Sydney Things to Do Tips by M0B1US

This striking structure featuring a truly original and rule breaking design was first conceived way back in 1957 by Jorn Utzon.

Unfortunately, such was the groundbreaking nature of this development that many doubted that it would be ever completed and Jorn was made a scapegoat and run out of the country in 1966...

It is a tribute to his splendid vision that the Opera House now enjoys such an iconic status as one of the most recognised buildings in the world!

It really is amazing being able to stand outside a building that I have become familiar with throughout so much of my life.

There is a guided tour that lasts for about an hour costing $20, but this seems rather expensive just to look around a building...

Even more expensive is the $140 behind the scenes tour that is due to start in April 2004 - imagine taking this tour and the bridge climb, you would be out of pocket to the tune of over $300 which seems a highly exhorbitant way of seeing the sights that Sydney has to offer!

By all means take in a show or visit the impressive bars in the complex, in my mind this is all you really need to do to appreciate the majesty of this building...

Interestingly the Australian government has extended out an olive branch to Jorn Utzon in past years, however it is an indication to the way that he was treated in the first place that he still will not visit his creation.

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Phone: +61 (0)2 9250 7777
Address: Bennelong Point
Directions: On the tip of Bennelong Point in the middle of Sydney Harbour - if you can't see it, you're in the wrong city!
Website: http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/

Yes, everyone has heard of the Sydney Harbour Bridgeclimb, yes it must be absolutely fantastic to do - but at AUD$165 + more for pictures, I just cannot bring myself around to spend THAT MUCH MONEY on it!!!

Nope, until I win the lottery I will content myself on climbing the South Pylon of the bridge for a far more reasonable AUD$5...

It affords fantastic views of the city, the harbour and the world famous icon - the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but from a static point of view instead of being able to walk over the structure. There are 200 stairs to the Pylon Lookout, and it is 87 metres above mean sea level.

On the way up there are 3 levels of the Landmark Exhibition, where you will discover about the history and construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the men who built it, including the vision of JJC Bradfield, the chief engineer.

Why not walk across the bridge as well, and you will have accomplished most of what you would if you’d taken the bridge climb – then figure out what you’ll do with that $160 you’ve still got left in your pocket… ;-)

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Address: South Pylon - Sydney Harbour Bridge
Directions: Take the pedestrian pathway on the E side of the Bridge from the city side (use 'Bridge Stairs' in Cumberland Street). If you are coming from the N side use the steps by Milsons Point train station.

This is the largest market of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and the second largest seafood market in the world after the Tokyo Fish Market in Japan in terms of variety.

Auctions here sell over 100 species daily, sourcing produce nationally and internationally - trading an annual 15 million kg of seafood!

If seafood floats your boat (as it were!), then there is no better place anywhere in Sydney to satiate your appetite! Truly this is the ultimate seafood experience, combining the catch of the day with a vibrant market atmosphere and plenty of restaurants and takeaways.

The Fish Market is still an authentic fishermen's market, incorporating a working fishing port, a wholesale fish market, a fresh food retail market (including non seafood produce), food and beverage outlets, and a seafood cooking school and provides visitors with an entertaining and stimulating harbourside experience. This is a fantastic place to enjoy the 'theatre of the wharf' while watching the catch of the day being transferred from the fishing fleet to the Auction hall.

There are many ways to get here including buses 501 and 443, Metro Light Rail, car and WALKING! We used to take a casual stroll here from Woolloomooloo through the city, stopping off at cafes and shops here and there along the way in Darling Harbour and Pyrmont...

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Phone: +61 (0) 2 9004 1100
Address: Bank Street, Pyrmont
Directions: Blackwattle Bay in West Central Sydney under the shadow of the Anzac Bridge
Website: http://www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au/

Described by Pierre Cardin as the most beautiful shopping mall in the world, the QVB is four floors of shops and cafes in an elegant setting in the heart of Sydney. The QVB which was designed by George McRae and completed in 1898, replacing the original Sydney markets on the site.

Built as a way of employing many out-of-work craftsmen during a time of recession, over the decades the building has seen many changes until falling out of favour and even being slated for demolition. In fact it was the Sydney Olympics that breathed fresh life in the QVB, as a Malaysian development firm completely renovated its crumbling facade shortly before the games.

The QVB fills an entire city block, standing on George Street (Remember, All roads lead to George St!) adjacent to the Town Hall. Its dominant feature is the huge central dome, consisting of an inner glass dome and an exterior copper- sheathed dome tinged green with verdigris. There are glorious stained glass windows and architecture throughout this wonderfully elaborate and ornate building and original staircases thrusting up through the huge three tiered balconies to create an exquisite open space full of shops, eateries and bars - a perfect place to browse.

QVB now buzzes as one of the centrepieces of Sydney's shopping district and is linked by underground walkways to these for several
blocks in either direction as well as the Town Hall Metro station on the South side. There are some great shops here as well as one of my favourite bars on the ground floor south side, Jet, where I spent many an enjoyable time passing the day.

My other favourite shop is Victoria's Basement, which provides the highest quality home and kitchenware at some of the best prices I've seen anywhere in the World!

Check out the website for an insight to the services available here!

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Phone: +61 (0) 2 9264 9209
Address: Cnr George and Druitt Streets
Directions: On George St (Centre of the Universe!) adjacent to the Town Hall
Website: http://www.qvb.com.au/

Sign up to the Hoyts Website using an MSN ‘passport’ account and you get a two for one movie voucher to print off and use. They are supposed to scan the barcode on the printout, but I haven’t seen it happen yet!

As far as I can tell there is nothing to stop you from signing up multiple times either… But then far be it for me to point out two obvious loopholes to have you in 2-4-1 movie tickets for the rest of your stay in Sydney! I certainly wouldn’t condone that sort of activity…

Hoyts one of the major cinema chains in Australia and there is a massive 18+ screen cinema on George St in the centre of town.

If you’re keen on staying on the straight and narrow, note that Hoyts run $9.50 Tuesdays – and the Art house cinemas (including the spectacularly located Dendy on Circular Quay) run cheap Mondays (around $8).

The normal Hoyts price is $14.50, but then I only pay $7.25 these days - I'm even considering using a 2-4-1 ticket on 'Super Tuesdays'... ;-)

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Address: Hoyts Movie Theatres thoughout Sydney
Website: http://hoyts.ninemsn.com.au/

All Chinatowns around the World buzz with activity and Sydney's is no exception. This vibrant region is in constant motion day and night as people swarm into it's many fine and inexpensive restaurants, food stalls and grocery shops. Just across in the Market City complex above Paddy's Market is the huge 800-seater Kam Fook restaurant, which is Australia's largest! I have eaten there, but I only had a distinctly average time there...

The large and frenetic fruit and veg market behind Paddy's Market is also dominated by Chinese vendors and a great place to stock up on cheap greens. As well as hosting this, Market City is also the home of a great asian food court and the in-house Readings Cinema plays at least one asian language movie at any time.

Although this is Chinatown, this area is also a haven for other Asian cultures sure as the Vietnamese, South Koreans, Japanese and the nearby 'Thai town'. Also as a rather strange twist, the Chinatown area is also home to the lively Spanish Quarter.

If you fancy escaping the hustle and bustle of Chinatown, why not pop into the tranquil Chinese Gardens and sip an exquisite Jasmine Tea as you relax.

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Address: Sussex St
Directions: Bordered by George St, Market City and Darling Harbour, Chinatown centres on Dixon St Mall.
Website: http://www.totaltravel.com/localguides/chinatown

Govinda's is an inner city vegetarian restaurant (Hare Krisna run) famous for its excellent all you can eat vegetarian buffet. It's major drawcard is 'the movie room', an extremely comfortable and cosy cushioned boutique cinema...

For a mere $15.90, you can enjoy a hearty meal before sinking into your 'seats' which are long mattress 'benches' that you can recline against in blissful comfort after taking your shoes off. You could so easily fall asleep, so it was ironic that the movie we went to see was 'Insomnia'...

The Movie Room typically shows two movies each evening around 7.30pm and 9.30pm each night. These are usually recent releases, foreign films and a smattering of old classics.

Patrons are advised to arrive for dinner at least one hour before the start of their selected film session to ensure a good feed!

What a fantastic place this is, and only 10 mins from where I live! This is one of those places that you have to know that it's there, as it's so tucked away you'll never just stumble across it - well recommended!!!

PS, don't worry about the Hare Krishna aspect, the biggest hard sell you'll get are the stacks of free literature in the corridor below the restaurant.

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Phone: (02) 9380 5155
Address: 112 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 2010
Directions: Only 5 mins walk down Darlinghurst Rd from Kings X Train Station (turn right from exit). Alternatively take any bus that travels down William St, or walk as it is less than 15 minutes from Hyde Park
Website: www.sydney.citysearch.com.au/E/V/SYDNE/0020/22/01/

A haven of tranquillity and quiet contemplation from the hustle and bustle outside its walls, the gardens are a stone’s throw away from Chinatown and Darling Harbour.

The Chinese Garden of Friendship was presented to Sydney by her Chinese sister city, Guangzhou in China. The gardens were developed on a site in Darling Harbour near Chinatown and complementing its rich heritage and culture.

The gardens were officially opened in 1988 as part of Sydney's bicentennial celebrations and were named the ‘Garden of Friendship’ to symbolise the bond established between China and Australia.

Being one of the few public traditional Chinese gardens outside China they offer a rare insight into Chinese heritage and culture. One of the interesting features of the gardens is that you cannot see the whole garden from any point within. This adds to the seclusion and peace of the experience.

The garden has a number of other noteworthy features including the Dragon Wall symbolising the bond between New South Wales and Guangzhou, the Water Pavillion of Lotus Fragrance, the Twin Pavillion and The Tea House, with its fabulous balcony area offering views over the main parts of the garden. It offers traditional Chinese tea and other refreshments.

The best way to enjoy the garden is to buy a combination entry with tea and cakes for only AUD$8, this way you can enjoy a relaxing stroll through the grounds before taking tea and enjoying a vista over the central pond of the garden.

Enjoy!

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Address: Darling Harbour
Directions: The gardens are right by Chinatown and a 10 minute walk from Townhall railway station. The Monorail will take you to within a five minute walk at Haymarket as will the Light Rail from Central station.

If you're here over New Years, be sure to go to the harbour for the fireworks - it is a truly amazing experience!

We were lucky to have met a fellow VTer a few months previously who got us into the private party of the Opera Bar with a grandstand view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge across Circular Quay for free.

We were able to celebrate in style with almost a dozen friends and even the non firing of the 9 o'clock fireworks due to high winds didn't put a dampener on festivities as when midnight came the whole of Sydney Harbour Bridge erupted in a cacophany of sound and light!

The show was truly amazing, perhaps only rivalled by Kuala Lumpur this year and the final message of the Dove of Peace was a very poignant thing in this time of uncertainty - let us hope the leaders of this world share its sentiment...

For more pics, check out my New Year's Eve 2002 travelogue...

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Address: Sydney Harbour

This French Renaissance-style Town Hall was built in the late 1800s. It is a grand building, fitting its intended function. Inside is a lovely wood-lined concert hall, which is home to an 8000-pipe organ Free recitals are held here periodically and there is a tour run by the Centrepoint Touring Company (8223 3815.). Admission is free for normal entry as this as now only the old part of the Town Hall complex. On the Druitt St side is the entrance to the hall where regular fashion clothing sales are held.

If anyone were to ask a Sydneysider where the centre of Sydney was, they would say here as the steps of the Town Hall are the city's main meeting point for people meeting at all times of the day for all kinds of reasons!

This was where we all met for the Sydney VT meeting and this is where all the main marches begin - on top of that, it is about halfway down George St, which is a street that you can never escape from if you spend any time in Sydney!

The relatively small size of the Town Hall belies the massive size of the town hall complex, with the new and more security conscious building (the real town hall where decisions are made!) behind the original.

It is in the modern building that the main Sydney library is housed and it is also here in an obscure 1st floor room that a massive scale model diorama of Central Sydney is kept, complete with a chronological display of the world's tallest buildings since the 19th Century and well worth a visit!

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Phone: 9265 9007
Address: 483 George St
Directions: Cnr George & Druitt Sts opposite Kinokuniya and next to the Queen Victoria Building.

On top of the Town Hall metro station.
Other Contact: Open daily 9am-5pm