Sydney Opera House
Concrete shells clad in a million white tiles, set on a point in the harbour.
Duration
1 hr – 2 hrs 30 min
Best time
At sunrise
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
The Dane Jørn Utzon won the competition in 1957 with a design the jury retrieved from the rejected pile. The trouble came afterwards: nobody knew how to build those shells, and it took six years to find the solution — cutting them all from a single sphere, which allowed the segments to be prefabricated.
Budgeted at seven million Australian dollars over four years, it cost a hundred and two and took fourteen. Utzon resigned in 1966 after a political row and never came back to see the finished building. The million Swedish tiles on the roof are self-cleaning in rain.
Getting there
Bennelong Point, at Circular Quay. Train or ferry to Circular Quay, then five minutes on foot. The exterior is free at all hours.
What to bring
- Walking shoes
- Dry bag
Rules on site
The exterior and the steps are free; only interior tours are charged and booked. The best view of the whole is from Mrs Macquarie's Chair, twenty minutes on foot, or from a Manly ferry.