City Centre

The Sydney Opera House in the north east of the city is one of Sydney's most beautiful and unusual buildings; its sail shaped structure, designed by Jørn Utzon, is world famous. The Opera House is also host to most of Sydney's major classical music and opera events. You can walk all around the building, and some of the foyer areas free of change. Guided tours of the inside are available for $28 and leave every 30 min and take about one hour. There are some tours run in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Depending on ongoing rehearsal or performances not all parts may be visited.

Circular Quay

Is the hub of the Sydney Harbour and is a vibrant, bustling place home to many buskers, the ferry terminal, overseas passenger terminal, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. It is pronounced Circular Key, not Circular Kway

Towering above the city of Sydney since 1981, when it became the tallest structure in the city, the Sydney Tower reaches a total height of 305 m - great views are available from the 250 m high viewing level. The tower is Australia's tallest free-standing structure and the second highest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere after the Sky Tower in Auckland)

The Catholic Sydney diocese's cathedral, built in 1868.

The site of a market place since 1810, its current Romanesque facade was completed in 1896 and was extensively restored in the late 1980s as a prestigious shopping center. The Christmas tree around Christmas time reaches through all the floors to the full height of the building.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales is the leading museum of art in New South Wales and Sydney, and one of Australia's foremost cultural institutions. It holds significant collections of Australian art, and presents nearly forty exhibitions annually. British Victorian art, along with smaller holdings of Dutch, French and Italian painters of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, and a collection of modern British masters, European modernists and European classical art. The collection includes work by Reubens, Piccasso, Van Gogh and many others. There is also an impressive collection of Asian, South East Asian, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. The gallery also has an extensive collection of contemporary art. Not all of the collection holdings are on exhibition at any one time and the gallery occasionally rotates significant works on exhibition. The building itself is a much photogaphed sandstone structure with a large formal entrance. There is a popular cafe inside the gallery, with views over Wooloomooloo : lat=-33.8688241323, lon=151.21707602

Housed in a fabulous 1930s art deco building, former location of the Maritime Services Board and facing onto the western side of Circular Quay and Sydney Cove, the MCA has been dedicated - since its opening in 1991 - to showcasing great works of modern and contemporary art in all media. There is a cafe inside the museum.

Built on the site of the first Government House, erected in 1788 by Governor Arthur Phillip and demolished in 1846. The remains of the building were excavated after rediscovery in 1983 and the original foundations can now be viewed through glass floor panels in the museum. Fascinating changing exhibitions of art and photography, films and state-of-the-art technology spin stories of colonial life, Aboriginal culture, environment, trade, authority / law and everyday dramas and dreams in early Sydney. The Museum of Sydney Cafe, by the museum entrance is not really part of the museum, and is much more a restaurant than a cheap and casual cafe.

Built 1818-1819. Constructed by convicts and housed by them, the Hyde Park Barracks provided housing for convicts working in government employment around Sydny from 1819 until its closure in 1848. Interior is restored with exhibits depicting the furnishings and life of the time.

Government House

Open to the public, with the entrance to the house and gardens through the Botanic Gardens

Hosted by the Reserve Bank of Australia in its city headquarters, this museum displays Australian bank notes and currency from the earliest issues to the present day. Interesting but basic. Drop in for 15 min or so if you are passing by Martin Place.

Originally serving as a police station to Court between 1856 and 1886, the museum has now been restored to its 1890s facade displaying its theme of crime and punishment.

Customs House

A historic building, and imposing building. You can imagine it looking out over the port of Sydney if you can equally imagine the absence of the Cahill Expressway. A large diorama of the Sydney area which you can walk over is on display in the foyer. Sydney City Library occupies the building, and sometimes has exhibitions. Free.