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Photo: Mitch Ames, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This park area has magnificent views of the harbour.
Mrs Macquarie's Chair is an exposed sandstone rock cut into the shape of a bench, on a peninsula in Sydney Harbour. It was hand carved by convicts in 1810, for Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales. The peninsula itself was known to the Gadigal as Yurong Point, and is now widely known as Mrs Macquarie's Point, and is part of The Domain, near the Royal Botanic Gardens.
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A stately home in the Botanic Gardens. The official residence of the Governor of New South Wales (the state's representative for the British Monarch). Open to the public Fridays & weekends.
This world heritage listed icon on the harbour is one of Sydney's most beautiful and unusual buildings; its sail-shaped structure, designed by Jørn Utzon, is world famous, and it is the only structure in the world to have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site during the lifetime of its architect. The Opera House hosts most of Sydney's major classical music and opera events. You can walk all around the building and some of the foyer areas free of charge. Guided tours of the inside are available for $28, leave every 30 minutes and take about an hour. Some tours are run in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. Depending on ongoing rehearsals or performances, not all parts may be visited.
One of Sydney's greatest assets, from in front of the State Art Gallery, out to Mrs Macquaries chair, across to Farm Cove and onto the Sydney Opera House. The Gardens back onto the historic Sydney Hospital and Parliament House. This is the oldest scientific institution in the country and home to an outstanding collection of plants from Australia and overseas. The Domain surrounds the Royal Botanic Gardens. The walk along the harbour's edge (Farm Cove) from the Opera House (Queen Elizabeth II gate) to Mrs Macquarie's Chair (Yurong Gate) is for many the epitome of a Sydney experience. The Gardens have an example of the Wollemi Pine, raised from a seed collected from a handful of trees discovered in the wilderness and unchanged since the dinosaurs. A tropical pyramid holds examples of tropical vegetation in a controlled humidity atmosphere. See the rose garden, herb garden and succulent section. The collection has many varieties of Australian plants and grasses. During the summer months there are often open air night time film screenings inside the Botanic Gardens, entry charges normally apply to those screenings.
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic 20th-century buildings in the world. Inaugurated in 1973, the Sydney Opera House also has dedicated theatres for drama including the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse, and The Studio. Student rush tickets are often available for the current day's performances, only at the box office at the Opera House (usually these are single tickets, spread around the theatre).
A walk around the Royal Botanic Garden with an Aboriginal guide who will tell you about native plants that have been used by Aboriginal Australians for generations, as food, medicine, and tools. You can sample a few on the way, including fruits and herbs. Book in advance.
Built as a police station to Court in 1856, and closed in 1886, the museum has now been restored to its 1890s facade displaying its theme of crime and punishment.