10 Best Sights in Sydney, New South Wales

Apart from Canberra's National Gallery, this is the best place to explore the evolution of European-influenced Australian art, as well as the distinctly different concepts that underlie Aboriginal art. All the major Australian artists of the last two centuries are represented in this impressive collection. The entrance level, where large windows frame spectacular views of the harbor, exhibits 20th-century art. Below, in the gallery's major extensions, the Yiribana Gallery displays one of the nation's most comprehensive collections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. There are monthly free audio tours and free talks.

These gates are all that remain of the Garden Palace, a massive glass pavilion that was erected for the Sydney International Exhibition of 1879 and destroyed by fire three years later. On the arch above the gates is a depiction of the Garden Palace's dome. Stone pillars on either side of the gates are engraved with Australian wildflowers.

Before Governor Macquarie arrived, convicts were left to roam freely at night. Macquarie was determined to establish law and order, and in 1819 he commissioned convict-architect Francis Greenway to design this restrained, classically Georgian-style building. Today the Barracks houses compelling exhibits that explore behind the scenes of the prison. For example, a surprising number of relics from this period were preserved by rats, which carried away scraps of clothing and other artifacts for their nests beneath the floorboards. A room on the top floor is strung with hammocks, exactly as it was when the building housed convicts. The barracks are part of the Sydney Living Museums collection of 12 historic buildings.

This museum built on the site of the original Government House documents Sydney's early period of European colonization. Aboriginal culture, convict society, and the gradual transformation of the settlement at Sydney Cove are woven into an evocative portrayal of life in the country's early days. A glass floor in the lobby reveals the foundations of the original structure. One of the most intriguing exhibits, however, is outside (and free): the striking Edge of the Trees sculpture, where Koori (Aboriginal) voices recite Sydney place-names as you walk around and through the collection of 29 wood, iron, and sandstone pillars.

Found on the top floor of the Australian Museum, this hidden gem offers incredible sweeping views of Sydney's cityscape and harbor, as well as a lengthy wine list and a wide menu ranging from simple sandwiches and salads to a hearty lamb ragout.

Begun in 1819, the colonial Georgian–style St. James' is the oldest surviving church in the city of Sydney, and another fine Francis Greenway design. Now lost among the skyscrapers, the church's tall spire once served as a landmark for ships entering the harbor. Plaques commemorating Australian explorers and administrators cover the interior walls. Half-hour lunchtime concerts are presented every Wednesday from late February to late December at 1:15.

This large complex is based around the Mitchell and Dixson libraries, which make up the world's largest collection of Australiana. Enter the foyer through the classical portico to see one of the earliest maps of Australia, a copy in marble mosaic of a map made by Abel Tasman, the Dutch navigator, in the mid-17th century. Through the glass doors lies the vast Mitchell Library reading room, but you need a reader's ticket (establishing that you are pursuing legitimate research) to enter. You can, however, take a free escorted history and heritage tour weekdays at 10:30 am. The library continuously runs free exhibitions, and the opulent Shakespeare Room is open to the public Tuesday 10–4.

The simple facade and shady verandas of this Greenway-designed 1816 building, formerly the Rum Hospital, typify Australian colonial architecture. From 1829, two rooms of the old hospital were used for meetings of the executive and legislative councils, which had been set up to advise the governor. These advisory bodies grew in power until New South Wales became self-governing in the 1840s, at which time Parliament occupied the entire building.

State Parliament generally sits between mid-February and late May, and again between mid-September and late November. You can visit the public gallery and watch democracy in action. When parliament is not sitting, you can take a free escorted tour (they are conducted on the first Thursday of the month at 1 pm) or walk around at your leisure. You must reserve ahead for tours and to sit in the public gallery.

Providing artistic development for talented young musicians, this institution hosts lunchtime concerts (entry by small donation) and free student performances throughout the year and other musical events. Guided tours take place every Wednesday at 11 am and 2 pm and Saturday at 10 am and 1 pm, with tickets to be purchased online or by phone in advance (A$25). The conservatory's turreted building was originally the stables for nearby Government House. The construction cost caused a storm among Governor Macquarie's superiors in London, and eventually helped bring about the downfall of both Macquarie and the building's architect, Francis Greenway.

Completed in 1894 to replace the main Rum Hospital building, which had stood on the site since 1811, this institution provided an infinitely better medical option. By all accounts, admission to the Rum Hospital was only slightly preferable to death itself. Convict nurses stole patients' food, and abler patients stole from the weaker. The kitchen sometimes doubled as a mortuary, and the table was occasionally used for operations.

In front of the hospital is a bronze figure of a boar. This is Il Porcellino, a copy of a statue that stands in Florence, Italy. According to the inscription, if you make a donation in the coin box and rub the boar's nose, "you will be endowed with good luck." Sydney citizens seem to be a superstitious bunch, because the boar's nose is very shiny indeed.