Free things to do in Sydney over the summer break
Get into the holiday spirit
Enjoy the spirit of Christmas at the Cathedral with 'A Christmas Carol' themed light show. With light shows, projections and narrations along the walls of St Mary's Cathedral, you can bring a picnic and enjoy the show. Running from 12-25 December, 5:30-10 pm.
Read sustainably
Donate your preloved books while picking up your new favourite read for free at the Redfern Community Centre second-hand book exchange in Pyrmont. With an interesting collection of books and a quiet nook for you to immerse yourself between the pages. The book exchange runs every day from 9 am to 5 pm, until 24 December 2024.
Embrace the art of summer at Sydney Festival
Sharing the wonders of live performance since 1977, Sydney Festival is a city-wide celebration of culture, creativity, and the questioning mind. Running from 4–26 January 2025, the festival highlights Australia’s many diverse storytellers while attracting the world’s finest artists to Sydney, animating locations across the city with a trailblazing program of theatre, music, dance, visual art and all the experimental places in between. Explore a collection of exhibitions, performances, experiences, and installations at this year’s Sydney Festival that are affordable or free to attend.
Afrique en Cirque, Sydney Festival 2022.
Tout your trivia talents
Think you know everything about Star Wars or Sega vs. Nintendo? Test your knowledge at Wayward Brewing Co's Trivia Mondays. Located in Camperdown near campus, and with prizes, happy hour, and half-price wings, a fun night is all but guaranteed.
Celebrate the Year of the Snake
Honour the many cultures represented in our Sydney community at the Sydney Lunar Festival from 29 January to 16 February 2025. Featuring a suite of spectacular shows, delicious feasts and magnificent artworks, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. To plan your visit, keep an eye on the Sydney Lunar Festival website for more details coming soon.
Feel the pulse of Sydney’s comedy scene
Off The Couch Comedy is Sydney’s premier open-mic comedy night, showcasing some of the funniest comedians on the circuit. Taking place every Tuesday night at the Wildfire Lounge on Broadway from 7:30 pm, get ready for all the laughs you can handle with a night of unfiltered humour in a laid-back but professional setting. Entry is free.
Get fit with The Run Club
Do you love the sweet release of endorphins after an extra sweaty run? Or are you looking to improve your technique while making new friends? The Run Club at The Rocks is a free weekly running and activity session that delivers a challenging and exciting fitness program for all levels. Subject to weather and seasonal dates, The Run Club meets at the First Fleet Park on Tuesday mornings from 7:15 am.
Move your feet to female street art
Celebrate the amazing women artists who call our city home with the Yeah the Girls street art self-guided walking tour. Starting at Redfern station and covering a distance of approximately 4.8 km, the walk takes around two hours to complete. You can check out the tour map and more information around each featured mural on the tour website.
Strengthen communities by volunteering
By donating your time to help another organisation, volunteering is a wonderful opportunity to gain experience, develop skills, meet new friends, and give back to your community. Learn about volunteering, opportunities available and how you can get involved on the NSW Government website.
Need support over the break?
Find out what health, wellbeing and enrolment support is available to you during the University shutdwon period from Friday 20 December to Monday 7 January.
Events on campus
If you plan to visit or stay at the University of Sydney over the break, you don’t have to go far for an adventure – the Chau Chak Wing Museum (CCWM) and the Seymour Centre call our campus home.
At the CCWM, create a curated journey and take a self-guided tour through individual galleries by using the Smartify app, satisfy your obsession with ancient Egypt by visiting the Egyptian Galleries and don’t miss your chance to see the exhibition Union Made: Art from the University of Sydney Union, celebrating 150 years of connecting students. Entry to the museum and exhibitions is free.
Enjoy an evening of deep diving into highly niche content in a very gay way at the Seymour Centre debut of Queer Powerpoint ft. Jack Halberstam on 15 December. Anchored in the concept of stale corporate presentations and personal optimisation, queer artists dramatically explore and share an idea, current obsession, or ongoing fascination using the most ubiquitous of programming tools – PowerPoint. The Seymour Centre offers discounted tickets to University of Sydney students.