Sydney Tourist Trap Tips by derats

In a curly city such as Sydney, knowing the lay of the land is an essential part of getting oriented. And the spindly, cable-strung edifice known to locals as Centrepoint but renamed AMP, then Sydney Tower, in recent times, is the perfect vantage point. One of the city's most visible landmarks, it's also one of its most popular tourist pitstops and, at 305 metres (if you include the spike), is Sydney's tallest building.

Wedge-shaped lifts hoist visitors to the refurbished Observation Deck, from which the surrounding city looks like Legoland. There are picture windows (thankfully free of finger smudges) all around, and big, clunky pivoting binoculars for those wanting to examine details of the cityscape more closely. Free tours start hourly, on the hour, and are filled with chewy stats: who knew that there are eight million rivets in the Sydney Harbour Bridge?

Tower tickets include entry to the 40-minute, multi-million-dollar "virtual expedition", Skytour, which employs technical wizardry - surround screens, sensory effects, vibrating chairs, water sprays - to take you on a whistlestop tour of spectacular Australian locations

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At Least Do This: If being thrown about virtual Australia doesn't appeal, sightsee the old-fashioned way: via the windows of the observation deck. Don't forget to spend a few minutes gawking at the ceiling, with its illuminated panels showing typical Sydney scenes.

Clearest viewing conditions usually occur in the morning on sunny days, and dusk affords occasional spectacular sunsets - though the reflections from the lights and the souvenir shop on the viewing windows tend to obscure the view. After dark, you'll have difficulty identifying landmarks but you're guaranteed an impressive light show.

Hungry visitors can continue to enjoy panoramic 360-degree views as they dine, slowly revolving on the tower's axis, in one of the two on-site restaurants, the International Revolving Restaurant and the Self Select Revolving Restaurant.