Sydney

Opera House:

The plan to build the Sydney Opera House at the Sydney harbor originated in the year of 1955. An international architecture competition was held and the winner was the Danish architect Jorn Utzon. The story goes that he would have drawn the design from hand in one shot without a ruler or a calculator. This building would symbolize his love for sailing, because the roofs not only resemble shells but also the sails of a large sailing ship.

It was opened in 20 October 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II, fourteen years after the construction began. The Opera House is located at the Bennelong Point, on the edge of a harbor where a tram depot used to be. The building contains not only an opera room but also three other types of halls: concert halls, restaurants and bars. The Sydney Opera House has become the symbol of Sydney and is home to the Sydney Symphony.

The building has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997. It was also nominated for the election of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

Sydney Harbor Bridge

This most famous bridge in Sydney was finished on March 19, 1932, when people had been working on its construction for six years. The bridge was not only built to make the northern region of the city more accessible, it was also a job creation project. Sydney Harbor bridge is 1149 meters long and has a 503 meter bow span; it is the widest arch bridge in the world.

The top of the bow is 134 meters above sea level. Because of its location it has become a well-known symbol of Sydney. You have to pay for a return ticket with the car while it is free for walkers and cyclists. A tourist activity is the Sydney Bridge climb, an ascent / walk over the arch of the bridge that takes about 3.5 hours. Once upstairs after about 200 steps one can look around far into the perimeter of Sydney.

The Rocks, Circular Quay, Darling Harbor and Kings Cross:

The Rocks was the first place where Europeans settle in Australia. The place was in the beginning a rugged neighborhood with criminals, whores and whalers. Later on large department stores would be built and a naval port. Now it is a pleasant entertainment district with small narrow streets, squares and alleys.

Circular Quay is a quay and harbor in the center of Sydney. From here, ferries leave for all destinations. There is also a connection to the train network by means of an aboveground station. The quay is visited by both tourists and commuters. 

Darling Harbor is a nightlife district in Sydney, which is laid around the harbor like a horseshoe. Especially in the evening it is a tourist attraction with dozens of nice and cosy restaurants. The easiest ways to get there are with the ferry from Circular Quay or with the monorail from the center. Main attractions include Sydney Aquarium (with more than 11,000 marine animals), Australian National Maritime Museum (free admission), Chinese Garden of Friendship, IMAX Theater, Cockle Bay Wharf and King Street Wharf and Harborside Shopping Center.

Kings Cross district is best known for its extensive nightlife, erotic entertainment and a shrinking amount of prostitution. However, the neighborhood is not only an adult entertainment, but also has a number of good restaurants, bars and internet cafes. There are also many accommodation options, especially a large amount of backpacker hostels.

Bondi Beach

Although Bondi Beach is not a big beach, it has become known as the starting point for the Australian beach and surf culture. It is a classic city beach with a nice wave. Many tourists have visited Bondi Beach over the years and during the Christmas holidays many British but also Dutch tourists visit the beach to celebrate their holidays there.

In November along this route you can see the 'Sculpture by the Sea' exhibition every year (free of charge). One of the most extraordinary (international) exhibitions of outdoor art. During the Summer Olympics of 2000 the beach volleyball matches took place on this beach. 

Other attractions are:

• Sydney Aquarium, Olympic Park, Chinatown, Sydney tower, Sydney fish markets, Oceanworld, Sydney Observatory, Museum of Sydney, Australian museum and Hyde Park.

The area around Sydney Harbor has been inhabited by Aboriginal tribes for more than 40,000 years. Although urbanization has erased most of the traces of this occupation, there are still rock paintings from this era at various locations. European interest grew when Captain James Cook discovered Botany Bay (now a neighborhood in the south of Sydney) in 1770.

On the instructions of the British government, a punishment camp was founded by Arthur Phillip in 1788. He first landed at Botany Bay, but did not think this was a good place. After a short sailing trip to the north, he finally landed at Sydney Cove in Port Jackson (the real name for the Sydney harbor). Arthur Phillip called the colony "New Albion", but for an unclear reason it finally got the name "Sydney", named after the then British Minister of Home Affairs Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney (Viscount Sydney from 1789).

Perhaps it is because Lord Sydney gave Phillip permission to start a colony. Prisoners were soon put to work to build a settlement, and in 1822 the city had banks, markets, streets and an organized police force. In 1847, the prisoners only accounted for 3.2% of the population. Every week ships from Europe came with Irish, English and other European migrants looking for a new life in a new country. The first of several gold fevers was in 1851, and since then the port of Sydney has seen many people from all over the world come into the country. 

With the industrialization, Sydney grew rapidly, and at the beginning of the 20th century it already had more than 1 million inhabitants. In the 20th century Sydney continued to grow, and the city nowadays has a cosmopolitan appearance due to the large amount of different cultures that entered the city. Although Sydney does not suffer from cyclones, and the risk of earthquakes is very low, the city is occasionally plagued by forest fires, including big ones in 1994 and 2002. In December 2005, racial riots broke out in Sydney after a demonstration.