Attractions in Sydney
Art Gallery of New South Wales
This art museum is one of the most important in Australia. One of the most impressive is the Australian art collection, in which pictures and sculptures from the early colonial period to the middle of the 20th century are shown.
Another attraction is the Yiribana Gallery, the world’s largest permanent exhibition of art objects from the aborigines of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands.
Address: Art Gallery Road, Sydney
Phone: (02) 92 25 17 00
Hours: Daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au
Entry fee: No.
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Bondi Beach
The white sandy Bondi Beach is still one of the most perfect beaches in the world. It is only 15 minutes from the city center and extends in a crescent shape between two headlands.
Street musicians, billiard halls, shops with surfing gear, discos and clubs determine the street scene and make the area ideal for a stroll on a summer evening. It is also worth strolling past the restaurants and cafes along the Campbell Parade, where there is also a market on Sundays.
You should only swim at the guarded areas of North Bondi or Bondi Baths on the rocks to the south. On a walk along the coastal path you can experience the whole colorful range of diverse beach culture, from the wild surf, the oiled bodies and the surfers on Tamaram-a-Strand (also called Glamourama) to the palm-fringed Bronte beach and the gentle lagoons on Coogee -Beach.
Address: Bondi Beach
Website: http://www.bondivillage.com
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Centennial Parklands
The Centennial Parklands is a very impressive European-style park – with landscaped gardens, statues, historic monuments and houses, ponds, formal ornamental gardens, biotopes and spacious avenues.
There is also a restaurant, café and facilities for every leisure activity imaginable.
Address: Sydney
Telephone: (02) 93 39 66 99
Opening times: March-April and September-October daily 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. May-Aug. daily 6.30am-5.30pm; Nov-Feb daily 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Website: http://www.cp.nsw.gov.au
Entry fee: No.
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Darling Harbor
This small harbor, where docks used to be, has been converted into a tourist attraction that particularly appeals to families with children. Today, the old harbor area is a huge amusement park with countless restaurants, shops and a number of visitor attractions, including the Powerhouse Museum, the Australian National Maritime Museum, the Sydney Aquarium, Sega World, the Panasonic IMAX Theater and the Chinese Garden of Friendship Gift from Sydney’s Chinese twin city of Guangdong.
Most of the restaurants in Darling Harbor are on the city side of Cockle Bay Wharf. There are inexpensive outdoor dining options, but also expensive gourmet restaurants.
Address: Sydney,
Website: http://www.darlingharbour.com
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Fox Studios Australia
In the Fox Studios, which were built on the former fairground and circus grounds, the films “The Matrix” (1999), “Moulin Rouge” (2001) and “Star Wars: Episode II” (2002) were filmed.
The adjacent amusement park includes shops, cinemas, museums, restaurants and some other attractions, such as “Titanic: The Experience”, the original film set for “Babe: Pig in the City” and the Hall of Cool Stuff, in which props and costumes from well-known films.
Address: Lang Road (Moore Park), Sydney
Phone: (02) 93 83 40 00
Hours: Daily 10 a.m. to midnight.
Website: http://www.foxstudios.com.au
Entry fee: Free admission (guided tours behind the scenes of the film studio with admission fee).
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Olympic Park
One of the best ways to get to know Sydney’s Olympic Park is with the air-conditioned Explorer bus, where you can sit back and relax while a tour guide talks about the visionary idea that transformed an earlier dump to the most environmentally friendly Olympic site to date.
The Sydney International Aquatic Center (tel: (02) 97 52 36 66) and the Sydney International Athletic Center (tel: (02) 97 52 34 44) are open to the public.
Address: 1 Herb Elliott Ave (Homebush Bay Visitors Center), Sydney Olympic Park
Phone: (02) 97 14 78 88
opening times: Daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: http://www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Rose Seidler House
The Rose Seidler House was built between 1948 and 1950 and is one of the most uncompromising modernist homes in Australia.
Because of the many glass walls and the sunny attic, from almost every corner of this house you have a panoramic view of the Ku-ring-gai National Park. It was renovated true to the original; the furnishings and other items are in the style of the fifties.
Address: 71 Clissold Road, Wahroonga,
Telephone: (02) 99 89 80 20
Opening hours: Only on Sundays between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Website: http://www.hht.nsw.gov.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Royal Botanic Gardens
The Royal Botanical Gardens are located in the heart of the city on a 30-hectare site above the harbor and are only a short walk from the Opera House. Founded in 1816, it is the oldest scientific institution in Australia and is home to over a million different plant species.
Highlights include the Sydney Tropical Center and the Oriental Garden. A railless train, with which you can get on and off at any time, transports visitors through the park.
Address: Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney
Telephone: (02) 92 31 81 11
Website: http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au
Entry fee: No.
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Sydney Harbor Bridge
The Sydney Harbor Bridge is not overshadowed by the overwhelming size of the opera house and is itself a masterpiece of engineering. It is popularly known as ‘the coathanger’. 1400 workers were involved in the construction of this bridge and it took eight years to complete.
If the view from the Pylon Lookout over Sydney’s harbor is not spectacular enough, adventurers can climb the bridge, over which the cars and trains drive, to the top of the approximately 50-story building and then on the other side with the bridge climb descend again.
Pylon Museum and Lookout
Access: Via the stairs on Cumberland Street.
Tel: (02) 82 74 77 77.
Opening hours: Daily 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
With entrance fee (discounts are available).
Bridge Climb
5 Cumberland Street
Tel: (02) 82 74 77 77.
Internet: www.bridgeclimb.com
Opening times: Daily 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
With entrance fee (discounts are available).
Address: Sydney
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Sydney Opera House
Few achievements in modern architecture can compete with the famous Opera House, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The roof is the work of the Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who left the long, 14-year project when it was only half finished and who never saw the completed building on site. After him, other architects accepted the challenge of designing the complex with around 1,000 concert, theater and lecture halls, restaurants and bars. The opera was finally opened in 1973. The four main halls – the Concert Hall, the Playhouse, the Opera Theater and the Drama Theater – have 3000 performances each year.
Address: Bennelong Point, Sydney
Telephone: (02) 92 50 71 11, 92 50 72 50 (round trips).
Opening hours:
Mon-Sat 9 am-8.30pm (ticket sales) and two hours before the Sunday performance. Daily 8.30am-5pm (guided tours).
Website: http://www.soh.nsw.gov.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Sydney Tower
The Sydney Tower, 250 meters above Market Street, is the tallest structure in Sydney and offers a view of the city, Olympic City and the harbor. You can even see Terrigal Beach, which is 100 km north of the city.
Address: 100 Market Street, Sydney
Phone: (02) 92 33 92 22
Hours: Daily from 9 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.
Website: http://www.sydneytoweroztrek.com.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Sydney Wildlife World
At Sydney Wildlife World, visitors can experience the full range of Australia’s unique fauna at once.
Over 6,000 animals – some of which are threatened with extinction – can be seen here in their natural environment. The park is over 7,000 square meters in size and offers an optimal habitat for the animals thanks to twelve meters high trees, rainforest and waterfalls.
The visitor walkways with a total length of one kilometer are spread over two floors. Visitors can marvel at yellowfoot wallabies (a species of kangaroo) and koalas. The “Red Heart of Australia” illustrates how mammals manage to survive in the hot climate of this country. In the “night house” guests watch how oppossums and quolls behave in the dark. Small reptiles are at home in the “Flight Canyon”. Visitors also listen to the unique chants of different bird species here.
Address: Sydney
Telephone: (02) 93 33 92 88.
Opening hours: Daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: http://www.sydneywildlifeworld.com.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Taronga Zoo
The most sought after area in Sydney is not inhabited by the city’s most distinguished and richest citizens, but by seals, snow leopards, koala bears, kangaroos and wallabies.
The Taronga Zoo is located on the Bradley headland in Mosman, an elevated coastal strip from which you have one of the most beautiful views of Sydney’s harbor. The main attractions include the Gorilla Forest, the Orangutan Rainforest, the Koala Encounters and the Cats of Asia.
Address: Bradleys Head Road (Main Entrance), Mosman
Phone: (02) 99 69 27 77
Hours of Operation: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: http://www.zoo.nsw.gov.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
The Rocks
At the foot of the harbor bridge is Sydney’s historic birthplace, The Rocks – a neighborhood with winding streets, small sandstone houses and some of Sydney’s oldest pubs. The first Englishmen from Plymouth arrived here in 1788.
Today The Rocks is a lively tourist attraction with cafes, restaurants, galleries, museums and countless souvenir shops. One of the area’s historic buildings is the Hero of Waterloo inn, built over a tunnel that was originally used for smuggling. The observatory, the Sydney Observatory, is where the colony’s first windmill used to be. The oldest building in Sydney is Cadman’s Cottage, dating from 1816; other area attractions include the Museum of Contemporary Art, Merchants’ House, Garrison Church and Susannah Place.
Address: The Rocks, Sydney
Website: http://www.therocks.com
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Tourist offices
Sydney Visitor Center
Another visitor center is located at 33 Wheat Road in Darling Harbor.
Address: The Rocks
corner of Argyle Street and Playfair Street, Sydney
Telephone: (02) 92 40 87 88 or 1800 06 76 76 (only within Australia)
Hours: Daily 9.30am-5.30pm.
Website: http://www.sydneyvisitorcentre.com
Visitor passes
The All Day Pass & Tower & Aquarium includes admission to the Sydney Aquarium, the observation deck of the AMP tower and the Captain Cook coffee tour with departure from Circular Quay. Maps are available at each of these visitor attractions.
The Darling Harbor Super Ticket is available at the Sydney Aquarium and entitles you to reduced admission to the Sydney Aquarium and the Chinese Garden, to the Matilda Rocket Harbor Tour, to take a maglev ride, to have a meal in the Aqua Bar and Grill Entry to the Powerhouse Museum and the IMAX Theater, as well as discounted trips in the so-called People Mover.
The See Sydney and Beyond Smartvisit Card is valid for 2, 3 or 7 consecutive days and entitles you to free admission to the most popular sights in Sydney and the Blue Mountains, which are listed in the 144-page brochure.
Combination tickets for the use of the ferries and entry to the attractions can be purchased from the Sydney Ferries ferry office on Circular Quay or directly from the various attractions such as Taronga Zoo and the Sydney Aquarium. The Zoo Pass e.g. includes the return trip by ferry, the subsequent bus ride to the zoo, a visit to the zoo and a ride on the aerial cableway.