City Center, Sydney

Before the construction of the Opera House the Harbour Bridge had been for almost fifty years Sydney's best-known landmark, familiarly known to the inhabitants as the Coathanger. The bridge was completed in 1932 after eight years' work, with a work force at times of up to 1400 men. Supported by massive double piers at each end, the bridge spans the 500 m between the north and south sides of the harbor in a single arch rising to 134 m above the water, with a clearance of 49 m for shipping. It carries two railway lines and eight lanes for road traffic, the direction of which can be varied according to traffic requirements. There are also walkways for pedestrians. From the bridge there are magnificent views of the city and the harbor. An average of over 170,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day, but increasing traffic forced it to be supplemented by a tunnel under the harbor which was opened in 1992.In the southeastern pier is a museum illustrating the history of the bridge's construction.

The 325 m Sydney Tower above the Centrepoint shopping center, built in 1981, is the third of the city's great landmarks (after the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge). Three express lifts run up to the top of the tower, the tallest building in Australia, from which at 305 m there are wide panoramic views of Sydney and the surrounding area, with two revolving restaurants and a café.

Between King Street and Market Street is Pitt Street, which since 1987 has been a pedestrian zone.

The Strand Arcade, built in 1891, is the only survivor of five large shopping arcades erected in Sydney in the last two decades of the 19th C. After suffering damage in a fire in 1976 it was rebuilt in its original form.The Sydney Hilton Hotel (1973) at 259 Pitt Street has in its basement the famous marble counter (1893) of the Adams Hotel which previously occupied the site. The Royal Arcade of 1882, which was pulled down in 1969, has also been re-erected here, extending to George Street.

The State Theatre is a huge cinema of 1929 with a lavishly decorated interior modeled on the Palace of Versailles. The annual Sydney Film Festival takes place here.

A short distance south of the Town Hall is Sydney's Chinatown, centered on Dixon Street (pedestrian zone), with lion gates at each end on Goulburn Street and Hay Street. The area bustles with activity all week long, day and night, with different Chinese regional cuisines to choose from, shops and markets, a temple and offices, all labeled in Chinese script. Over the years Chinatown has spread beyond George Street towards Haymarket, covering a much larger area than the early 20th c. quarter in the Rocks.In the first half of the 19th C some 2000 Chinese came to Sydney to work as coolies, but during the gold rush they came in their tens of thousands. A magnificent spectacle in Chinatown is the celebration of the Chinese New Year on the first full moon after January 21st.

The city center is bounded on the east by a string of parks - the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Domain, Hyde Park - extending south from Farm Cove, on the east side of the Opera House, so called because the colony's first farm and vegetable gardens were here. These 70 ha of open space, divided by the expressway into the Botanic Gardens and Domain Park, were originally the Governor's Domain. It was laid out in 1810 with public footpaths and riding tracks by Governor Macquarie's wife, in whose honor the northeastern tip of the promontory is called Mrs Macquarie's Point.

St Mary's Cathedral is a neo-Gothic building (1868-82) modeled on Lincoln Cathedral, with a façade in the style of Notre-Dame in Paris. The south towers are unfinished. The stained glass windows admit a subdued light to the interior. The site for a church was given to the first Roman Catholic clergy in Sydney by Governor Macquarie in 1821. Two earlier churches were destroyed by fire.

St James's Church is Sydney's oldest church (1822). It is dwarfed by the 22-storey law courts building. With its double brick arches, subdivided windows and contrasting stone porticos it is a fine example of colonial Georgian. The tower was formerly a landmark for ships in the spacious harbor basin. Governor Macquarie had originally, in 1819, wanted to build a courthouse on the site, but John Bigge, the commissioner sent out from Britain to enquire into the finances of the colony, insisted on a church, and Francis Greenway had to alter his plans accordingly.

The Supreme Court was built between 1820 and 1828. Greenway originally designed a rectangular two-storey brick building, but it underwent so much later alteration that little is left of the original. The columned portico was demolished to widen Elizabeth Street.

Museum of Sydney was constructed on the site of the first Government House which was pulled down in the 1840s; the foundations have been preserved and can be seen. The Museum displays Sydney's history from its earliest, Aboriginal days up to the 1850s, by means of modern technology such as videos and computer displays.

BMA House (headquarters of the Australian Medical Association, formerly a branch of the British Medical Association) is a 13-storey building of 1930 in Art Deco style with a richly decorated façade (Australian flora and fauna, medical symbols).

Martin Place, opposite Parliament House, is a spacious pedestrian precinct between Macquarie Street and George Street lined by massive bank premises with colonnaded fronts, shady trees, fountains, sculpture and newspaper kiosks. Originally it was only a square in front of the general post office (1874), but after a fire in 1891 it was extended eastward.

The General Post Office, an imposing building in Venetian Renaissance style, has colonnades on three sides (George Street, Pitt Street and Martin Place). The clock tower above the center of the Martin Place front was added in 1886; due to worries about Japanese air raids it was taken down in 1942 but re-erected in 1964.The Cenotaph (1929) in front of the Post Office commemorates Australian war dead. This is the scene of Sydney's Anzac Day parade on April 25th.

A kilometer or so off Mrs Macquarie's Point is the little island of Fort Denison, known as Pinchgut, where convicts used to be imprisoned on a diet of bread and water. It was fortified in 1855-7 as a precaution against a possible Russian attack.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, established in 1816, have an area of 30ha, mainly devoted to exotic and native trees, with orchids and ferns in hothouses.The gardens are located near Sydney Harbor at Farm Cove.There are a number of theme gardens, grouped by plant type or particular style. Among the highlights is the Palace Rose Garden which includes some 1800 roses.Surrounding the gardens is the Domain, with open green space and sports areas. Many people come here simply to relax in the peaceful surroundings.

The Domain, to the south of the Cahill Expressway, is a popular place to relax during the lunch break. At the weekend it becomes Sydney's Speakers' Corner.