The oldest city in Australia it is the economic centre of the nation. The sun drenched capital of New South Wales. This cosmopolitan, lively city boasts international attractions such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Fantastic shopping, vibrant nightlife, and delicious restaurants are key to the city’s popularity. With a resident population of around 4,000.000, Sydney has a vibrant and distinctive multi-cultural atmosphere.

Visitors to Sydney by air will find Sydney Airport (SYD) is just 9 km / 6 miles south of the centre of Sydney. This international airport offers efficient service and the facilities that are expected at modern airports by today's traveller.

Sydney is also a coastal city and the sandstone headland and dramatic cliffs give way to glorious sandy beaches. Famous all over the world, Bondi Beach is full of ardent surfers and body conscious beach babes.

Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge is probably the best known and most photographed landmark in Australia. Opened in March 1932 and the top standing some 134 metres above Sydney harbour it is the world’s largest (but not the longest) steel arch bridge. The arch span covers 503 metres. One interesting fact is that it takes 270,000 litres of paint to give the bridge one coat. The Australian actor Paul Hogan of Crocodile Dundee fame was once one of the contractors employed to paint the bridge. This major Australian tourist attraction can be climbed with official groups of twelve people leaving every ten minutes.

The Opera House
One of the most profound images of modern Australian architecture the Sydney Opera House opened its doors in 1973. Reaching out into the harbour on a point known as Bennelong Point the building dominates the skyline of Sydney. Its dramatic contours are unforgettable and a ‘not to be missed’ part of any visit to Australia.

A ferry trip from Circular Quay will give you the best views of Sydney harbour and the city including the Opera House. You will also see large luxurious waterfront homes which line the harbour. The ferry will pass many beaches and small coves and will take you past the Heads where the entrance to the harbour meets the Tasman Sea. Docking in Manly Cove you can visit Manly Beach which is one of Sydney’s most popular.

Many hotels are located in the Darling Harbour area to the west of the city. In recent years this area has been fully regenerated and now is the centre for many great restaurants and unique shops and is easily accessible via the city Monorail.

Worth a visit is the Sydney Tower which from the top gives a fantastic 360 degree view of the city.
A city surrounded on three sides by National Parks. The Royal National Park to the south , Ku ring gai Chase National Park in the north and the Blue Mountains National Park in the west.

Circular Quay
It was at this place in January 1788 that the first fleet of ships containing convicts, officials and soldiers arrived and the new British colony of New South Wales was declared.

Walk from Sydney Harbour Bridge round the bay to Sydney Opera House and you will be traversing Circular Quay with the area on the west side knows as the Rocks.

The area of the Rocks was less than a hundred years ago the slum area of Sydney, with people living in appalling conditions and where gangs ran the streets. Today it is a washed and brushed up vibrant and colourful part of the esplanade.

Today it is a place where sydneysiders still gather to celebrate Australia day or any other important event.

The Sydney Tower
Reaching 250 metres above the city of Sydney and is the tallest observation platform in the southern hemisphere. Views from the tower are wonderful give the visitor a 360 degree perspective on the layout of Sydney and around 1 million visitors per year visit the tower.

The tower can accommodate 960 people at full capacity, and has two levels of restaurants, one for a la carte the other for buffet style dining. There is also a coffee lounge, and an observation deck, open to the public. The are three high speed, double deck lifts, which will take you to the observation deck and restaurants and take about 40 seconds to travel from top to bottom. These high speed lift have a capacity of carrying up to 2000 people per hour to the top of the tower.
The tower was originally constructed as part of the Centrepoint Shopping Complex built in the 1970’s although the tower itself was not completed until 1981.

Museums

The Sydney Observatory
Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks
The Sydney Observatory has been used for over 140 years and is the oldest observatory in Australia.
The Observatory has preserved some of the oldest astronomical instruments in Australia and has displays of the history of astronomy. There are working models of our solar system, telescopes and you can read about the significance and position of stars in the Southern Hemisphere. The Observatory also has a pleasant garden to relax in and take in the scenery. If you are a keen scientist there is a 3-D Space Theatre and tours where one can view the skies at night through the historic and the modern telescopes.

Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery Road, The Domain
Surrounded by parklands the Art Gallery NSW is on the eastern side of the CBD. The Gallery aims to acquire and display to the visitor the best works of art available, highlighting the artistic customs of Australia. There are about 29,000 items in its permanent collection which is divided up into seven main collections. These are Australian, Aboriginal, Asian, European, Contemporary, Photography and Drawings and Watercolours. This Gallery is well worth a visit for those on the art trail.

The Australian Museum
6 College Street
Since the museum first opened to the public in 1857 the Australian Museum has been extended and enlarged into a complex of sandstone buildings which now houses the principal exhibition area and administrative and research space.
The Museum has some first class permanent exhibitions as well as a varying special exhibits. The permanent exhibition includes displays of Indigenous Australian natural history including skeletons from mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and insects. There is also an enormous mineral collection and a dinosaur exhibition. The museum is stretched over three floors and the visitor can enjoy the open plan architecture of the buildings as you wonder from one display to the next. There is a Highlights Self-Guided Tour brochure available to assist you find your way around the Museum.

The Australian National Maritime Museum
2 Murray Street, Darling Harbour

At the Australian National Maritime Museum you will find thousands of exhibits has thousands of exhibits depicting Australia's maritime history. You will find exhibits beginning from when Aboriginal people caught fish and traded with them with their Asian neighbours, right up to the modern day. Explore what life was like on the convict ships and how Australia "rode on the whale's back"; how Australia’s first submarine vessel fought courageously but lost in at Gallipoli during World War I. Discover what people brought with them when they sailed away to a new life in Australia.

There are free guided tours available, cinema, hands-on display and computer games to explore. Go aboard the HMAS Vampire, the former Royal Australian Navy destroyer and enjoy a guided tour which gives an insight into how the crew worked lived and relaxed.

There are also displays of some remnants of Captain Cook's ship The Endeavour, Australia II the winner of the 1983 America's Cup, the World War II boat Krait; a racing cutter from 1888 and a Vietnamese refugee boat.

The Discovery Museum
2 - 8 Kendall Lane, the Rocks

Situated in the centre of the Rocks area, the Discovery Museum is located in a restored 1850”s sandstone warehouse owned by the National Trust.

The museum allows the visitor to look at the history of The Rocks from pre-colonization days to the present and is spread over three floors. The museum tells the history of the indigenous Aboriginal inhabitants who made their home along the shores of Sydney Harbour before the arrival of the British right through to the present day.

Displays of artefacts excavated at various times over the centuries tell the story of the Rocks area.

The Justice & Police Museum
Cnr Phillip & Albert Streets, Circular Quay

This museum formerly acted as a police station to a Court between 1856 to 1886. The building has been restored to its 1890s glory. The theme is crime, punishment and law and order and features a recreated police charge room, remand cells and a magistrates court.

Check out the faces of Sydneys early criminals in the mug shot gallery and exhibitions of different weapons used at that time. There are gruesome details about notorious crimes such as the Pyjama Girl Case the Shark Arm Murder and the Graeme Thorne Kidnapping.

The Macleay Museum
Gosper Lane (off Science Road), University of Sydney

This tiny museum is tucked away between the sandstone buildings of Sydney University, on the upper floor of the MacLeay building. There is only a small proportion of the entire collection exhibited as most is in storage and generally comes from the universities historically important invertebrate and scientific collections. Also included is a historic photograph collection.

The Museum of Australian Currency Notes
Reserve Bank of Australia
65 Martin Place, Sydney

This museum displays examples of Australian currency from the days of the first settlement from 1788 through to the present day. Archive film together with descriptions of economic, social, political and cultural history are used to highlight the times.

The Museum of Contemporary Art
Circular Quay West

In a wonderful position overlooking Sydney Cove with uninterrupted views of the Sydney Opera House and, to the rear of the building The Rocks area of Sydney.

The Museum of Contemporary Art was officially opened in 1991 and this impressive sandstone building accommodates four floors of contemporary art from international and national artists.

The Powerhouse Museum
500 Harris Street, Ultimo

An interactive science-and-technology museum which uses state of the art technology in the form of demonstrations, computer games, videos, lectures and activities. Over 25 exhibitions help the visitor to discover the history of human achievement and the decorative arts, science and technology, and how they influence our everyday lives.

Built inside the shell of a disused power station dating from 1899-1902 which provided power for the electric tram system in Sydney. The power station was in use up until 1963 when it suffered ten years or more of dereliction until, in 1979 it was selected to be the site for the new museum.

The Museum of Sydney
Cnr Bridge & Phillip Streets Circular Quay

This museum celebrates both colonial and contemporary Sydney through artefacts, pictures and digital media techniques. 360 degree views of Sydney - from 1788 to the present day - extend along the walls and video screens. Sydney’s convict history is explored in a huge exhibition of goods and chattels found in more than 25 archaeology digs.

Pylon Lookout
Cumberland Street (on the Harbour Bridge).

Located on the south side of Sydney Harbour Bridge great panoramic views of the City make this visitor attraction an absolute must in Sydney.

Near the junction of Cumberland and Argyle Streets climb the stairs which lead to the pedestrian footpath and 500 metres north is the Pylon.

Displays of models, artefacts, replicas, pictures and archival film tell the story of the building of the Bridge. The trials and tribulations the difficulties and lives lost.

Don’t go all the way to Sydney and miss this one!

Darling Harbour
This former dockside harbour area, has been changed into a major tourist are convention and exhibition centre. Take the monorail which goes from the Central Business District to Darling Harbour, making various stops along the harbour as it goes There are various attractions for children and for the adults restaurants and a café complex.

Taronga Zoo
Bradleys Head Rd, Mosmon

This is the nation's principal zoological garden, featuring Australia's best collection of native animals and a varied assortment of exotic species. Taronga is special because of its location on a raised piece of land, on the waterfront, of probably the best vantage point looking out over Sydney Harbour.

Susannah Place
58 to 64 Gloucester Street, The Rocks

Explore l9th century inner-city working class life, inside these brick and sandstone properties, built in 1844 and domestically occupied until 1990. Susannah Place is a row of four terraced houses including a corner store.

It is situated in the centre of The Rocks, an area that is arguably one of Sydney's most popular with tourists.

This fascinating museum provides a look into the fabric of community life that existed in The Rocks during the 19th century. Its plain interiors and back yards show the visitor of today the day to day hardships of l9th century inner city life. The original brick outside toilets and clothes washing facilities are some of the earliest surviving examples to be found in Sydney. Susannah Place's recreated early 20th century corner shop displays goods from that era.

Cadman’s Cottage
110 George Street, The Rocks

Originally built in 1816 as the barracks for the crews of the governors boats Cadmans Cottage is Sydney’s oldest surviving dwelling house. It takes its name from John Cadman, a convicted horse thief who was transported in 1798. After holding various jobs as coxswain he was pardoned in 1827 and moved into the cottage. Cadman and his wife, another ex-convict, lived in the cottage until 1846.

Cadmans Cottage was once beside the water but after Circular Quay was built, the harbour is now 100 meters ahead of the cottage.

The cottage now serves as the Sydney Harbour National Park Information Centre.

Sports
Sport is not just recreation in Australia, but a way of life and this is never more apparent than in Sydney.
Sydneysiders are generally a sporty bunch with cricket, football, tennis and golf extremely popular and for those who do not participate directly, watching sport on television provides an alternative passtime.

Cricket
Sydney plays host to Test cricket in Australia and one day international cricket matches during the summer months in Australia. Played at Sydney Cricket Ground, tickets for matches played during the week can often be bought on the gate but for Test matches at the weekend it is best to book your tickets in advance and for all one day cricket internationals.

Golf
Visitors are welcome at golf courses all over Sydney, but probably the more well known clubs are St. Michaels, Warringah and Moore Park. If you wish to play it is best to phone and book ahead of time to ensure a round.

Tennis
Cooper Park and Parkland Sports Centre are good place to play tennis, but there are courts and clubs all over Sydney. Many centres have courts which are floodlit for night time games.

Rugby League and Rugby Union
Probably the most popular sport in Sydney Rugby League is affectionately referred to as “the footie”. Local, State of Origin and Test games are played on fields all over Sydney although the main ground is the Aussie Stadium. Tickets for the Aussie Stadium tend to sell out quickly so its best to buy tickets in advance from Ticketek.

Australian Rules Football
Very popular in Sydney and Melbourne, is Australian Rules Football and the local team is called The Sydney Swans. Competition is always strong between Sydney and Melbourne when games are played often taking busloads of fans between the two Australian cities. Click here for more sport