HOME   >   Australia   >   Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia’s east coast, the metropolis surrounds Port Jackson and extends about 70 km on its periphery towards the Blue Mountains to the west, Hawkesbury to the north, the Royal National Park to the south and Macarthur to the south-west. Sydney is made up of 658 suburbs, 40 local government areas and 15 contiguous regions. Residents of the city are known as "Sydneysiders". As of June 2017, Sydney’s estimated metropolitan population was 5,230,330 and is home to approximately 65% of the state’s population.Indigenous Australians have inhabited the Sydney area for at least 30,000 years, and thousands of engravings remain throughout the region, making it one of the richest in Australia in terms of Aboriginal archaeological sites. During his first Pacific voyage in 1770, Lieutenant James Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to chart the eastern coast of Australia, making landfall at Botany Bay and inspiring British interest in the area. In 1788, the First Fleet of convicts, led by Arthur Phillip, founded Sydney as a British penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Phillip named the city Sydney in recognition of Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney. Penal transportation to New South Wales ended soon after Sydney was incorporated as a city in 1842. A gold rush occurred in the colony in 1851, and over the next century, Sydney transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural and economic centre. After World War II, it experienced mass migration and became one of the most multicultural cities in the world. At the time of the 2011 census, more than 250 different languages were spoken in Sydney. In the 2016 Census, about 35.8% of residents spoke a language other than English at home. Furthermore, 45.4% of the population reported having been born overseas, and the city has the third largest foreign born population of any city in the world after London and New York City, respectively.Despite being one of the most expensive cities in the world, Sydney frequently ranks in the top ten of lists of the most livable cities in the world. It is classified as an Alpha+ World City by Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world. Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity, Sydney has an advanced market economy with strengths in finance, manufacturing and tourism. There is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as Australia’s financial capital and one of Asia Pacific’s leading financial hubs. Established in 1850, the University of Sydney is Australia’s first university and is regarded as one of the world’s leading universities. Sydney is also home to the oldest library in Australia, State Library of New South Wales, opened in 1826.Sydney has hosted major international sporting events such as the 2000 Summer Olympics. The city is among the top fifteen most-visited cities in the world, with millions of tourists coming each year to see the city’s landmarks. Boasting over 1,000,000 ha of nature reserves and parks, its notable natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, Royal Botanic Garden and Hyde Park, the oldest parkland in the country. Built attractions such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the World Heritage-listed Sydney Opera House are also well known to international visitors. The main passenger airport serving the metropolitan area is Kingsford-Smith Airport, one of the world’s oldest continually operating airports. Established in 1906, Central station, the largest and busiest railway station in the state, is the main hub of the city’s rail network.


1 walking tour
17 sights

More details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney

Australia Sydney
Image by Simon (Pixabay)

Nr walking tour km
1 From the main station to the opera 11 This walking tour takes you from Central Station through central Sydney to the Opera and Harbor ... Details

Nr sight
1 Central railway station, Sydney The Central railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located at the southern end of the Sydney central business district in the City of ... Details
2 Paddy’s Markets The Haymarket Paddy’s Markets are located next to Chinatown and are more like a traditional flea market that specializes in cheap imported clothing ... Details
3 Chinatown There is also a Chinatown in ... Details
4 Chinese Garden The Chinese garden in Sydney was opened in 1988. It is a gift from the Chinese twin city of ... Details
5 Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian ... Details
6 Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, ... Details
7 Queen Victoria Building The Queen Victoria Building is a heritage-listed late-nineteenth-century building designed by the architect George McRae located at 429–481 George ... Details
8 Sydney Tower Sydney Tower is Sydney’s tallest structure and the second tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere. The name Sydney Tower has become ... Details
9 St James’ Church, Sydney St James’ Church, commonly known as St James’, King Street, is an Australian heritage-listed Anglican parish church located at 173 King Street, ... Details
10 St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic ... Details
11 Parliament House, Sydney The Parliament House in Sydney is a heritage-listed complex of buildings housing the Parliament of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The ... Details
12 Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major 30-hectare botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove ... Details
13 Mrs Macquarie’s Chair Mrs Macquarie’s Chair is an exposed sandstone rock cut into the shape of a bench, on a peninsula in Sydney Harbour. It was hand carved by convicts ... Details
14 Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre at Sydney Harbour in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the 20th ... Details
15 Museum of Contemporary Art Australia The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia , located in Sydney, Australia, is an Australian museum solely dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting and ... Details
16 Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a heritage-listed steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian ... Details
17 Luna Park Sydney Luna Park Sydney is a heritage-listed amusement park located at 1 Olympic Drive, Milsons Point, North Sydney Council, New South Wales, Australia, on ... Details

How can we get better?

Are you missing a sight on a tour or an entire city? Do you have a better text or tip?