If you’re heading to the CBD with kids then Federation Square (or Fed Square as everyone calls it) is a destination packed with family-friendly places to go and things to do.
Within about 200 metres of each other you’ve got Australia’s national museum of screen culture, two free galleries including Australia’s dedicated First Nations cultural space, an upgraded playground in Melbourne’s CBD and a children’s arts centre nearby.
The public events program is free and often family-friendly. Throughout the year you could experience a multicultural celebration, outdoor cinema screenings, a kids food festival or a school holiday workshop. Before you visit, check the events calendar.
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Practical info at a glance
Getting there: Federation Square sits opposite Flinders Street Station and Town Hall metro station. Just walk out of any platform exit and you’re there.
City Circle, Route 70, and many CBD tram routes stop on Swanston Street at the square’s entrance.
Parking: The Federation Square Car Park is accessible from Russell Street or Batman Avenue (the Exhibition Street extension). It’s open 24 hours. Rates vary — check the Fed Square website before you go, particularly for event days when parking prices tend to climb.
Pram access: The main forecourt is stone with a slight incline, which is manageable with a pram. The marked access path along the Swanston Street edge is the smoothest route. All buildings have lift access.
Toilets and change facilities: Public toilets and baby change facilities are located in the Main Square next to Time Out Cafe, and in The Atrium. There is also a registered Changing Places bathroom on site, open during Fed Square’s operating hours (6am–11:30pm), for families who need more space and support than a standard accessible toilet provides.
Cost: Entry to the square is free. ACMI’s permanent exhibition, The Story of the Moving Image, is free. The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia is free (permanent collection). Koorie Heritage Trust is free. Some ticketed exhibitions, films, and special events incur a charge — check the relevant venue website.
Timing tips: The forecourt can get very hot on summer afternoons because it’s open, exposed, and the sandstone holds heat. For popular events like New Year’s Eve, major sports broadcasts on the Big Screen, or Christmas in the Square, arrive early and accept the crowd. On a standard weekday the square is quieter, which makes it a better option for families with youngsters who don’t do well in crowds.
ACMI — Australia’s museum of screen culture
ACMI is a very popular destination for families. Pick up a free handheld device called The Lens at the entrance, which kids use to collect objects and experiences as they move through the permanent exhibition, The Story of the Moving Image. It tracks what they’ve engaged with and lets them continue exploring online after the visit.
The permanent exhibition covers the full history of film, television, and video games through interactive exhibits. Primary-school-aged kids tend to get the most out of it as there’s enough hands-on content to keep them engaged for two hours without any pressure to read extended wall text.
The rotating exhibitions are often a separate, ticketed experience and can be family friendly depending on the theme. Check the ACMI website for what’s showing before you go — the program changes.
Read our review: The Story of the Moving Image
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
The Ian Potter Centre is the NGV’s dedicated space for Australian and First Nations art, across multiple floors of the Federation Square building directly next to ACMI. Entry to the permanent collection is free.
Older primary-school-aged kids with an interest in art or history can comfortably spend 45 minutes to an hour across the ground and first floors. Younger children tend to find their interest tapering after 20–30 minutes.
Note: Unlike NGV Australia on St Kilda Road, there is no dedicated children’s gallery at the Ian Potter Centre.
Koorie Heritage Trust
The Koorie Heritage Trust is a First Nations cultural organisation with a gallery and collection on the upper levels of the Yarra Building at Federation Square. Entry is free, and the space holds rotating exhibitions alongside a permanent collection of artefacts, artworks, photographs, and oral history material representing the Aboriginal peoples of south-eastern Australia.
We recommend the Birrarung Wilam Walk for families with older kids. The Koorie Heritage Trust’s guided cultural walk along the Yarra River covers the history and significance of the land.
The KHT also runs workshops during school holidays and other cultural programs throughout the year — check the website before visiting.
ArtPlay and the Artplay playground
Walk through the forecourt and follow the river path behind Fed Square and you’ll find ArtPlay and the Artplay Playground.
ArtPlay is a City of Melbourne children’s arts centre for kids from babies to 13, housed inside a converted heritage railway building. It runs workshops, performances, and exhibitions throughout the year, most of them free or low cost. The program changes each term so check the ArtPlay website or the City of Melbourne events calendar before visiting, as drop-in visits without a booked program don’t give you much to do inside the building.
[Playground currently closed for renovation] The Artplay playground next door is a practical gift for families passing through the CBD who need to burn off some energy. It has slides, a rope pyramid climbing frame, sandpit, swinging hammock, and shade sails across part of the structure. There are picnic tables and a water tap.
Test Garden
Up on the roof of the Fed Square car park is one of the more unexpected free things to do in the CBD with kids. Test Garden is a living urban garden planted as a preview of Laak Boorndap: an 18,000 square metre garden being built as part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct transformation,
It’s free to visit daily, wheelchair and pram accessible via lift and worth the short detour. The dense, multi-layered planting attracts bees, butterflies and other insects year-round, and Fed Square has produced a free Insects of Melbourne guide that you can download. There are regular free workshops with horticulturists, ecologists and artists and school holiday Open Days are specifically programmed for families.
It’s free, open daily, and wheelchair and pram accessible via lift. Check the Fed Square events calendar for what’s on during your visit.
Where to eat at Federation Square with kids
Good Nature Hotel is the best option for families eating at Federation Square. It has a dedicated playground attached, a kids menu, and lots of space for prams. I’ve written about it in detail separately.
Transport Hotel and Chocolate Buddha are both on the forecourt and both family-friendly in terms of attitude, though neither has the specific family infrastructure of Good Nature. Riverland Bar, on Federation Wharf facing the Yarra is a good option for a quick lunch. Time Out Cafe, Mama’s Gozleme and the NGV Cafe are the most convenient for grabbing something without committing to a sit-down meal.
What’s On at Fed Square — the reason to check before you go
Fed Square’s free events program is one of the most consistent family offerings in the CBD.
Across the year it typically includes: free outdoor cinema screenings through summer, Christmas in the Square in December, multicultural festivals on most major cultural event weekends, the Little Food Festival during autumn school holidays, and a dedicated school holiday program every term that pulls together ACMI, NGV, KHT and ArtPlay into a coordinated set of free activities.
Concerts and performances, NYE events, and major sporting moments on the Big Screen also draw large crowds.
The single most useful thing you can do before a Federation Square visit is check the events calendar on the Fed Square website.
How to plan your visit
A half-day at Federation Square works well if you anchor it around one indoor experience and combine it with time in the forecourt and a meal. A full day is possible if you’re visiting during a school holiday program or a festival and want to move between the programming at multiple venues. Families with under-fives will often find two to three hours the right length: enough for ACMI’s permanent exhibition or a wander through the NGV, lunch, and a stretch at the Birrarung Marr playground before heading home.
Fed Square connects naturally with a walk along Southbank — cross Princes Bridge and you’re there in five minutes. It’s also a short walk from the Melbourne CBD hub’s other major family attractions.
Things to Do in Melbourne CBD with Kids: The Complete Family Guide
Getting to Federation Square with kids
Flinders Street Station and Town Hall Station are about a 2 minute walk from any platform. The City Circle tram stops at Federation Square on Flinders Street. From the CBD, the square is walkable from almost anywhere in the central grid. If you’re driving, the Fed Square Car Park is accessible from Russell Street or Batman Avenue and is open 24 hours — arrive early on event days.
