Hyde Park
Once a racecourse, cricket ground, and Aboriginal gathering place — Australia's oldest public park has been many things, and the fig trees have watched all of it.
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In continuous public use since 1810, this 16-hectare rectangle anchors the CBD while connecting south-to-north to Sydney Harbour through The Domain and the Royal Botanic Garden. The surrounding ring of institutions — Hyde Park Barracks, St Mary's Cathedral, the Australian Museum — makes one lap surprisingly rich.
What to look for
- The fig-lined avenues — around 580 trees in total, with the signature figs arching over the main paths
- Sandringham Gardens on the eastern side, near the corner of Park Street and College Street
- The northern boundary buildings: Hyde Park Barracks and St James Church, both visible from inside the park
Park Street splits the park east-west into two distinct halves — walk both; the southern end is squared off, the northern end rounded.
Hyde Park is one of 23 sights worth the detour in Sydney, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Sydney pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Sydney
- Sydney Opera HouseJørn Utzon won the design competition in 1957, directed construction, then resigned before it ever opened — Queen Elizabeth II cut the ribbon on 20 October 1973.
- Sydney Harbour BridgeWalk the arch of the world's tallest steel bridge — nicknamed "the Coathanger" — with Sydney Harbour spread out below you and the arch top rising 134 m above the water.
- Accor StadiumBuilt in 1999 for A$690 million, this was the largest Olympic stadium ever constructed — originally squeezing in 115,000 people.
- Sydney Tower EyeAt 309 m above the CBD, this is the highest observation deck in the Southern Hemisphere by deck elevation — clearing Auckland's Sky Tower by nearly 30 m.
- Australian MuseumThe world's fifth oldest natural history museum has been in Sydney since 1827 — older than the colony could really afford it.
- Taronga ZooFive thousand animals on the Mosman shore — and the Sydney skyline watches from across the water.