Attraction

1. Sydney Opera House

Performing arts centre and landmarkBennelong Point

Jørn Utzon's sail-roofed performing arts centre on Bennelong Point, opened in 1973 and the setting for opera, theatre, concerts and daily guided tours.

View details — Sydney Opera House

Attraction

2. Sydney Harbour Bridge

Steel arch bridge and landmarkThe Rocks

The steel arch bridge that has linked the city with the North Shore since 1932, with a free footpath, a cycleway and a museum in its south-eastern pylon.

View details — Sydney Harbour Bridge

Attraction

3. Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Botanic gardenFarm Cove

Australia's oldest botanic garden, founded in 1816 on Farm Cove, with free entry, harbour foreshore paths and the Calyx glasshouse exhibition space.

View details — Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Attraction

4. Taronga Zoo Sydney

ZooMosman

A hillside zoo on the harbour's north shore, open on this site since 1916 and home to more than 5,000 animals, a short ferry ride from Circular Quay.

View details — Taronga Zoo Sydney

Attraction

5. Art Gallery of New South Wales

Art museumThe Domain

The state's leading art museum in The Domain, with free general entry across two buildings, Naala Nura and the newer Naala Badu, opened in 2022.

View details — Art Gallery of New South Wales

Attraction

6. Bondi Beach

BeachBondi

Sydney's best-known surf beach, a kilometre of sand about 7 km east of the city centre, patrolled by lifesavers and lined with cafés along Campbell Parade.

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Attraction

7. Australian Museum

Natural history museumDarlinghurst

Australia's oldest natural history museum, founded in 1827 opposite Hyde Park, with free general entry to galleries on wildlife, minerals, dinosaurs and First Nations cultures.

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Attraction

8. Hyde Park Barracks

History museum and World Heritage siteSydney CBD

A convict barracks designed by Francis Greenway and completed in 1819, now a museum and part of the UNESCO-listed Australian Convict Sites.

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Attraction

9. Museum of Contemporary Art Australia

Contemporary art museumThe Rocks

Australia's leading contemporary art museum, housed in the former Maritime Services Board building on the western side of Circular Quay.

View details — Museum of Contemporary Art Australia

Attraction

10. Australian National Maritime Museum

Maritime museumDarling Harbour

A Darling Harbour museum opened in 1991, where visitors can board a destroyer, a submarine and a replica of Captain Cook's HM Bark Endeavour.

View details — Australian National Maritime Museum