Visit Elizabeth Bay House

Tours

Explore the house on your own or ask our friendly staff for a guided tour. Note that if you are making a special trip for a guided tour, please call before to make sure a guide will be available at that time. Tours take about 45 minutes.

An introductory video (17 minutes, with subtitles) plays on a loop in the cellar.

Printed guides

We also provide printed guides to the house in the following languages: English, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Italian, Korean, Japanese and Spanish.

Group bookings

Groups of 10 or more wanting a guided tour need to book. Group tours can also be arranged for other days (Mondays to Thursdays). For bookings and information call +61 9356 3022.

School bookings

Please note that we currently do not offer programs for school groups at this site.

Experience how wealthy families lived in the 1830s. Ask a guide to take you up to the servants quarters and down to the cellars under the house. Admire the beautiful butterfly collection in the library, be the first to spot the lion hiding in the saloon and find the grotto that was once hidden in the gardens. While most of these gardens no longer exist, the house is across the road from McElhone Reserve and a short walk from Beare Park on the harbour’s edge.

During the school holidays, we also offer family friendly tours and activities.

• All umbrellas, heavy coats, bags over handbag size and other large items must be cloaked.
• Professional camera equipment, including tripods, lighting etc, must be left at reception unless you have organised permission beforehand.
• Strollers are not allowed in the main house, but can be left at reception.
• Bring a coat in winter – the sandstone house can get very cold with the breeze blowing in from the bay!

Mobility

There is one designated accessible parking space outside the southeast corner of the property. There are 9 steps into the house via the front entrance but for people in wheelchairs or with limited mobility we can open the back gate, which has level access into the house from the road. Please ask at reception or call beforehand to arrange.

Inside the house, only the ground floor is accessible to people with low mobility, and ground-floor only tours can be arranged on request. For visitors who are unable to access other areas directly, folders with captioned images are provided. Accessible toilets are located on the ground floor.