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Sandstone, Sails & the First Harbour

Trace Sydney's colonial soul from its convict foundations to its most iconic skyline — all within walking distance of the world's most beautiful harbour.

8

stops

7h 54m

estimated time

Includes ~15 min walking between stops. Plan around opening hours.

HistoryArchitectureArt & CultureFaunaFloraGeography & GeologyLegends & LoreFun FactsFood & GastronomyPhotography TipsPractical Info

Stops on this tour

Tap any stop to preview its narration before starting.

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Imagine standing here in January 1788. Eleven ships slip into Sydney Cove after an eight-month voyage from England, carrying 736 convicts ch…

historycolonialSydney CoveheritageIndigenousGadigalarchitecturemarketspubs
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Stand here and you're standing on the birthplace of European Sydney. In 1788, when the First Fleet arrived under Governor Phillip carrying a…

historyarchitectureculturetransporticonicwaterfrontAboriginal heritage
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Picture this: March 1959. A Danish architect named Jørn Utzon stood on Bennelong Point and began constructing one of the world's most audaci…

architectureculturehistoryperforming-artsUNESCO-World-Heritageiconic-landmark
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Picture Sydney in 1788, just days after the First Fleet landed at Port Jackson. Governor Arthur Phillip, looking at this peninsula jutting i…

historynaturefamily-friendlyfree entrySydney Harbourbotanical gardens
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Imagine Sydney in 1810. The colony is barely twenty years old, rough and raw. Governor Lachlan Macquarie has just arrived with ambitious pla…

historyarchitectureviewsconvict heritagecolonial Sydneyharbourside
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The Art Gallery of New South Wales has a fascinatingly tangled origin story that reads like a novel complete with intrigue, personal feuds a…

artmuseumarchitectureAustralian artIndigenous artheritageculture
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While Hyde Park is an urban park, it hosts more wildlife than you might expect. The mature trees — particularly the Moreton Bay figs — attra…

historymonumentspublic spacecultural landmarkheritage
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St Mary's Cathedral stands on sacred ground in more ways than one. This is the site of Australia's first Catholic chapel, established on 21 …

historyarchitecturereligionheritageSydney landmark