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Tags: Sydney Travel / Buildings / Australia Travel / Travel News / → All Tags

Sydney's Darling Harbour Gets Construction Work

Any tourist who's visited Sydney has spent time in Darling Harbour, but if you go back again in a couple of years it's going to look a little different. There's some major redevelopment going on along Darling Walk and come 2011, Sydney's hoping it will attract a bunch of extra tourists down to the harbor.

Much of the construction work will take place on the old site of Sega World, the short-lived amusement park that closed down in 2000 (after only four years of not-so-thrilling rides). The redevelopment will cost A$500m ($400m) and includes a huge bank building plus more exciting stuff like retail shops, cafés, a water play area and a children's theater.

According to the local Planning Minister, the new design connects this part of the harbor to the city much better and they hope this will help bring more tourists and locals down to Darling Harbour. We think it's usually too busy as it is, so we're not sure if we're for or against this development, but it's only two years until we'll be able to find out.

Related Stories:
· $500m Project to Transform Sydney Site [The West]
· Sydney Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: Chewy Chua]

Tags: Sydney Travel / Heritage List / Amusement Parks / → All Tags

Sydney Saves More Sightseeing Spots Forever

Mention Sydney and everybody can think of the Sydney Opera House or the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but in fact for those who've spent any time in Australia's largest city, there are dozens of other iconic places that say "Sydney" just as loudly.

Three of these are about to be listed on the city's heritage register, which will mean that they can't be extended or demolished or get "unsympathetic renovations". Our favorite of the three is the Luna Park theme park on the other side of the bridge, but the Queen Victoria Building (cool old building, great place to shop) and the Sydney Town Hall (a handy meeting point) also deserve their new status.

This is all good news for us tourists, we figure, because more of Sydney's high points will definitely be there whether we show up this year or not for a decade. Nice to see a government doing something we actually like.

Related Stories:
· Sydney Icons on Heritage List [The West]
· Sydney Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: Predrag Bubalo]

Tags: New South Wales Field Trip / Art Galleries / Museums / → All Tags

Cat Skeletons And Funky Art

Our very own Aussie, Amanda Kendle, just returned from a trip to New South Wales, where the summer fun is in full swing.

Since Sydney is the biggest city Down Under, it's no surprise that it's a damn good place to get cultural. Yet after half a dozen visits, our latest trip was the first time we ended up in a couple of museums.

We started out at the Australian Museum up near Hyde Park, which sounded like it should sum up the whole country in one small-ish building. It didn't, as it's instead one of those natural history places full of stuffed animals that we used to love as kids. The exhibits are modern and there are tons of those weird Aussie animals, plus a cute display of typical living room skeletons--including this cat skeleton which impressed us no end.

At the other end of town, in the Rocks area, we checked out the Museum of Contemporary Art in a gorgeous old building recently saved from demolition. There are five floors of galleries including some video installations and a floor of their newest acquisitions. Development plans mean the MCA will get a new wing and huge renos by 2011. Yay for more funky culture, we say.

Related Stories:
· Museum of Contemporary Art [Official Site]
· Australian Museum [Official Site]
· New South Wales Field Trip [Jaunted]
· Sydney Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Laptop Travel / Australia Travel / Visas / Jobs / Working Holidays / → All Tags

Hip Cities Like Sydney Want Friends on MySpace

Cities have MySpace pages now? Who knew? Turns out that Sydney has got its own MySpace haunt because they want to persuade young Americans to head Down Under to boost the Aussie economy rather than helping out their own. Well, that's just our interpretation.

Now that US citizens aged 18 to 30 can get a working holiday visa for Australia, Sydney reckons it's got the goods to attract people: Surf and sand, plenty of jobs, good nightlife and decent places to study if you're so inclined.

Sydney--at least its MySpace version--doesn't have too many friends yet, and it has even fewer comments on its forum questions. But don't let that be an indication of whether this city is actually friend-worthy. Just because we think Melbourne's better doesn't mean you can't add Sydney as a friend: Melbourne isn't even cool enough to have a MySpace page yet.

Related Stories:
· MySpace Sydney [Official Site]
· Wanna Work and Play Down Under? [Jaunted]
· Melbourne IS Better Than Sydney [Jaunted]

Tags: Aquariums / Sharks / Australia Travel / → All Tags

Safely Seeing Sharks in Sydney

We're not recommending that you get really close to a shark, but a new ride at the Sydney Aquarium seems like a good way to try it without feeling too threatened. The Shark Explorer is a glass-bottomed boat which takes you on a journey over the surface of the Aquarium's Great Barrier Reef exhibition, with a perfect view of all the marine life below.

The ride costs an extra A$10 on your entrance cost, and only lasts ten minutes, but it's a lot cheaper than heading up to the Great Barrier Reef yourself. And with ten or so sharks swimming around underneath you, this is a good place to get close up to sharks that are around the same size as your boat. Just don't be tempted to jump in with them: They're probably not as friendly as other Australians.

Related Stories:
· Sydney Aquarium Opens New Reef Ride [Jamble]
· Sydney Aquarium [Official Site]
· Sharks coverage [Jaunted]
· Sydney Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Simont]

Tags: Sydney Tower / Australia Travel / New Year's Eve / → All Tags

Party (Not Too Hard) Above Sydney on NYE

For those planning to spend the coming New Year's Eve Down Under, one of the best spots for watching the Sydney Harbour fireworks will be on top of the Sydney Tower, high above the ground.

There are several packages available for revelers who want to get high above Sydney: You can get tickets for the Observation Deck at the tower itself, or head up to the Skywalk, made up of glass-floored platforms suspended over the city. A local radio station will broadcast live from the deck and play the fireworks soundtrack up there, too.

Tickets include an OzTrek virtual reality ride plus a glass of sparkling wine or soft drink, but you'd better stop at one sparkling wine: Party-goers heading out to the Skywalk will have to pass an alcohol test (and measure below 0.05%) before they can hang out above Sydney.

Related Stories:
· Skywalk [Official Site]
· Tuesdays are Terrific at the Sydney Tower [Jaunted]
· New Year's Down Under [Jaunted]

[Photo: Peter Konnecke]

Tags: Tourist Scams / Bondi Beach / Chinese Tourists / → All Tags

Bondi At $100 A Snap

The Chinese are just starting to get out and discover the world in droves, but a few of them will be thinking twice before heading back to Australia. Down Under might normally be seen as some kind of holiday paradise, but a few unscrupulous tourist operators have really been taking advantage of Chinese tourists' inexperience and poor English skills, with a few really sad scams taking place.

The worst of these is when the Chinese tourists are told there's an entry fee for Bondi Beach--they have to pay $100 to have their photo taken there. The same story is repeated outside Sydney Opera House, though surely the Chinese must wonder about how other tourists just seem to wander up and take a picture without handing anyone any cash. The Australian government is trying to crack down on the scammers. Next they'll be charging for sunlight or blue skies.

Related Stories:
· Bondi Beach Hotels [HotelChatter]
· Chinese Pay $100 To Go For A Walk At Bondi Beach [SMH]

[Photo: rmcarrier1]

Tags: Sydney / Tourist Attractions / Sydney Tower / → All Tags

Tuesdays Are Terrific At The Sydney Tower

The crown of Sydney, the 305-meter Sydney Tower, is doing everything it can to attract visitors. When it opened in 1981 it was the fourth tallest building in the world; these days that status is long lost and it's finding other strengths.

Take the Sydney Skywalk that opened in 2005--you can strap on a harness, head out onto a moving, glass-floored viewing platform and see Sydney literally beneath you. The walk "over" Sydney takes an hour and a half.

And if you get your timing right, you can take up Sydney Tower's Travellers' Tuesdays deal. You can get views from the observation deck, dinner and a drink, and a ride in OzTrek, the virtual tour of Australia. You'll need that if the weather's too foggy to see anything.

Related Stories:
· Sydney Travel [Jaunted]
· Hotels in Sydney [HotelChatter]
· Sydney Tower [Official Site]

[Photo: a06987]