Museum of Contemporary Art Australia

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia occupies the former Maritime Services Board building on the western side of Circular Quay. The sandstone-faced Art Deco building was completed in the early 1950s on a site once used by colonial commissariat stores, and the museum opened here in 1991. A major expansion completed in 2012 added the Mordant Wing, with new galleries, a rooftop café and learning spaces, when the institution took its current name.

The museum focuses on contemporary art by living artists, shown through changing exhibitions and displays from its own collection. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists are strongly represented, alongside Australian and international artists working in painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation. Because the programme changes regularly, it is worth checking what is on before you visit.

The building's own history is worth a moment of attention. The Maritime Services Board, which managed the port, moved out in 1989, after which the building was adapted for the museum. The 2012 Mordant Wing, with its stacked, angular forms, deliberately contrasts with the older sandstone and brick, and gives the museum more gallery space and a rooftop terrace.

Its location is one of its greatest assets. From the galleries and the rooftop café you look across Circular Quay to the Opera House, and the front lawn by the water is a pleasant place to sit between visits. The museum shop stocks art books, design objects and gifts. Admission details, including any charges for special exhibitions, are listed on the official website.

Allow one to two hours. The museum suits adults and older teenagers with an interest in contemporary art, and its learning programmes cater for families at certain times. The building is accessible, with lifts between floors. Visiting on a weekday or towards the end of the afternoon usually means fewer people in the galleries.

Circular Quay station, the ferry wharves and the light rail are a couple of minutes' walk away. The Rocks starts immediately behind the museum, so it combines easily with a walk through the old laneways, the weekend markets or a drink at one of the neighbourhood's historic pubs. Across the quay, the Opera House and the Royal Botanic Garden are about ten minutes on foot.