White roofs
Like sails.
W. Bulach — CC BY-SA 4.0 · No machine-readable author provided. Roybb95~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden — CC BY 2.0 · Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden — CC BY 2.0
Australia's most famous symbol and one of the great buildings of the twentieth century, standing on a point in Sydney Harbour, with white curved roofs like billowing sails or stacked shells, clad in more than a million gleaming tiles. It was designed by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon after he won an international competition in 1957, and took some fourteen years to build amid disputes and costs far beyond estimates, finally opening in 1973. UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 2007. The building holds several halls for concerts, opera, theatre and ballet, staging thousands of performances a year. The guided tour takes visitors for a full hour through the halls and foyers with the story of its design and construction, the best way to see inside without attending a show. Walking around the building, its steps and forecourt is free, and the guided tour runs daily at A$50 pre-booked or A$55 on the day, per the official site. The best views of it are from the Royal Botanic Garden or the ferries.
Like sails.
An hour inside.
From the ferries.
Bennelong Point, Circular Quay, Sydney
Sydney Harbour BridgeA huge steel arch bridge across Sydney Harbour, opened in 1932 and nicknamed the8 minutes walk4.7
The RocksSydney's oldest neighbourhood, where the first settlers landed in 1788 and found9 minutes walk
Royal Botanic GardenA broad botanical garden on Farm Cove at the heart of Sydney, opened in 1816, ma10 minutes walk4.8
Art Gallery of New South WalesSydney's largest art museum, on the edge of the Domain parkland near the Royal B17 minutes walk4.8
Queen Victoria BuildingA grand Victorian building filling a whole block in the heart of Sydney, built b23 minutes walk4.7Yes, on the daily one-hour guided tour, A$50 when pre-booked.