As Day 2 dawned we decided to revisit some of the major attractions of the city visited in 2020, including the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and Botanical Gardens.
We made the 25 minute walk from Darling Harbour into the Rocks area and to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. When we were in Sydney the last time we had scaled the Sydney Harbour Bridge, taking the 3.5 hour tour, which I had enjoyed enormously although Sue said it was the worst thing she had ever endured.
We had booked tickets in 2020 to visit the Pylon Lookout and Museum, which is part of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and, as we had to leave before making the visit due to COVID, they honoured our 2020 tickets. We had e-mailed them prior to our visit to check the situation and they were happy to welcome us back.
The Pylon has various boards with information about the history of how the Bridge was built and combined with the views, is definitely worth a visit.
We then walked around the harbour, past the cruise ship and the ferry terminal to the Opera House.
We had visited the Opera House in 2020 so we just had a walk around the building, and then headed to the Royal Botanical Gardens which has an entrance very close to the Opera House.
As the weather was so good, many people were in the Gardens enjoying a walk or just sitting and chilling out.
The Lion Gate Lodge pictured above with its paved courtyard surrounded by magnificent gardens can be hired for weddings and events and one can see why it would be very popular.
Upon exiting Lyon Gate you find yourself in Mrs Macquaries Road. Mrs Macquarie was the wife of Lachlan Macquarie. He was Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. She was a Scot, born in 1778, and was involved in the establishment of the colony. She was said to have taken a particular interest in the welfare of women convicts and indigenous people. At the end of her husband’s term as Governor, she returned to Scotland to live at the Macquarie Estate on the Isle of Mull.
When leaving the Botanical Gardens and walking up Mrs Macquarie Road, you come to the Art Gallery of New South Wales where the road becomes the aptly named ‘Art Gallery Road’. Further along this road is the imposing St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral.
The current St Mary’s, we understand, evolved from the fire in 1865 that destroyed the first St Mary’s. Architect William Wardell was commissioned by Archbishop John Polding to build what is Australia’s largest Cathedral building, built in the English Gothic Revival style and constructed of honey-coloured sandstone.
After our look around the Cathedral, we made our way back to Darling Harbour and the route took us through Hyde Park that sits adjacent to St Mary’s Cathedral. At one end of Hyde Park is the ANZAC Memorial and at the other end is the Archibald Memorial Fountain which was on our walking route to Darling Harbour.
The Art Deco Fountain was built following a bequest in the will of J F Archibald to commemorate the association of Australia and France in the First World War. The French sculptor was Francois-Leon Sicard and the memorial’s bronze figures were cast in France with the dedication of the memorial taking place in 1932. The statues include the mythological figures of Apollo, Diana, Pan and Theseus as well as some animals.
After much walking, we went for dinner in Darling Harbour.
Copyright: Words and photos John Cruse 2025