Harbour Bridge
A five-hundred-metre steel arch you can walk across, free, on a footway.
Duration
1 hr – 2 hrs
Difficulty
●●●●●
Best time
Late afternoon
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
The bridge opened in 1932 after eight years of work, in the middle of the Depression: it was a major public works programme as much as a piece of infrastructure. Its arch spans five hundred and three metres and Sydneysiders call it the coathanger.
You can climb it to the top of the arch, roped and for a high price. But a pedestrian walkway crosses it free along its whole length, on the eastern side, and the south-east pylon holds a museum with a terrace at eighty-seven metres — for a fraction of the climb's price, and almost the same view.
Getting there
Pedestrian access by stairs from Cumberland Street in The Rocks, or from Milsons Point on the north side.
What to bring
- Walking shoes
- Helmet
- Sportswear
Rules on site
The walkway is free and already gives the full view: BridgeClimb costs hundreds of dollars and bans you from carrying a camera. The walkway is on the east side; the west side is for bikes.