Sydney: discover the charming city and its historical highlights
Tall buildings rise above the yellow sand of Sydney's beaches. Waves roll in while the old and the new stand side by side. The city curves around a wide bay plus holds people from many lands. Old stone and brick places still speak of earlier days - yet the city looks ahead.
The Rocks, the first part of Sydney ever built, keeps its stone lanes but also old pubs. Paddington keeps rows of small Victorian houses. Both areas have tiny side streets and quiet coffee shops where visitors walk as well as learn how Australia changed over time.
Any visit must include the white sails of the Sydney Opera House and the steel arch of the Harbour Bridge. One building shows bold art - the other shows bold engineering. Both shapes define the city.
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Museums guard the past or spark new thought. The Museum of Contemporary Art hangs fresh works by Australian painters, sculptors and video makers. The Australian Museum displays fossils, minerals besides Aboriginal tools also stories. Each place keeps items safe and invites people of every age to look next to ask questions.
Each year the Sydney Film Festival screens films from every continent. During Vivid Sydney, light sculptures and projections turn buildings into colour. Both events draw artists plus crowds and prove the city lives for art.
Even in the busy centre, green space waits. The Royal Botanic Gardens sit on a slope above the water but also grow plants found nowhere else. Hyde Park or Centennial Park give lawns, ponds and shade where people picnic, jog or meet friends.
Food in Sydney tastes of the world. The fish market sells tuna, prawns as well as oysters straight from the boats. Restaurants along Circular Quay next to The Rocks serve dishes that mix local produce with spices and recipes from Asia, Europe or the Middle East. Fort Denison, a small sandstone island in the harbour, holds a restaurant inside an old fort - diners eat while surrounded by walls built in the 1850s.
Sydney shows sharp contrasts - old stone beside glass towers, bushland beside beach, street food beside fine dining. Those contrasts fix the city in every visitor's memory and sum up much of what Australia means.
