Australia’s largest city is not the national capital but it is the most popular of Australia’s cities for tourists. Sydney is one of a few cities on Australia’s East Coast where over 80% of the national population lives. It is no surprise given the number of Sydney images that everyone is familiar with. The Sydney Opera House picture regularly promotes Australia, never mind Sydney.
If you head to Sydney visit the Harbour and you will see both the Opera House and the famous Harbour Bridge. It is one of the Sydney photos that its 5 million population could take every day. Incidentally, Sydney has around 20% of the national population and if you consider its many attractions, you can understand why so many Australians have made it their home.
Sydney Opera House
Few UNESCO World Heritage Sites are as modern as Sydney Opera House. There were a number of issues on cost and scheduling between 1958 when work started and its completion in 1973. Everyone agrees years afterwards that any problems were worth it in the end.
While you are in Sydney you should check its calendar. There are several venues in one hosting opera, theatre and concert. It is home to Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Theatre Company and Opera Australia. It is also a venue that can host serious events. Nelson Mandela spoke to a crowd of 40,000 here in 1990.
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Dorman Long & Co from Middlesbrough in the UK built this iconic bridge over a decade, completing the work in 1932. It is on the National Heritage List of Australia. The Tyne Bridge in Newcastle was the model of Sydney’s Bridge. You can walk over the bridge quite safely because you get protective clothing with a wire attaching you to the bridge as you walk. Imagine the Sydney pictures available from the highest point. The organised tour takes about three and a half hours.
St. Mary’s Cathedral
The Catholics in the penal settlement established in the late 18th Century that was to become Sydney had no church until the arrival of an Irish father, John Therry in 1820. The first, a wooden one, burnt down and the second became St. Mary’s School. This cathedral took many years to complete and even then, it was only in the 21st Century that spires gave it the complete look it has today.
Sydney’s Beaches
One of the real blessings of Sydney City is the proximity of plenty of sandy beaches. There are many sheltered bays with beaches as well as beaches with waves just waiting for surfers. Some of the beaches have enclosed swimming areas to prevent potential shark attacks.
Several of the City’s beaches are a great place to see sunrise Sydney having beaches where the sun rises over the ocean. Locals, as well as visitors, can head out to one of them, Bondi Beach, probably the most famous Sydney beach of all for a day’s fun. Luna Park Sydney, an amusement park to keep all the kids happy, is another great day out.
Queen Victoria Building
This building constructed in the last decade of the 19th Century in the reign of Queen Victoria began as a marketplace as it replaced municipal markets that had always stood there. It was a grand building even then yet it has had periods of disuse in its history.
It was threatened with demolition from time to time but on the last occasion in 1967, the National Trust of Australia called for its preservation. Its restoration in the 1980s cost $86 million with the City giving a 99-year lease to the Malaysian Company, Ipoh Ltd that did it. It then became an upmarket shopping area with cafes and restaurants, back to its original function.
Town Hall
The Town Hall is another piece of late 19th Century architecture, built with local Sydney sandstone. You will see it close to both Sydney’s Anglican Cathedral, St. Andrews and Queen Victoria Building. There is the Grand Organ in the Central Hall, a world’s biggest pipe organ. In the days before the construction of Sydney Opera House, this was the main concert hall in the City.
When Sydney hosted the 2000 Olympic Games, several paralympic events took place in the Town Hall. You can book a tour of the Town Hall and see its ornate interior
High Rise Skyline
Australia is a ‘’new country’’ in world terms and you will have already read about some of its older buildings each of which have protected status from New South Wales. Sydney is also a modern vibrant city with plenty of commercial activity requiring office space. The Sydney skyline is filled with plenty of skyscrapers offering just that.
Almost a quarter of a million people work in its commercial centre which plays a major role in Asia Pacific economic activity.
Sydney Tower
This observation tower is the second-highest in the Southern Hemisphere behind Auckland’s Sky Tower. Its observation deck is 30 metres higher than Auckland’s however. Sydney Tower stands at 309 metres in Sydney’s commercial district. The public was able to enter in 1981 and the Tower was able to play a prominent role nearly two decades later when the Olympics came to town.
Conclusion
Sydney is a popular starting point for overseas travellers wanting to see Australia, a vast country with much to offer. While the Great Barrier Reef is the major appeal for some tourists, no one should leave Sydney out of their Australian itinerary. Indeed, with limited time, it is arguable that Sydney should be the first place put into the itinerary.
Australia is a major sporting country in several activities, notably cricket, rugby and swimming. Sydney is a city that offers the best of outdoor life, and those activities, together with the amenities and infrastructure of a city. It has plenty of direct flight connections with places all over the world so you have no excuse.