Sydney Harbour
The harbour is the defining characteristic of the city. Its multiple sandstone
headlands, dramatic cliffs, rocky islands and stunning bays and beaches,
make it one of the most beautiful stretches of water in the world. Officially
called Port Jackson, the harbour stretches some 20km inland to join the
mouth of the Parramatta River. The most scenic area is on the ocean side
of the bridge. The Sydney Harbour National Park protects the scattered
pockets of bushland around the harbour and offers good walking tracks.
The best way to experience the harbour is to go sailing, but if you're
lacking nautical skills there are plenty of ways to enjoy it. Try catching
the Manly ferry, swimming at Nielsen Park, walking from Manly to Spit
Bridge, having a drink at Watsons Bay, dining with a view at Milsons Point,
Balmoral or Circular Quay, or cruising to the heads on the Bounty.
The Rocks
The Rocks is the oldest, quaintest part of Sydney. Today it is unrecognisable
from the squalid, overcrowded and plague-ridden place it used to be. Reinvented
by visionaries in the building industry and the trade union movement in
the 1970s, The Rocks is now a sanitised, historical tourist precinct,
full of cobbled streets, colonial buildings and stuffed koalas. If you
ignore the kitsch, a stroll around The Rocks can be delightful. Attractions
include the weekend market, the Sydney Observatory, and numerous craft
shops and art galleries.
But it's the old buildings, alleyways and historic facades that attract
most visitors. Try exploring the less developed areas in the contiguous
suburb of Millers Point, which has not sacrificed its community life to
the tourist dollar. Check out the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel and The Hero
of Waterloo, two of Sydney's oldest pubs.
Circular Quay
Circular Quay is built around Sydney Cove and is considered by many to
be the focal point of the city. The first European settlement in Australia
grew around the Tank Stream which now runs underground into the harbour
here. For many years this was the shipping centre of Sydney, but it's
now both a commuting hub and a recreational space, combining ferry quays,
a railway station and the Overseas Passenger Terminal with harbour walkways,
restaurants, buskers, parks, the Museum of Contemporary Art and, of course,
the Sydney Opera House.
Sydney Opera House
Australia's most recognisable icon is dramatically situated on the eastern
headland of Circular Quay. It's famous sail- and shell-like roofs were
inspired by palm fronds, according to architect Jørn Utzon, but
may remind you of turtles engaging in sexual congress. The Opera House
is so unique that it has been photographed a zillion times, appears on
an army of cheap T-shirts, every other Sydney postcard and decorates the
frames of Dame Edna's dramatic glasses. It was built between 1959 and
1973, but plagued with construction delays and political difficulties
which culminated in the resignation of Utzon in 1966. Although some visitors
are disappointed by the interior, designed by a consortium of Australians
after Utzon quit, it's a truly memorable place to see a performance or
to sit at one of its outdoor cafes with a bottle of white wine and watch
harbour life go by. The Opera House hosts theatre, classical music, ballet
and film, as well as the seasonal opera performances. There is also a
venue called The Studio, which stages contemporary arts events. There
is free music on the prow of the Opera House on weekends and a craft market
on the forecourt on Sunday.
Macquarie St
Sydney's greatest concentration of early public buildings grace Macquarie
St, many of them commissioned by Governor Macquarie and designed by the
convict architect Francis Greenway. The most impressive are the elegant,
two-storey, verandaed Parliament House, Sydney Hospital, the Mint Building,
the exquisite Hyde Park Barracks, St James Church and the voluminous State
Library. The Barracks and the Mint are now museums, the library hosts
exhibitions and there are tours of both the hospital and Parliament House.
Macquarie St is the eastern boundary of the Central Business District
and borders The Domain and the Royal Botanic Gardens. It runs from Hyde
Park to Circular Quay.
The Domain, Art Gallery & Royal Botanic Gardens
The Domain is a large grassy area east of Macquarie St which was set aside
by Governor Phillip for public recreation. Today it is used by city workers
for lunchtime sports and as a place to escape the bustle of the city.
On Sunday afternoons, it's the gathering place for impassioned soapbox
speakers, who do their best to entertain or enrage their listeners. It
is also the venue for free events held during the Sydney Festival in January
and the popular Carols by Candlelight at Christmas. The Art Gallery of
New South Wales is in the northeast corner of The Domain. It has excellent
permanent exhibitions of Australian, European, Japanese and tribal art,
and has some inspired temporary exhibits.
The Royal Botanic Gardens encompass Farm Cove, the first bay east of Circular
Quay, and include the site of the colony's first vegetable patch. They
contain a magnificent collection of South Pacific plant life, tropical
displays in the Arc and Pyramid glasshouses, and a beautiful, old-fashioned
formal rose garden. The spectacularly located gardens are a favoured spot
for family picnics and wedding photographs.
Darling Harbour
This huge waterfront tourist and leisure park comprises walkways, gardens,
museums, an aquarium, convention centre, casino, eateries and shops. It
was once a thriving dockland area, but it declined to the level of an
urban eyesore before being reinvented as Darling Harbour in the 1980s
by a combination of vision, planning, politicking, forbearance and huge
amounts of cash. The emphasis is on casual fun and enjoyment of the kind
appreciated by families with small children and coach tourists. The highlights
are the Sydney Aquarium, the Australian National Maritime Museum, the
water sculpture, the Chinese Garden, the massive IMAX Theatre, and the
nearby Powerhouse Museum, Sydney's most spectacular museum.
Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach is the grand dame of Sydney's beaches with a magnificent sweep
of sand and a never-ending series of majestic rollers crashing into the
shallows. The suburb of Bondi Beach is an eclectic mix of ice-cream parlours,
designer cafes, greasy fish and chip joints, kosher shops and surf fashion
stores. The seafront promenade and pavilion have been given a welcome
facelift; you can also access Aboriginal rock engravings a short walk
north of Bondi Beach. |
Most visitors to Sydney arrive
at Kingsford Smith airport. Airfares to Australia are expensive - it's
a long way from anywhere and flights are often heavily booked. On the
upside, you can get to Australia from just about anywhere. Australia's
domestic airlines offer discount flight passes which can be used once
you're in the country - if you've only got a short time here, it's worth
flying, because Australia's a mighty big place.
All the major bus lines run services into
and out of Sydney. Most lines offer discounts for students, and Greyhound
Pioneer/McCafferty's has a good bus pass deal. There are also a number
of specialised bus tours running out of Sydney. Interstate and regional
trains run from Central station, and will take you to most other capitals,
as well as cities and towns throughout NSW. Major roads from Sydney go
north to Newcastle, west to the Blue Mountains, south to Melbourne and
Canberra and down the south coast to Wollongong.
Getting Around
In mid-2000, a rail link between the airport and the city was inaugurated
to great fanfare - reality outlasted the hype when the first commuters
discovered a lack of decent luggage facilities in the carriages, but now
that the Olympics are over there's a little bit more room. A special bus,
the Airport Express, runs regularly from the airport to various stops
in the city, Kings Cross and Bondi. Ordinary buses also go by the airport,
but they're less frequent. The airport also runs a more expensive limousine
bus service, which will take you right to your hotel or hostel, and pick
you up from the same on your way out. A taxi from the airport to Circular
Quay will cost about US$15; to Central station it will be about US$10.
Sydney has a good train network, including an underground city centre
loop. It's the fastest way of getting around but not exactly the most
scenic. There are some gaps in the train network, notably the coast on
the south shore and all of the north shore east of the Harbour Bridge.
The bus network is extensive, but can be slow. There are plenty of fare
deals and several hop-on, hop-off buses specifically designed for visitors
who hate walking or for those who have no sense of direction.
The most pleasant way to get around is by
ferry. A trip on the Manly ferry is the best way to experience the harbour
if you can't charm someone into taking you sailing. The Monorail is an
elevated toy train that shuttles uselessly between the city and Darling
Harbour. Sydneysiders either love its sub-Bladerunner futurism or thinks
it's a godawful eyesore, depending on their aesthetic bent. Taxis are
plentiful and car and bike hire are widely available. |