National Gallery of Victoria: Melbourne Travel Guide (4.7★)

A bluestone box with a wall of water

The front door is behind a curtain of water. NGV International sits behind a moat on St Kilda Road: a long, heavy bluestone block designed by Roy Grounds and opened in 1968. The entrance arch is sheeted in glass with water running down it, and small children always seem to end up with their palms pressed against it.

Inside, the building opens around courtyards. The rooms run in a deliberate order, so you can let the plan lead you. Keep in mind that the address, 180 St Kilda Rd, is only one half of the NGV. Australian art mostly hangs at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, across the river at Federation Square.

Lie down in the Great Hall

Lying on the carpet is allowed here. The Great Hall is covered by Leonard French’s stained-glass ceiling, one of the largest in the world, and the usual way to take it in is flat on your back. Coloured light falls through faceted glass panels in blocks of red, blue and gold.

In the permanent collection, look for these:

• Tiepolo’s The Banquet of Cleopatra, a huge Venetian canvas that easily fills a room.
• Picasso’s Weeping Woman, stolen from the gallery in 1986 and later returned.
• Rembrandt and the European old masters, hung in a sequence of rooms.
• Asian, decorative arts and design galleries, which people often skip and shouldn’t.

On top of the permanent collection there is usually at least one major ticketed exhibition. Every few years the NGV Triennial also takes over much of the building.

Walking over from the city

You can walk here from the centre in about 10 minutes. From Flinders Street Station, cross Princes Bridge heading south. The Arts Centre Melbourne spire is your landmark, and the gallery is the next building down, on the same side of St Kilda Road.

A lot of trams run along St Kilda Road and stop right by the Arts Centre and the gallery. That’s handy when it’s hot or your legs are tired from a morning at Federation Square. Driving isn’t worth it. Southbank parking is expensive and fills up, while trams come every few minutes.

Beating the weekend crush

This is one of the most visited galleries in the country, and weekends show it. From 12pm to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays, the Great Hall and the popular exhibitions get crowded. You end up reading the wall labels over other people’s shoulders.

The fix is simple. On weekdays the gallery stays quiet for the whole day, from the 10am opening through to 5pm. If a weekend is your only chance, arrive when the doors open at 10am, see the main exhibition first and leave the permanent collection until later.

• Choose a timed slot when you book an exhibition online, and book your weekend visit ahead.
• Large bags and backpacks may need to go to the cloakroom. Pack light and you’ll get in faster.
• Photography without flash is usually fine in the permanent collection. Ticketed shows often ban it, so check the signs at each exhibition entrance.
• Card and phone payments are normal at the ticket desks, shop and cafés.

How long to give it

Allow half a day. The free permanent collection takes two to three hours at a steady pace, and a major exhibition adds another one or two. Last entry is before the 5pm close, so a 3pm arrival is a rushed visit.

Entry to the permanent collection is free. Exhibition prices are listed on the official NGV website and at the ticket desks. For a full art day, add NGV Australia at Federation Square, which also opens 10am to 5pm.

After the gallery, along St Kilda Road

Right next door is Arts Centre Melbourne, with Hamer Hall just past it on the river. Many visitors book an evening show there after a day in the galleries. Southbank’s riverside promenade starts a few minutes’ walk north.

Head south and the city turns green. Behind the gallery are the Queen Victoria Gardens and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and a little further on is the Royal Botanic Gardens. On a warm afternoon, a picnic on the lawns there makes a good finish after a morning of indoor rooms.