Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sure, the 200 speciality shops are great, but check out the wrought-iron balconies, the
Byzantine copper domes, the stained-glass shopfronts, the mosaic floors, the replica
crown jewels, the ballroom, the tinkling baby grand and the hyperkitsch animated Royal
Clock (featuring the Battle of Hastings and an hourly beheading of Charles I). Informative
45-minute tours (11.30am Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) depart from the concierge
desk on the ground floor.
Outside there's an imposing statue of Queen Vic herself; nearby is a wishing well fea-
turing a bronze replica of her beloved pooch, Islay (which disconcertingly speaks in the
baritone voice of former radio rabble-rouser John Laws).
SYDNEY TOWER EYE
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( 9333 9222; www.sydneytowereye.com.au ; 100 Market St; adult/child $25/20, Skywalk adult/child $65/45;
9am-10.30pm; St James) The 309m-tall Sydney Tower (built 1970-1981) offers unbeatable
360-degree views from the observation level 250m up. On a clear day you'll see west to
the Blue Mountains, south to Botany Bay, east across the harbour to the silvery Pacific
and down onto the city streets. It's high enough to watch rain squalls shift across the sub-
urbs on a stormy day.
TOWER
The visit starts with the 4D Experience - a short 3D film giving you a bird's-eye view
(a parakeet's to be exact) of city, surf, harbour and what lies beneath the water, accompan-
ied by mist sprays and bubbles; it's actually pretty darn cool.
Luke Skywalker aspirations? Don a spiffy 'skysuit' and take the Skywalk : shackle
yourself to the safety rail and step onto two glass-floored viewing platforms outside
Sydney Tower's observation deck, 268m above the street. No place for the weak
bowelled…
If you're planning on visiting Sydney Aquarium or Sydney Wildlife World, check out
the discounted combined tickets.
MARTIN PLACE
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( Martin Place) Studded with imposing edifices, long, lean Martin Place was closed to
traffic in 1971, forming a terraced pedestrian mall. Once the corporate crowds go home,
skateboarders and film crews converge upon the ramps, stairs and fountains.
SQUARE
As iconic in its time as the Opera House, GPO Sydney OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP ( 9221
5073; www.gposydney.com ; 1 Martin Pl), built in 1874 is a beautiful colonnaded Victorian palazzo
that was once Sydney's General Post Office. It has since been gutted, stabbed with office
towers and transformed into the Westin Sydney hotel, swanky shops, restaurants and bars.
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