Sydney Favorite Tips by 850prc
Sydney Favorites: 433 reviews and 524 photos
A great, big ficus tree near MacQuarie's Chair
Favorite thing: We enjoy gardens. We enjoy greenery and we enjoy nature. More than your average tourist, we take pleasure in learning about the plant life of foreign lands.
Sydney is a great place for such individuals to spend some time. The Botanic Gardens are a treasure trove of unknown and unfamiliar plants and animals. I'll admit that if I lived in Sydney, I'd probably walk through the gardens every single day. Some people like to party in beer joints...... me, I like enjoying the outdoors. ; )
Fondest memory: Being from north Florida, we have a particular affinity for old and very large trees. Our hometown (Tallahassee) has many huge live oaks within her midst. There's something so noble about an old tree. People in California know what I'm saying, after an afternoon in Muir Woods, right??
Anyway, Sydney's got some very big and beautiful trees as well. We particular liked the giant ficus trees resident in the Botanic Garden, Domain and MacQuarie's Point areas of the city.
The McElhone Steps, all 120 of them. : )
Favorite thing: When we first began thinking of visiting "Mrs. MacQuarie's Chair" and the Royal Botanic Gardens, I was perplexed to see that going to the end of Victoria Street, which seemed the logical direction, might not work. You see, Victoria kind of dead-ends up above the Wooloomooloo Bay area.
No worries, said Chris Bahr, owner of the Victoria Court Hotel. "Just take the stairs". Well.... I didn't see anything on my map about any stairs, but we took Chris at his word and headed down Victoria Street.
Voila! At the end of the street over on the left are "The McElhone Stairs", a long series of cement stairs leading down from Victoria Street to Cowper Wharf Road, which runs along Wooloomooloo Bay/Harbour.
During our time in Sydney, we made great use of the stairs, using it as our shortcut on walks to MacQuarie's Chair, The Domain, The Botanic Gardens, The Opera House and Harbour Bridge, the Circular Quay.... you get the idea. It became our favorite Aussie shortcut.
And, climbing all those steps numerous times each day certainly added to the fitness program. : )
Fondest memory: I remember making a remark, on about the ten thousandth time we walked the stairs, that went something like this..
"I wonder how many of these stairs there are?"
Bonnie says "120", matter-of-factly. So, if you ever have this question in Trivial Pursuit, there are 120 steps in the McElhone Stairs of Potts Point, Sydney.
The Sydney Opera House Harborside lobby
Favorite thing: Everyone wants to SEE the Sydney Opera House. Most people tour it in some form or fashion. I'd think that the most entertaining and memorable visit would be to see or hear a show of some kind.
Among the entities that call the Opera House home are..
The Australian Ballet, www.australianballet.com.au, Phone 02/9223 9522
The Australian Chamber Orchester, www.aco.com.au, Phone 02/9357 4111
Opera Australia, www.opera-australia.org.au, Phone 02/9699 1099
Sydney Symphony Orchestra, www.symphony.org.au, Phone 02/9334 4644
Fondest memory: I only wish we could have had an opportunity to hear the Sydney Symphony or Chamber Orchestra in the Opera Hall. They were not performing during our visit to Sydney.
More Reviews (37)
Sydney Travel Guide
Member Travel Pages
- "What do you do with your weekend?"
- "Love Those Sydneysiders"
- "Sydney"
- "Sydney - For the discerning tourist"
- "Flying down Sydney Way..."
- "The best start to any adventure Down Under"
- "City of Water and Trees"
- See All...
Explore the World
- Palm Beach
- Kukup
- Shipshewana Hotels
- Klein-Drakensteinberge Hotels
- Rhinelander Hotels
- Chefchaouene
- Knaresborough
- Rundale Hotels
850prc
“Proud visitor to all seven continents! Presently giving thought to the eternal question.... where to next? ”
![]()
![]()
- Member Rank:
- 0 0 1 1 4
- Forum Rank:
- 0 3 2 8 3
- 1,195 Reviews
- 2,878 Photos
- Add Friend
- Follow
- Send Message
Badges & Stats in Sydney
- 40 Reviews
- 50 Photos
- 0 Forum posts
- 32 Comments
- 7,146PageViews
- See All Stats
- See All Badges (26)
Have you been to Sydney?
Share Your TravelsLatest Activity in Sydney
- Posted in Travel Oregon Forum "Re: The Northwest Oregon Coast -..."
- Commented on one of Freebeacher's Sydney travel pages
- Uploaded a Photo to "Victorian comfort at Potts Point"
- updated a Sydney Travel Page "World Class Class...... that's Sydney"
- Wrote a Review King George V and VI Gardens/Ampitheater about Hyde Park in Sydney Things to Do
Photos in Sydney
See All Photos (50)Top 10 Pages
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Tallahassee
Intro, 97 reviews, 215 photos, 6 travelogues
-
New York City
Intro, 69 reviews, 199 photos, 8 travelogues
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Bermuda
Intro, 67 reviews, 175 photos, 2 travelogues
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Antarctica
Intro, 47 reviews, 182 photos, 3 travelogues
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Namibia
Intro, 61 reviews, 94 photos, 4 travelogues
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Key West
Intro, 41 reviews, 98 photos, 3 travelogues
-
India
Intro, 32 reviews, 106 photos, 9 travelogues
-
Miccosukee
Intro, 40 reviews, 81 photos, 4 travelogues
-
Germany
Intro, 44 reviews, 76 photos, 2 travelogues
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Kennebunkport
Intro, 49 reviews, 64 photos, 2 travelogues
Travel Interests
See All Travel Interests (5)Latest Sydney hotel reviews
- Travelodge Wynyard
- 643 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 18, 2013 - Rydges Hotel Bankstown
- 98 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 18, 2013 - Ultimate Apartments Bondi Beach
- 64 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013 - Nomads Forest Lodge
- 2 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jun 5, 2010 - Waldorf Randwick Furnished Apartments
- 27 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013 - Broadway University Motor Inn
- 6 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Aug 29, 2010 - The Australian Heritage Hotel
- 59 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 17, 2013 - Quay West Suites Sydney
- 432 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 20, 2013 - Bellagio By The Sea
- 50 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 4, 2013 - Meriton Waterloo, Danks Street
- 154 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 16, 2013 - Travelodge Phillip Street Sydney
- 200 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 14, 2013 - Radisson Hotel And Suites Sydney
- 367 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013 - Savoy Serviced Apartments
- 1 Review & Opinion
Latest: Mar 16, 2010 - Harbourside Apartments
- 117 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 5, 2013 - Lidcombe Motor Inn
- 14 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 7, 2013
Top 10 Sydney Things to Do
- Sydney Opera House- 170 Reviews, 275 Photos
- Blue Mountains- 100 Reviews, 148 Photos
- Darling Harbour- 164 Reviews, 286 Photos
- Harbour Bridge- 188 Reviews, 279 Photos
- The Rocks- 104 Reviews, 163 Photos
- AMP Centre Point Tower- 61 Reviews, 91 Photos
- Queen Victoria Building- 45 Reviews, 82 Photos
- Circular Quay- 78 Reviews, 163 Photos
- Chinatown- 30 Reviews, 71 Photos
- Hyde Park- 48 Reviews, 115 Photos
See All Sydney Things to Do


Family Travel
Food and Dining
Romantic Travel and Honeymoons