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Sydney's Circular Quay (pronounced "key") is the heart of many of the city's best attractions. The most obvious draw is the Opera House.
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Opera, Gardens, Bats, and Rocks November 9, 2004
Ttrealtravels2005-12-26 16:07:44
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Sydney's Circular Quay (pronounced "key") is the heart of many of the city's best attractions. The most obvious draw is the Opera House.
Justifiably world-famous, this building is an architectural wonder. The white sail-like curved sections jut into the blue-grey sky, still brilliant on a rainy day. This is one of those rare icons that still impresses in person, despite the many pictures you've seen of it.
The Dutch architect Jorn Utzon won an international competition in 1959 to design this space-age concert hall. But he quit the project seven years later due to quarrels with the government body running the constructions. Sydney still stuck with the original design, and the Opera House was completed and dedicated in 1973.
One-hour tours of the inside are available for a pricey $23AU per person, and no photos or video are allowed inside. We didn't think that was a good value, so we skipped it. Besides, the best part of this building is the outside -- and you can tour that for free!
We circled the multi-finned landmark, taking in the odd juxtaposition of curves and angles. The building seemed to be created out of great random slices of a globe reassembled. Vast triangular cups are meant to cradle sound inside while confounding eyes outside. The Sydney Opera House is a strange and futuristic beauty and a fitting symbol of this forward-looking city on the far edge of the Pacific.
Facing the Opera House is the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Opened in 1932, the bridge is an Art Deco marvel -- the 19th century's idea of space age. Two sleek pylons hold up the curved coat-hanger span. Intrepid (or perhaps insane?) climbers walk up the top of the bridge for an unparalleled view. You couldn't pay me enough to do that myself!
On the other side of the Opera House is the Royal Botanic Garden. This vast grassy
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See photographs from:
Australia Gallery
