Personally I don't know how you can give less than 5 stars for any countries National Gallery, let…read morealone Australia, especially when there's no admission fee. Art is personal. I spent less than an hour here. What I saw here impressed me, possibly because my local guide James knew what we would like. We saw the giant Pollock Blue polls(impressive), Yayoi Kusama polka dot room(cool!) and the James Turrell Sky Space (neat). What's stopping you?

The price is right but beware, no photography!…read more Just like Australia itself, the museum is enormous and sprawling. You can sign up for a free walking tour with a docent if you're not sure where to start, but be forceful with him/her if asked what you would like to see. I really wanted a sort of "tasting" but the guide ended up spending 40 minutes in Aboriginal art, 10 minutes in expressionism, and then was told to "explore" myself. Had a I chance to do it all over again, I would have asked to see just a couple examples from 3-4 different "parts" of the museum. I'm a sucker for portraiture and there is a "Miss Nellie Patterson" that reminds me of the Gainsborough Blue Boy and Pinkie. All the wanting-adulthood aspirations of children...although Miss Nellie does look a bit unhappy to be painted :-) If you are an art person, this is a reason to visit Canberra. If you are an art person, and are taking a break from the far more "active" things you will do in Australia, give yourself at least half a day here; full day would be better.

Much much much much much improved with new ownership. Less of the comfy couches, but the tables are…read morefunctional. But the coffee is so so so much better. Interesting cafe food, not wild, but a good range and significantly better quality than the place on the corner. Young but friendly waitstaff. They still do evening live events, and the place is pumping if I go past on those occasions.

Pleasent atmosphere. Lots of local attraction information. Coffee pretty good too…read more Will come again.