Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The birthplace of both the city and the modern nation, this compact area seamlessly com-
bines the historic with the exuberantly modern. Join the tourist pilgrimage to the Opera
House and Harbour Bridge then grab a schooner at a convict-era pub in The Rocks.
Stretching inland from the heads for 20km until it morphs into the Parramatta River, the
harbour has shaped the local psyche for millennia, and today it's the city's sparkling play-
ground. Its inlets, beaches, islands and shorefront parks provide endless swimming, sail-
ing, picnicking and walking opportunities.
Sydney's central business district offers plenty of choices for upmarket shopping, eating
and sightseeing, with gracious colonial buildings scattered among the skyscrapers and or-
derly parks providing breathing space. The breathless jumble of Haymarket and Chin-
atown provide the yin to the CBD's yang.
Unashamedly tourist focused, Darling Harbour will do its best to tempt you to its
shoreline bars and restaurants with fireworks displays and a sprinkling of glitz. On its
western flank, Pyrmont appears to be sinking under the weight of its casino and motorway
flyovers.
Quietly bohemian Glebe and more loudly bohemian Newtown are the most well-known of
the Inner West's tightly packed suburbs, grouped around the University of Sydney. All the
essential hang-outs for students - bookshops, cafes and pubs - are present in abundance.
