General Tour guide and Travel Information About Sydney
Sydney! Some cities are bold and exciting, others are endowed with natural beauty, while some blend dramatic buildings with historic ones. But not many can combine all these things so perfectly and have the added advantage of being located on one of the most magnificent waterways on the earth. Sydney is Austrlia's oldest and largest city and it has plenty to offer to all the visitors. It is a dazzlingly modern city with high buildings, bright colours, legendary beaches, shopping centres and exciting nightlife.
Touristic Attractions of Sydney
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Dubbed as the 'old coat hanger', this magnificent vantage point was completed in 1932 at a cost of $20 million. You can climb the 200 stairs inside the south-eastern pylon for the panoramic views of the harbour and the city. There is a $2 driving toll. Since the bridge can no longer handle the volume of traffic, a tunnel has been built under the harbour, which also attrcats $2 driving toll.
Sydney Opera House
Australia's number one toursit attraction is also one of the world's great performing arts centres and claeary stands out as the symbol of Sydney city. Home of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Opera, the Sydney Theatre Company and many other fine entrepreneurs, a visit to this unique attraction is not to be missed. Here you can enjoy free Sunday concert or open-air restaurant watching the harbour life. There are tours of the building everyday between 9am-4pm.
Circular Quay and The Rocks
Circular Quay is the busy hub for both toursits and harbour commuters. From here you can take ferries to Parammata, Manly beach , Toronga Zoo, Darling Harbour and many more interesting places in Sydney. Or you can take harbour cruises to enjoy some of the magnificent harbour and city views. The Rocks, the first White settlement in Sydney, is the historical place near the Circular Quay. The Rocks is full of narrow cobbled streets and fine colonial buildings. With boutiques, cheerful cafes, elegant retaurants, vibrant street entertainment, The Rocks Market and a host of cultural attractions, The Rocks offer a huge variety of exciting activities from which to chose. Just wander around this wonderful area and you would be pretty amazed.
Darling Harbour
Darling Harbour is the centre of entertainment, with huge waterfront leisure and tourist park. The centre of Darling Harbour is the Harbourside festival Marketplace with excellent shops, cafes and other food outlets. The monorail circles Darling Harbour and links it to the city centre, travelling at 1-st floor. From Pyrmont Bridge, the first electrically operated swing-span bridge in the world, you can enjoy the great view of the complex. To the east end of this bridge is Sydney Aquarium with two 'oceanarium' tanks. One oceanarium has sharks, ray and other big fishes and another one has Sydney harbour marine life. Visitors walk below the water level to view these transparent tanks. Also situated in this harbour area are Australian National Maritime Museum and Powerhouse Museum. You can also visit Chinese Garden and Sydeny Entertainment Centre.
Sydney Tower and City Centre
Sydeny tower is on the top of the Centrepoint complex in the city centre. It has a viewing gallery for you to enjoy the city view and beyond from the highest point in Sydney. You can see as far as the Blue Mountains to the west and Wollongong to the south. It also has the revolving restaurants on the summit. Check out beautifully restored Queen Victoria Building if you are shopping maniac, it has more than 200 different shops, cafes and restaurants. After shopping you might want to visit Chinatown for delicious food.
King's Cross
King's Cross is travellers' center in Sydney with greatest concentration of hostels. Once very notorious area, Knig's Cross is still famous for extravagant night life. Between city and the Cross is Woolloomooloo, one of Sydney's colder areas. Then there's Darling Point and even trendier Double Bay.
Taronga Zoo
Take a short ferry ride from Circular Quay and you'll come to Taronga Zoo. This zoo is located on the top of a small hill and has magnificent harbourside setting. It is home to more than 3,000 animals from all around the world. Taronga Zoo is open every day from 9.00am. Excellent place for day picnic!
Manly beach
Manly looks more like a small resort and very popular for weekend getout. Here you can visit Oceanworld or head for Manly scenic walk or simply enjoy the beach. Manly is just about 30 minutes by ferry from the Circular Quay. Known for decades as one of Australia's greatest surfing beaches, Manly is a peninsula, bounded by the sea on three sides. There are 18 beaches, coves and inlets to swim, sail in and enjoy the sunshine.
Bondi beach
Bondi beach is the most famous of Sydney beaches.
Accomodation Hotels and Motels of Sydnes
There's wide variety of accomodation available in Sydney, including hostels, motel and luxury hotels. In summer, the peak tourist season, the accomodation rates risejust about everywhere. For longer term stays, it may be better off renting flats of shared accomodation. King's Cross has the largest concentration of hostels.
The following are a few central and relatively inexpensive places to stay:
Business Name Location Phone Number
YWCA Hostel Wentworth Ave 264 2451
CB Private Hotel 417 Pitt Street 211 5115
Plane Tree Lodge Kings Cross 356 4551
Highfield House Private Hotel Kings Cross 358 1552
The Original Backpackers Kings Cross 356 3232
The Travellers' Rest King's Cross 358 4606
Forbes Terrace 153 Forbes Street, Wooloomooloo 358 4327
Foutain Plaza Darlinghurst 358 6799
Alfred Park Private Hotel Redfern 319 4031
Bondi Beach Guest House Bondi Beach 389 8309
Sydney Transportation
You can fly into Sydney from all over Australia. For budget transportation, you can either travel on trains or buses. Interstate trains are faster than buses and more expensive too. Within Sydney, you can travel from one place to another on public transports like trains, ferries and buses. There are also special bus services for toursits: red Sydney explorer and another Bondi and Bay explorer. There are frequent trains and they are much quicker than the buses. Sydney's ferries are the one of the nicest ways of getting around in Sydney. In addition, you can take taxis or rent a car or hire a bicycle.