Restaurants, cafes, and harbor tours
Sydney is without doubt one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the main reasons for this are its harbour, Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The first thing you must do on arrival, even before you throw your bags on a bed and sleep off the jet lag, is get yourself down to Circular Quay, day or night. Circular Quay also provides the main walkway from the historic and commercial Rocks area to the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens beyond. It’s a great place to linger, take photographs or pause to enjoy the many bizarre street performers that come and go with the tides.
At the eastern edge of the quay, the Opera Quays façade provides many tempting, if expensive, cafés and restaurants as well as an art gallery and a cinema. After dark and on a warm summer’s evening this surely has to be one of the best places on the planet for a convivial beer or G&T. Look out for the Writers Walk, a series of plaques on the main concourse with quotes from famous Australian writers.
The Justice and Police Museum is on the corner of Albert Street and Phillip Street. Nearby, facing the quay, is the former 1840 Customs House which now houses a major public library, several exhibition spaces, café-bars and on the top floor the long established and popular Café Sydney. The ground floor – or city lounge as it is dubbed – comes complete with a newspaper and magazine salon, TV wall, internet access, information desk and a giant model of the Sydney CBD embedded beneath a glass floor.
At the southwestern corner of Circular Quay it is hard to miss the rather grand art deco Museum of Contemporary Art. A little further towards the Harbour Bridge, is the rather incongruous Cadman’s Cottage, overlooking the futuristic Overseas Passenger Terminal. Built in 1816, it is the oldest surviving residence in Sydney and was originally the former base for Governor Macquarie’s boat crew. The cottage is named after the coxswain of the boat crew, John Cadman, who was transported to Australia for stealing a horse. The cottage is now the base for the Sydney Harbour National Park Information Centre, which is the main booking office and departure point for a number of harbour and island tours.
