places that rewards the traveller who makes the effort to reach it. The Aus…
WA Maritime Museum, Fremantle: Submarines and Sailing History
The WA Maritime Museum on Victoria Quay in Fremantle sits at the edge of the working harbour and traces Western Austra…
Adelaide Botanic Garden: A Gentle Green Walk in the City
Adelaide Botanic Garden sits quietly at the edge of the city, a free 51-hectare green space that rewards a slow mornin…
Australia's Best Free Galleries: One in Every Capital City
Australia's major public art galleries offer free entry to their permanent collections, making them one of the most re…
Canberra's Free National Institutions: A Culture Day for Over-50s
Canberra's national institutions sit within easy reach of each other around Lake Burley Griffin, and entry to the big…
Canberra's Multicultural Festival and Weekend Markets
Canberra's Multicultural Festival is one of the largest free street celebrations in Australia, drawing food, music, an…
State Library Free Days: A Quiet Culture Stop in Every Capital
Australia's state and national libraries are among the most underrated free stops for over-50 travellers — grand readi…
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