There are some cities in the world that are just photogenic by nature. Sydney, Australia is one of those cities with sights and structures to delight in. One of the easiest ways to take in the cities beauty is to take in a walk around the cities harbour. We started our walk from Darling Harbour through Dawes Point, under the Sydney Harbour Bridge over to the Sydney Opera House for a day full of sights that was beautiful, picturesque and memorable.

City Visit: A Harbourfront Walk Past the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

This post is about the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. . For other attractions in Sydney, please see our visit to Historic Landmarks of the Central Business District or our visit to Bondi Beach, Sydney.

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Walking the Coast Line from Darling Harbour to the Sydney Opera House:

Sydney is a great city for walking, if you happen to be situated and staying at a hotel downtown. We took in a day of harbour walking and set out from the Four Points at Darling Harbour Sydney for a walk along the waterfront walkways, all the way under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, past the Pier One Sydney Harbour by Autograph Collection hotel, over to the Sydney Opera House. It was quite a picturesque and scenic walk, which I’d easily recommend for anyone with a good pair of walking shoes and an appetite for exploration.

One of our days took us on a walk past Lord Nelson Pub which was supposed to be Sydney’s Oldest Pub.

The walk from Darling Harbour continued on through Dawes Point and Pier 2-9. These are fairly new property developments a little off the busy beaten path featuring some awesome real estate with your own boat tie ups. 

We would also walk by the Pier One Sydney Harbour by Autograph Collection hotel in the shadows of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, that we’d end up coming back to stay at a a few years later.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was constructed between 1923 and was finished an inaugurated in 1932. It was designed for both vehicle, rail and passenger traffic. Due to its design, it remains an iconic image of Sydney and Australia. It is an absolutely spectacular lardmark bridge that is unique in the world.

We walked through Dawes Point Park and view of the Opera House by the nearby Park Hyatt Sydney. It is fantastic to be able to see such global iconic landmarks and to add them to live’s bucket list of travel attractions.

Views of The Sydney Opera House from the First Tower of the Sydney Harbour Bridge:

We climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge for a view from the first Tower. We had considered the Bridge Climb but since the weather was a bit suspect, with thundershowers throughout out stay, we never ended up committing to a date. There were great views from the First Tower of the whole of Circular Quay (the main water transportation hub) and even views of some cruise ships calling in on Sydney.

Walking through The Rocks historic neighbourhood:

We ended up at the Rocks district and neighborhood. MrsWT73 did some damage at the shops here in the Rocks, the historic area of Sydney. 

The Sydney Opera House:

After shopping, we walked over towards the Sydney Opera House passing Circular Quay.

We headed over to the Opera House Bar for some dim sum and a tall caprihina. I love the Asian influence in that dim sum is available as a snack all over town. It’s even more readily available than in Vancouver. It was a hot one out today and you only live once so I had two caprihina’s. Total indulgence. 

No matter how you cut it, the Sydney Opera House is still a beautiful building, after all these years. The unique shell like shares are like nothing else. Once you’ve seen it once, it never leaves your mind. 

Our time at the Sydney Opera House bar was highlighted by some great photo opportunities, along with your own cruise ship in the harbour. I took a walk around the opera house while the girls had another drink.

We finished our walking day by making our way over to the downtown shopping district where MrsWT73 and sister did some more damage with Uniqlo. Not being able to resist dim sum, I had a Shrimp and Pork Jiao Ze steamed dumpling snack at the Westfield Dai Ti Fan (5th floor) food fair outet, which was a much nicer environment than the Dai Ti Fan in the Star Casino near Darling Harbor where I had a snack earlier in the trip. Both of these restaurants are of the food fair variety, so if you were looking for a traditional sit down restaurant service with Dim sum from the cart, you’d need to look toward Taiwan where the original restaurants are located.

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My feelings about the Sydney Opera House:

Spending time walking through the harbour of the city of Sydney is something that you’ll never forget. The mostly flat walkways and the location of Sydney as a harbour city make for some very picturesque sights. The Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House are world renowned landmarks that are worth being on every travellers bucket list of attractions.

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If you’ve visited Sydney, Australia, do you make a point of visiting the Sydney Opera House on each visit?

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