The Harbour Bridge

Any good Sydney-sider would recommend that you visit the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, Bondi Beach and the city's amazing suburbs. But there's one small detail that we all tend to overlook. Circular Quay is probably one of the most beautiful places in Sydney, and you will get plenty of photo opportunities here. While you're at it, you may see a few planes and a helicopter or two flying just right above. The best views of the city does come from up above, but rather than paying hundreds of dollars to be up in the air, or stay in one of the five-star hotels by the quay, I have what is the best kept secret to this city.

So you will see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. You will take pictures after pictures after pictures of these two beauties and you will admire them. But what if, you are on the bridge? Now that's worth a thought. This leads on to my recommendation of what to do in Sydney: get on the bridge.

There are a few ways to get on the bridge. Just before you reach The Rocks, and just a few meters past Four Seasons Hotel, you will see a set of stairwells to the left. You can take these up, and keep going until you cannot go any higher - that should be about three or four streets. Once you reach a dead end, turn right and keep walking. You will see a sports complex on your left and a bar to your right. If you're managed to follow along with my instructions until now, you should be right on Cumberland Street. That was actually the hardest part of the trip, and now you're on your way! Continue along Cumberland until you reach what is on your left a path that would lead to the Harbour Bridge. Once you see this, you can really be relieved.

The path that I mentioned leads directly onto the bridge and don't worry, you'll automatically be merged into the pedestrian walk way! This is probably the best walk you could do in the city center. I would highly recommend being on the bridge about 15 to 30 minutes before the sunset, because the sky and view will be something that words can really not describe. For the spectacular view that this is, there isn't always a lot of people witnessing this natural beauty. Other than this spot from the top of the Harbour Bridge, another place to get the best of Sydney's sunset would be in the one and only Sydney Botanical Gardens. Once you're in the gardens, just try to get to the deepest part of the park closest to the waters of the harbour. This is also the very spot where the famous event of New Years Eve countdown happens, and honestly, this is a really really good view as you will get to see the city skyline on your left hand side, then your Opera House just in front of you in the foreground, and in the background, you will get the Harbour Bridge, Milsons Point, and a little bit of Luna Park should the weather be super kind.

There are a lot of people running on the bridge so be careful and keep an eye out so that you don't get in each other's way. Other than that, it's a really good walk, even for those scared of heights. I have a small fear for heights, but I managed to complete the walk just fine. I won't go into the history and highlights of the bridge, but I will just point out two important things.

Number one, the walk is quite far, as you could judge by the length of the bridge. If you're either really tired or hungry, it'll be tough to make the return journey on the bridge. I mean, if you're mentality isn't right at the time, looking at the bridge from below is already intimidating. Lucky for you, you could hop on the train, or if you want to be more fancy, head over to the ferry stations either by Luna Park or on the other end. The ferry will take you along the harbour and to Darling Harbour! For what it's worth, the ticket for these ferries should really be priced higher since the experience of the sea, the sky, the city and the breeze is second to none.

Okay, that was quite long for number one but here's number two. The bridge also has the famous Bridge Climb in which is basically what it sounds like. It's not something for me, but if you're feeling daring and want your hearts to be pumping really fast while taking the few from the bridge to another level, you're more than welcome to join (for a cost) - check out their website at the bottom of the post for more info! Just to add on to my advertisement of this, the website has it that this is "the climb of your life".

As a Sydney-sider for almost three years, the experience of walking across the bridge during the sunset was one of my fondest memories of another place I call home. There's really no other way to describe looking back the Sydney, with the Opera House and the waters in the foreground. And if you think that the bridge is nice from ground level, you'll appreciate it way more once you're on it. They also have a little section where couples and lovers and love birds link their love for each other in a key, locked against the fence, just like of that in Paris!

I really thought that I had taken some really awesome photos of the Opera House, until I realized that I was wrong the time. The Harbour Bridge was a true game changer for me. I have been on the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly on countless occasions and have snapped shots of the Opera House during the day time, evening time, sunset period, rainy days, you name it. There's nothing like a shot you can get on the bridge, just peeking through the rusty fence separating you and the edge.

The best part of all is that his bridge walk is absolutely free and will cost you nothing but simply your energy. Another cool aspect about this bridge other than it's breathtaking view is the little section where people (most likely lovers and couples) would lock their little locks against the fence, then write down their little initials. This concept is very much like that in Paris. Although there are not as many locks on there (yet, just a matter of time), it's definitely worth a visit, and of course, as per always, an excellent idea for you photographers out there.

And once again I sincerely hope that this post has been of good use for you and those that would like to plan a visit to Sydney. It's a spectacular place and is very different to big cities over here in Europe. I especially like this very activity, since it's free, and it gives you not only great pictures but a fantastic experience that you can then go on to share with your friends, like I am doing now! And I should just leave it at that, so be sure to wear something comfy, probably not skirts since the wind might blow it in undesirable directions. While people will argue that money can buy happiness, this is a proof that happiness also comes for free!

The Harbour Bridge climb

If you like the content of this post, or just want to check out some pictures that I take on my adventure, feel free to like and/or follow me on instagram at oat93, cheers!