"Sydney" a Sydney Travel Page by grkboiler

It is very difficult to find a city that is as beautiful and has as much to offer as Sydney. Entertainment, history, beaches, architecture, great weather, nature, and great people. I visited Sydney 3 times. Each time I discovered something new.

The obvious things you must see are the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Other things worth seeing are Darling Harbour, The Rocks, and Kings Cross. There are so many to list, so check out my tips for details and more.

Sydney is also known for its beaches. Bondi is the most famous beach and is a great place to spend a day. Manly Beach is beautiful. Cronulla is a long ride by train but is a nice beach.

Sydney is Australia's oldest and largest settlement. The city is built on land once inhabited by the Eora tribe for 40,000 years.

Captain James Cook spotted Botany Bay in 1770, and in 1788, a convict settlement was founded at present-day Sydney. The original name was New Albion, but the name didn't stick and Sydney was the new name.

The first years were very hard, with corruption, lack of respect for authority, and the fact it was full of convicts. When Governor Lachlan Macquarie arrived in 1809, things changed quickly. Order was brought to society and sheep were introduced into Australia. The city was built up with banks and markets, and immigrants from Ireland, England, and Europe would arrive every week. By 1847, only 3.2% of the population was convicts.

There was a gold rush in 1851, and immigration from Asia, the Americas, and the rest of the world filled up the population of Sydney. By the early 20th century, with help from industrialisation, Sydney had a population of 1 million.

The city began to acquire its true identity as one of the unique and most beautiful cities in the world with the completion of the Harbour Bridge in 1932 and the Opera House in 1973, along with immigration from all over the world. Sydney has come a long way from a convict colony into a cosmopolitan place with lots of culture and one of the best cities in the world.

The 2000 Summer Olympics were held in Sydney, and it is worth visiting the site of the games. Telstra Stadium (Stadium Australia) is located here, as well as the Sydney Aquatic Centre, where you can go for a swim in the actual pool used in competition. Concerts are held in one of the venues also - I walked up and got a ticket to the KISS farewell tour from a scalper minutes before the show.

To sum it up, Sydney is a great city and you need a week or more to take it all in.