WHAT TO SEE AT SYDNEY
Do The Rocks and Circular Quay Australia's first permanent British settlement grew on Sydney Cove's rocky peninsula. Hence the Rocks, Australia's oldest precinct is built around winding streets connected by flights of narrow stone steps. It's scrubbed cobblestone streets, converted warehouses, historic buildings and convict- built terraces now draw in the tourists with an exhausting number of art, craft and souvenir shops and tempting cafes and restaurants.
The Sydney Visitor Centre in George Street provides useful maps and staff are exceptionally helpful. A six-story art deco building along the water- front, the Museum of Contemporary Art, 140 George Street, is bright and stylish. Its permanent displays cover painting, sculpture and mixed media, as well as cutting-edge computer animation. They have an energetic program of temporary exhibitions. Aboriginal artists are particularly well represented. Closed Tuesdays; otherwise it's open daily 9 AM to 4 PM; entry $9. Sydney and Northern New South Wales Inner Sydney's oldest surviving house, Cad- man's Cottage C (02) 92478861,110 George Street, was built on the original shoreline in 1816- John Cadman moored his boat out front, which gives an idea of how much today's Circular Quay encroaches on the harbor.
Open 9 AM to 5 PM; free entry. Further down George Street, colonial ware- houses dating from 1830 make up Campbell’s' Storehouse, now a row of interesting-but-expensive waterfront restaurants. The fabulous views of Sydney Cove, the Harbor Bridge, and the Opera House are well worth the price of a coffee and cake though. Nearby Macquarie Point is the place for the classic snapshot of Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. The Sydney Harbor Bridge took nine years to build, and 11 workmen fell to their deaths during construction. It opened in 1932. The two pylon lookouts C (02) 92186888 are open daily, 10 AM to 5 PM - it's a 200-step climb to the top. Enter via stairs on Cumberland Street, The Rocks, or from Milsons Point on the North Shore.
Crocodile Dundee actor Paul Hogan once worked as a Harbor bridge painter and returned to inaugurate the vertigo-inducing Harbor Bridge Climb. Outfitted in stylish blue overalls and a chunky harness, climbers edge their way over arches, ladders and catwalks to the summit, 134 M (440 ft) above the water. They're rewarded with 360-degreeharbor views and the right to say "I did it." Prices vary from $100 and $150 per climb (it's cheaper to do it during the week). But be careful, Sydney and Northern New South Wales SYDNEY apparently the exhilaration can go to your head: over 100 marriage proposals have been made at the summit so far.
Views from under the Moreton Bay fig trees on Observatory Hill, the highest point in the city, are especially lovely at dusk, which is also the best time to visit the 1858 Sydney Observatory C (02) 9217 0485. Its heritage exterior belies the twenty- first-century technology within. During the day visitors can view solar systems up to 4.5 million light years away and at night zoom in on Neptune, The permanent Sydney exhibition includes interactive displays and compares the Greek mythology of the northern sky with the Aboriginal mythology of Australia's southern sky. Free entry 2 PM to 5 PM weekdays, 10 AM to 5 PM weekends, night programs vary but generally cost around $7.
