Travel to Sydney

Australia is a vast country – almost as large as the contiguous United States – and it is impossible to experience everything that the country has to offer in one visit. Some attractions should not be missed. These include both man-made and natural wonders as well as the fascinating culture and traditions of the country’s very first inhabitants.

Most visitors fly into Sydney, which has one of the most spectacular settings of any city in the world. Sydney is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city, although just visiting the city’s many beautiful beaches is a popular activity. It also boasts two of the most instantly recognizable landmarks anywhere – the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. If you have a head for heights, do not miss the opportunity to walk across the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge – it is a once in a lifetime experience.

One highlight of a visit to Australia is the chance to experience the culture of the native Aborigines. Plenty of places throughout the country have Aboriginal art and crafts for sale, especially in the country’s famous Outback. The isolated town of Alice Springs makes an excellent base for exploring Aboriginal culture; and to really immerse yourself, consider taking an Aboriginal Culture Tour – although you may be expected to eat traditional delicacies such as wasps.

No visit to Australia is complete without seeing one of the wonders of nature – the Great Barrier Reef. The reef’s statistics are staggering – it stretches for about 1,200 miles along the eastern coast of Australia, and is home to an estimated 1,500 species of fish. It’s supposedly the only living feature on earth visible from the moon. There are several ways to experience the reef – you can sail around it and fly over it; but to dive in the clear

waters is a memorable experience.

Australia’s other big natural wonder is Uluru, or Ayers Rock, which is located about 260 miles from Alice Springs. You can see the rock that is considered the world’s largest monolith by flying over it, driving around it or hiking up it. Various tours are available from both Alice Springs and the resort of Ayers Rock. If you visit this resort, make sure you see the rock at sunset – it is an unforgettable sight.

If you have the time, a three day journey by train from Sydney to Perth on the Indian Pacific is considered one of the world’s great rail journeys. It is fair to say that there are no sights along the way, other than the hypnotic spectacle of the vast emptiness of much of Australia. The trip includes the longest straight stretch of rail track anywhere, which is an almost 300-mile stretch across the Nullarbor Plain.

If you prefer to drive, a driving trip through Australia’s legendary Outback is a great way to see the country and appreciate its sheer size. You may not encounter much traffic but watch out for the so-called road trains - huge tractor-trailers up to fifty yards long; as well as Australia’s unique animals and birds. Broken Hill is a good place to soak up the atmosphere of the Outback. It is the home of the legendary Flying Doctor service, as well as a ghost town and an opal mine.

Most people imagine Australia to be dry and dusty, but the far north of the country is close to the equator and much of it consists of tropical rainforests. Townsville and Port Douglas both make good bases for exploring the tropical north, which contains some of the world’s oldest rain forests, as well as a huge variety of animal life. Take one of the many off-road guided tours that are available, or view the rainforest from the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, near Cairns.

Located in Australia’s Northern Territories is the huge Kakadu National Park, a World Heritage Sight which covers over 4 million acres. A favorite activity is simply observing the wildlife and the park boasts an estimated 75 species of reptile and over 200 species of birds. The park is also one of the few places in Australia where Aborigines live off the land and exist much as they have done for centuries.

Australian wines are considered to be some of the best in the world and you can spend an enjoyable vacation visiting vineyards and sampling wines. Many people visit the well-known Hunter Valley wine region because of its close proximity to Sydney, although the nicest region for wine tasting is arguably the Barossa region, a German-speaking area about an hour away from Adelaide.

One activity you should not miss is simply getting to know the Australian people, who are friendly and outgoing. The language is the same – although you may be puzzled by references to mysterious things such as “sheilas”, “billabongs” and the ever-popular “shrimp on the Barbie”!

Australians say that people tend to fall into one of either two camps, Melbourne or Sydney. The rivalry between the two cities is legendary, so much so that when it came to choosing a capital of Australia in 1908, the non-descript Canberra was chosen, slap bang in the middle, rather than pitting these two lovely places against one another. Melbournites think Sydney-siders are shallow and vain. Sydney-siders think Melbournites are a bit snobby and constantly dressing in black. But if you go on holiday to Sydney and take some time to suck in that glorious atmosphere, you’ll realize that its people are having way too much of a good time to bother themselves with petty rivalries and back-biting, but then this is coming from someone who’s passionate about Sydney and everything it has to offer. Here is my pick of the very best bits!

RESTAURANTS

Restaurants in Sydney operate on a whole new level. Fresh, enterprising and uplifting, the food is a real cultural mix, some say the best in the world due to the large number of gastronomically talented immigrants the city has welcomed over the years. People often talk of 'fusion' food in Sydney restaurants - a mix of Western and Asian cooking – an exciting way to eat. Lots of restaurants in Sydney serve delicious fresh seafood, and you can buy cheap sushi all over Sydney. If you are into fish then check out the Sydney Fish Markets, near Darling Harbour - you can pick out great seafood and they will cook it for you on the spot. If you’re feeling nostalgic, then head to Doyles for the tastiest imaginable fish and chips.

CAFES

Lots of the bookshops in Sydney have cafes – they were doing this long before we caught on to it in the UK. The lattes are unrivaled and everyone has a leisurely breakfast out on Sunday mornings. A popular snack is toasted banana bread drizzled in butter along with a coffee or a fresh fruit smoothie. All over Sydney there are many places serving tea and scones. Surprisingly this is called a 'Devonshire Tea’ and they tend to stop serving them at 4pm. For some great Italian cafes and culture try the suburb of Balmain, home to many famous drinking establishments.

WALKS

One of the bonuses of the location of this city – surrounding the beautiful Sydney Harbour – is that you can experience the most awe-inspiring views from many different standpoints, and the best way to do this is on foot. The views you will grow to love the most will probably include the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House and, perhaps unexpectedly, the brightly lit skyscrapers which rise brazenly in a central cluster from Sydney city centre to form a dramatic backdrop to Sydney’s natural and man-made wonders. There is a great choice of sea walks including the Manly to Spit walk and Bronte to Bondi beach.

DAY TRIPS

If you’re up for a real adventure try the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb – a guided climb to 134 metres above Sydney Harbour at your chosen time of day. For a jungle experience take the 30-minute trip to the Australian bush at Kuringai National Park. A day trip to the spectacular Blue Mountains is also a favourite, with the Three Sisters - a famous sandstone rock formation - and some of the most beautiful scenery in Australia. Or for those with a penchant for good wine should visit the Hunter Valley, 2 hours north of Sydney for vineyard tours, wine tasting and cellar door sales.

MUSEUMS/ART

Although going inside to enjoy yourself on your Sydney holiday may seem unthinkable, heavy rain occurs occasionally and on these days the marvelous museums and art galleries of Sydney come into their own. Visit the dinosaurs at the Sydney Museum, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay, where, due to sponsorship, all the exhibitions are now free. Both galleries have great cafes and top quality restaurants. The National Maritime Museum and the Powerhouse Museum, near Darling Harbour will also provide a fascinating respite.

SHOPPING

Try Mosman in North Sydney for posh shopping, or alternatively the Queen Victoria Building in the city centre, which is full of little boutiques and cafes with an English style cafe at the very top. Oxford Street has the best strip of shops for alternative culture and evening cafes and is on the route for Sydney’s fabulous Mardi Gras parade, which takes place in March.

BEACHES

If you’re anything like most Sydney holiday makers you’ll be spending a lot of time on its heavenly beaches. Most of these have beach cafes known as ‘kiosks’. Make sure you try a few as they’re all very different. Bondi Beach is great for Aussie beach culture, and where the Brits tend to congregate. If you’re looking for a beach with personality then take the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly, a super-trendy beach reminiscent of Venice Beach in Los Angeles. Both Manly and Bondi Beach are great for surfing, whilst Balmoral is a non-surf beach for the North Shore residents and expats, with safe, calm water for kids to paddle and an area for swimming surrounded by a board walk and shark net. Hire a surfboard and wet suit at Manly or Bondi Beach and you can even book a few surf lessons. The beautiful Northern Beaches are a set of beaches encompassing the stretch between Manly and Palm Beach. One of my favourites is the onomatopoeic Curl Curl Beach with its excellent surf.

KIDS

Two superb venues for childish fun are Luna Park, a theme park with an iconic giant clown face at the entrance, and the enormous Taronga Zoo, home to 2,600 animals. Taronga must be the zoo with the best view in the world, with vistas overlooking the whole of Sydney Harbour. You can get there by bus or ferry as it has its very own ferry stop. For another great kid’s day out take the monorail, bus, ferry or car to Darling Harbour - the area may seem a bit kitsch, but has one of the best aquariums in the world, a lovely spot for ‘Finding Nemo'! Children will also love Darling Harbour’s Imax Theatre for 3D films on the big screen. At the art gallery of New South Wales there are often kids classes, free tours and magic shows, especially on Sunday mornings.

LITTLE GEMS

A little electric train will take you on a mini-adventure through the exotic Sydney Botanic Gardens, and you can take in some high culture with opera and other concerts in the park. Next door the Sydney Opera House hosts classical music as well as some of pop’s big names. Lots of great buskers hang out around Circular Quay – good fun if you are waiting for a ferry. To try a real 1920's style cinema, check out the Cremorne Orpheum (after Orpheus), an old-style picture house on Military Road.

SPORT

Surfing and other water sports feel as natural as breathing in Sydney – many Sydney-siders even go for a sneaky surf in their lunch hour from work. Swimmers should visit the Olympic Park and take a dip at the North Sydney Olympic pool, or visit one of the Sydney Harbour baths or beaches, such as Red Leaf or Nielsen Park.Outside the water you can catch a game of rugby or Australian rules football at Telstra Stadium, and if you’re into road running why not try the City to Surf marathon, a 14k race which takes place in mid-August.

HOTELS

And finally, if you are visiting Sydney on holiday, there is no shortage of accommodation. From beach-side B&Bs and chic inner city guest houses to the finest 5-star hotels overlooking Sydney Harbour Bridge, there is a place for all tastes.

So there you are. If Sydney was any closer I expect we all would have fallen in love with the place and emigrated long ago. Once you do go on holiday to Sydney, either on its own, or as part of a longer holiday in Australia, you’ll be furious that nobody persuaded you to go there before. Well, there’s no excuse now – time to go ahead and book those flights!

Online Dating brings you together. Chat, get to know each other then arrange to meet in arguably the most beautiful city in Australia, Sydney. But where to eat? Online Dating Sites suggests some first date ideas in Sydney.

Sydney, Australia, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Sydney is very much dominated by its enormous harbor and absolutely stunning beaches running for kilometres along the city's eastern edge. Sydney is the oldest city in Australia and this is very much reflected in the "convict" architecture of the inner city. Due to the multiculturalism of Sydney, the city is very cosmopolitan, and has an astonishing array of foods and restaurants from around the globe. Sydney is also the second largest gay city in the world.

So many locations! So many styles of restaurants! We have compiled this article to make a first date restaurant selection a little easier. Move on from chat stage of the online dating process and hook up in person.

Expensive Restaurants. (Get out the Platinum Card.)

The inner city of Sydney offers plenty of choices for fine dining. Select from restaurants situated right on the world famous Sydney Harbor, or opt for a restaurant housed in a building featuring the rustic, sand stone colonial architecture. The Rocks is an area located right in the middle of Sydney City itself. This is a meeting place where the Harbor and old character buildings adjoin each other. Totally impossible to select just the one restaurant from this location.

Circular Quay is another ideal area to have dinner in Sydney. There is plenty of public transport and you are right on Sydney Harbor. We liked the Oyster Bar due to its helpful staff, fantastic views, and diverse menu. Why not take a ferry ride after your meal to finish off the perfect first date? Bistro Lulu in the inner city Eastern suburb of Paddington offers an intimate ambiance and a fantastic French menu. If you want to blow your date away with a superb vista over the entire city of Sydney, then Forty One Restaurant is the venue for you. This restaurant is open for dinner Monday to Saturday and is located in the Chifley Tower in the centre of Sydney city.

Cheap and Cheerful. (You won't need an overdraft.)

Sydney is famous for its plethora of cheap and cheerful eateries. These are perfect for the financially challenged, and for those who don't necessarily want to make their date uncomfortable by throwing the cash around on the first date. If you are going the cheap and cheerful alternative we recommend selecting a restaurant with plenty of character.

Radio Cairo definitely fits the bill with its ambiance and fantastic food. The menu for this eatery in Cremorne is based, not surprisingly, on North African cuisine. This restaurant gets a big tick for character and tasty food at an affordable price. Its location means that after your meal you can cross the road and catch a movie at the Orpheum, the only remaining Art Deco Cinema in Sydney. You can even grab a coffee or drink in this celebration of past architecture.

The Wet Paint Cafe in Bronte Beach, the eastern suburbs of Sydney also gets a big tick. This eatery features affordable Cajun style food with a touch of romance in the candlelit surrounds. One word, try and book a table for the front as the back of the cafe is a bit space challenged. Oscar's near Darling Harbor is another great location as they have comfortable lounges you can settle back in with your date after your meal. This bar/restaurant/pub offers mid week specials with the bubbly and lobster being a steal.

Use this article for some great first date restaurant suggestions. Your online dating first encounter needn't be a trial. Sydney, Australia offers a huge variety of restaurants for the new couple to select from.

When examining a list of attractions or a map of Australia, it's only natural to think, "I just want to do everything!" But to narrow it down a little bit, Sydney Australia is a destination that won't disappoint! If you're pressed for time, the Australian tourism industry recommends catching the Manly Ferry, taking a harbor cruise, riding the Shelly Ferry, visiting Shell Beach and touring Manly Beach. Many travelers point to the Sydney Opera House as a highlight of their trip as well.

When you come to Sydney Australia, you'll obviously want to get the most optimal view of the towering buildings, the world-famous Harbour Bridge and the architecturally intriguing Opera House. At Circular Quay, you can travel thirty minutes from the Sydney Harbour to Manly via ferry, where you'll get the best view of these landmarks. When you arrive in Manly, you may want to eat some delicious grub at the brand new Manly Wharf Pub. A more traditional, narrated tour is the Sydney Harbour Cruise, which can tell you a little bit about waterfront mansions, Australian history and the city's multitudinous cultural offerings.

You'll get the same view as the ferry, but you'll have a longer ride and more commentary. "Coffee cruises" have become very popular, offering fresh espresso, teas, gourmet biscuits, muffins and Lamingtons, which is an Aussie favorite. Or you can go on the half-day Sydney Harbour sail aboard "Katrina," a luxury yacht, which will take you to hideaway beaches and bays. The Sydney Harbour Bridge Cruise will quickly take you beneath the bridge and narrate a little about this landmark, specifically. You'll stop in the Darling Harbour, where theatres, aquariums and museums await.

For all you land-lubbers, there's a nice walk from the Manly Ferry Terminal to Shelly Beach. You'll pass pubs, cafes, shops and restaurants, although, the particularly keen may even spot a Manly penguin or breaching Humpback Whale! You can take a tour of Manly Beach or get a terrific view of the Sydney Harbour from the North Fort lookout. With the city, the AMP Centrepoint Tower, a 1,000-foot-high Australian national monument, will give you a bird's eye view of Sydney's cityscape.

Sports are more than just entertainment in Sydney Australia: it's an important part of culture and a celebration of the Australians' pride. It is an important part of the culture. Rugby is by far the most popular sport but you can also see a horse race at Randwick Race Course, an Australian Football League game (cheer for the Sydney Swans!), a National Basketball League game (go Sydney Swifts!), the start of the "Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race" and the quirky "City to Surf" foot race.

When you first arrive in Sydney Australia at the Kingsford Smith airport, unless you've booked a tour, you'll likely feel overwhelmed and out-of-sorts. You can visit the Sydney Visitor Centre in The Rocks at the corner of Argyle & Playfair Streets or the Sydney Visitor Center at 33 Wheat Road in Darling Harbour between 9:30 am and 5:30 pm to get maps and attraction information.

The key to Australian vacationing is to come prepared, so you may want to look online or book a few tours before you depart from your homeland! The "Sydney Sampler," for instance, offers five nights exploring Sydney. Starting at $U425 per person, you'll receive five nights of hotel accommodations and round trip airport transfers, a day at Blue Mountains National Park, the Sydney Harbour coffee cruise, the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge and beach tours. You'll also stop to see wildlife, museums, shops, Aboriginal heritage sites and more. To arrange a tour, you can check "United Vacations Sp".

When visiting The Sydney Harbor Bridge, the question is of course, what is the best way to see it? And how should a visitor take advantage of the Sydney Harbor Bridge on a short visit or any sort of visit to Sydney?

There are a few ways that you can really enjoy the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The first way is by taking a walk around it. There is that pedestrian access on the eastern side, if you are down in The Rocks area you can basically take the stairways up, you can get up to the Harbor Bridge and then just walk across it. And that affords great views first of all, it is cheap, it is good exercise, it is not the most peaceful walk in the world because you have got six lines of traffic not far from you way to and from the city, but a beautiful nonetheless.

You can take all time in the world, it is not at all busy even during peak hour periods, take as long as you want so you can walk across it. One of the other things that you probably going to want do in Sydney Harbor Bridge is to get a photo of it. Now obviously being actually on the Bridge is not the best spot for taking photos of it. In my experience the best spot, although there are many around the Harbor foreshore area, is in front of the Sydney Opera House.

If you stand in front of the Opera House, there on a bit of foreshore there you can not miss it, then you can look straight across the Harbor Bridge and that is one of the best spots for your photos. You can get photos of the bridge itself, zooming in or zooming out and plenty of those photos of yourself, your friends and loved ones posing in front of the Harbor Bridge.

There's a couple of options if you want to actually climb the Bridge. The Pylon Lookout, is a lookout within one of the pylons. It is actually a museum, the Sydney Harbor Museum. If you go through there, this museum shows you a lot of history of how the Bridge was built, the structure itself, some of the history there, some of the people that died during its construction. It is a very interesting and educational experience.

It is not like you would spend hours at the museum, but certainly the good thing is that it is a very affordable way to climb the bridge. There is an admission charge but it's quite affordable. And not only do you get to learn about the Bridge itself, but you get to the top and you get to look at the magnificent views that you get from so many hundred meters up there.

The other option if you are looking to climb the Harbor Bridge is the Bridge Climb. It is a private company that runs these climbs of the Bridge. And you can see them at all hours of the days and night. These organized groups climb along this span to the very pinnacle of the Bridge, and then they climb back down. I have done it myself and it is an excellent walk. You do pay reasonable well to for the privilege. They take safety very seriously and its a completely safe activity and very enjoyable.

One of the disadvantages is that you can not take a camera or anything and you can not take any photographs of the view while you're up there. You really have to just to enjoy it in person, some photographs are taken by the staff and you can buy those when you leave the walk. The whole thing takes quite a few hours and you need to book well in advance, because it is quite busy.

So, if you want to really get into the Harbor Bridge, there is a number ways that you can do it. You can get over to the Opera House or somewhere around the foreshore and you can take your photos and the like. It is a very simple matter to walk across, backwards and forwards across the Bridge, you do that in half an hour, you can walk over there and back and there's nice spots on the north side as well. If you are more interested in climbing it, your options are really the Pylon Lookout, or the Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb.

Most visitors to Australia commence their travels in Sydney. This is not surprising. The beautiful harbour city is Australia's premier holiday destination.

Here are 7 of its top attractions.

SYDNEY HARBOUR.

To really appreciate the natural beauty of Sydney, take a train and alight at Circular Quay station. Circular Quay is the gateway to the harbour and the visual impact is stunning. There in front of you is the broad expanse of water, Sydney Harbour, stretching from "the heads" where it enters the South Pacific Ocean, to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Taking the escalator down to Circular Quay, you have a number of choices. Here are some suggestions:

FERRY TO MANLY.

This is a great introduction to Sydney. It passes many of the major Sydney attractions including the Opera House and Fort Denison. The journey takes less than half an hour. It is worthwhile spending 2 or 3 hours at Manly enjoying the village atmosphere and if the weather is warm, enjoying a swim at one of Sydney's top beaches. If time permits, take a bus to some of Sydney's northern beaches and the beautiful inland waterway, Pittwater.

On the return ferry journey, try to time it so that you arrive at Circular Quay just on sunset. The outline of the bridge, with the setting sun in the background, is a magic holiday moment.

TORONGA PARK ZOO.

Take the ferry from Circular Quay to visit Australia's best zoo. You will have the chance to see some of the wild life unique to Australia, including koalas, wombats, kangaroos and the very shy platypus. The views over the harbour from Taronga Park are stunning.

THE ROCKS.

A brief walk west of Circular Quay takes you to the original site of convict settlement in Australia. It boasts some of Sydney's best restaurants. The Rocks contains many old restored buildings and is a popular market area. It is worth a visit at any time but a "must see" on Sunday mornings with the popular Rocks Market. The area comes alive with hundreds of street stalls selling food and a wide range of gifts. It is an ideal place to purchase unique Australian souvenirs.

BRIDGE WALK.

Start from The Rocks, alongside the south portal of the bridge. Take the stairs to the walkway across the bridge and enjoy this spectacular free walk with some of the best views in Australia. On your right, is the Opera House and Circular Quay, in the middle, the harbour, stretching to the Pacific Ocean and on your left is north shore and Kirribilli, home to Australia's Prime Minister.

When you reach Milson's Point on the north side of the bridge, why not buy a takeaway meal, walk to the water's edge and enjoy the views of the Sydney skyline, the bridge and the busy activity with ferries, yachts and cruise ships. A short waterfront walk eastwards takes you to Kirribilli Point and more spectacular views. If you don't feel like the walk back over the bridge, take the train back to the city from Milson's Point station.

BRIDGE CLIMB.

It's expensive, but if you have a sense of adventure and aren't afraid of heights, try it. You will be rewarded with spectacular 360 degree views. The Bridge Climb check-in is located at The Rocks, a short distance from the stairs leading to the bridge walkway.

OPERA HOUSE.

Enquire about the guided tours, conducted regularly during the day. In the morning, you may witness concert practice for evening concerts. The tours are comprehensive and a "must see" for your visit to Sydney. It is well worth booking for an evening concert, just to experience the atmosphere of the main concert hall. The outside promenade area is a great place for viewing the Sydney skyline and the bridge.

ACCOMMODATION.

Sydney offers a wide variety of quality accommodation from 5 star hotels to backpackers. Many of the top hotels are located in The Rocks and Darling Harbour areas, most with spectacular views. A number of 3 and 4 star hotels are located at King's Cross, a popular area for restaurants and the "nightlife" hub of the city.

Sydney is a popular destination with backpackers. They love the night life, shopping, beaches, scenery and climate. Backpackers of all age groups from 20 to 80 are looking for clean, cheap and safe accommodation and youth hostels are the answer. When I visit Sydney, I always stay in YHA Australia accommodation. There are 3 main hostels in Sydney and I have stayed at Sydney Central and Glebe.

Both are clean and convenient. Sydney Central is conveniently located just a few minutes' from Central railway station. My daughter aged 22 stayed in both on a recent visit to Sydney and she commented on the friendliness of the staff and how she felt "safe". This is important for women traveling solo, in many cases, a long way from home.

Sydney Harbor is one of those tourist icons that embody what Sydney is. So in every trip to Sydney, going out to see and visit Sydney Harbor is one of the first things you would want to do. As such, it is no wonder why Sydney Harbor is one of the most photographed landmarks in Australia, if not in the whole world. A trip to Sydney is never complete without getting snapshots in front of the Harbor Bridge from the Opera House, or from wherever it might be.

Aside from the thrill of going out to see the Sydney Harbor, from a Sydney local's point of view, there are actually 4 top practical and surefire ways to enjoy Sydney Harbor. The first way to enjoy Sydney Harbor is to just walk around it. To do this, one has to get down to a train session called Circular Quay which is right in the CBD on the edge of the water.

There are buses, trains and taxis, all of which will take visitors there. Otherwise, you can take a walk depending on where your accommodations is. From there you'll pass by some beautiful parkland and some pretty major tourist stops, tourist attractions, tourist icons that are within that walking distance to that area. If you go around to the east you'll walk towards Sydney Opera House. Towards the west, you will reach an area of Sydney called The Rocks which is old Sydney town. It was the first British settlement area in Sydney. When you had enough of walking around you can then just walk back to Circular Quay.

The second way to enjoy Sydney Harbour is by taking a ferry when taking in the sights and sounds of the city. There are a number of ferry services , most of which are public transportation that operate in and around Circular Quay.

It's amazing that for the price of a simple public transport ticket, one can spend as much time as one likes cruising up and down and going from one place to another. An example of a very pleasurable ferry ride to take is the Manly ferry. Its a 30-40 minutes travel time gives you to spend a lot of time to enjoy the length and breadth of the Sydney Harbor. 

The third way to enjoy Sydney Harbor is by taking the good-old-fashioned Harbour Cruise. The best times to do this is during summer months when the weather is usually very good. There are plenty of private companies that put up Harbor Cruise entertainment in a lot of different forms. But most of them are eat and drink occasions ranging from simple sessions for coffee or morning tea, to more advanced visitors coming in for a lunch cruises, dinner cruises with full buffet, big seafoods cruises, big drink packages and a lot more. Booking can be done either by booking for an organized package, or by dropping by Circular Quay where there's a number of booths and stalls of companies offering different Harbor cruises and their schedule.

The fourth and final way to enjoy Sydney Harbour is by swimming in it. But while Sydney Harbour is a great place for a swim, it is in fact a port that is not any different from any other shipping port. As such you cannot swim directly in it, or get in the Circular Quay with your swimming gear in tow because it is full of ships, boats and ferries. But all is not lost because there are some spots in the area that are really great for a swim. If you are out on the suburbs, the Camp Cove is the best destination. So, when you find yourself in Sydney to, do try any or all of these suggestions on how to enjoy the Sydney Traveler.

Today the Harbour Bridge has many uses. Firstly and probably primarily it is a major road between the northern suburbs, populations of Sydney and the Sydney Central Business District. There are six right lanes, three to four lanes either way of thick traffic, particularly during peak hour it could get very congested. So it is a big thing the fact that there is traffic there. There is also a train line that goes each way across it for the same kind of thing.

There's also a pedestrian access on the eastern side, you can actually walk by pedestrian access and we'll talk a little bit about that in a minute, about how you can do that. Hundreds of commuters actually walk across Harbour Bridge to get to and from the city to go to work everyday. So this is a serious pedestrian thoroughfare to get from the north side down to the south. Interestingly enough, also there's every year in Sydney they have a running event, a marathon running event called The Bridge Run or The Bridge Marathon. What this is, is as the name implies it is a running event of varying lengths, but a key focus of the running event is actually running across the Harbor Bridge.

I have participated in this and it is fantastic event and it really is something, and they close up all the traffic obviously. And as far as the eye can see, thousands of people running across that Bridge embarking on their marathon or half-marathon or fun-run, varying distances are available. So that is another use, and that is really only once or twice a year that they run those runs and it causes a lot of problems for the traffic, because you have to re-route it in different ways. But it is one of the ways, that Sydney siders use their bridge, it affords magnificent views as well.

When you are actually on the bridge walking across it, beautiful views of the Harbour and the foreshores by following the northern or the southern side is pretty good. Another big one which you have probably seen on television is New Year's Eve. Now what Sydney has done in every since well it will be many years now, since well before 2000, is that the Harbor Bridge itself because it so such a public high icon, thousands and thousands of fireworks are actually fired from there at midnight on New Year's Eve. It's a focal point there, it is zoomed all across the world and very much from Sydney, at midnight everyone knows to look to the Harbor for the fireworks that run 15 to 20 minutes. And really is a New Year's Eve spectacle.

The Sydney Harbor Bridge is one of those icons of Sydney, it is one of the best known tourist icons in the world really and it is true to say that almost everyone is familiar with it. When you think of Sydney, along with the Opera House in Sydney Harbor, we think about Sydney Harbor Bridge.

A little bit of history on the Harbor Bridge. Sydney Harbor Bridge joins the Sydney CBD to the northern suburbs of Sydney, which is north Sydney, which is again a business area. But to the northern suburbs which is essentially a link to those residential areas. The Bridge itself is 503 metres long, so it is a fairly long Bridge and it is 134 meters above the sea level, so it is a very high Bridge.

Now, some interesting trivia this Bridge was opened in 1932 and this quite interesting story that comes along behind it. The story goes that on the 19th of March 1932, it was a huge occasion after many years of building this Bridge, an enormous crowd had gathered on the Bridge itself and around Sydney's foreshore both on the CBD side and the north Sydney side.

People had gathered to see the official opening of this Bridge. One of the ceremonial things that was to happen, was that the Premier, the head-of-state for the state of New South Wales would declare the Bridge open and would slash a ribbon, which was sitting across the Harbour as a ceremonial signification of opening the Bridge. There is a fantastic idea, but there was certain people that had a different idea. At the time there was a para-military group called the New Guard, who firmly believed amongst other things (they were firm Monarchists) that it was appropriate that a member of the royal family would actually open the Harbour Bridge by cutting the ribbon.

So vehemently did they believe this, they took real offence to an Australian head-of-state actually cutting the ribbon. A General by the name of Capt. Francis de Groot, who was a representative of this group was on horse back and he positioned himself quite close to where the ribbon was waiting for Premier Lang to arrive. Just before the Premier got there, de Groot mounted on his horse galloped forward, pulled out his sword and slashed the ribbon, and declared the Bridge open in the name of the decent citizens of the New South Wales.

De Groot was subsequently arrested and taken to a psychiatric hospital, where they found him sane, but he faced a fine and a charge for offensive behavior in a public place. Anyway, interesting little bit of trivia in the history of the Harbour Bridge.