Sydney Bridge +city tour – Gregg + Karen 22.07.26

The Sydney Bridge +city tour on a trike, was a fun experience for the tourists to our beautiful Emerald City. Our trike rider picked them up from their hotel in Darling Harbour and showed them the sights.

Darling Harbour

For more than 7,000 years Darling Harbour was a frontier; a boundary between the Wangal and Gadigal clans of the coastal Eora people. There is so much history between then and now. 1788 the Europeans arrived and developed the area. In 1984 the premier of NSW, Neville Wran, announced the Government’s decision to redevelop Darling Harbour and “return it to the people of Sydney” in time for Australia’s 1988 bicentennial celebrations.

It was a white elephant before the redevelopment. Now, the Darling Harbour precinct is home to a number of major public facilities and attractions. The Darling Harbour Woodward Water Feature (officially named Tidal Cascade) is a heritage-listed water fountain. Worth a visit!

Chinatown

Firstly, they rode past Chinatown. Sydney isn’t the only global city with a Chinatown, but this one is bigger, better and boasts more than most thanks to the Chinese immigrants who started arriving in the 1800s. Dixon Street is the main street for Chinatown, with many shops and Chinese restaurants in a pedestrian-only street. In the 1980s business owners raised funds for the ceremonial Chinese archways found at the entrance.

Sydney CBD

Secondly, through the Sydney CBD which stands for the Central Business District. It refers to the historical and main commercial downtown area of the city, generally stretching from Circular Quay and Barangaroo in the north down to Central Station in the south, and from the harbour across to Darling Harbour. We locals often refer to this area simply as “The City” or “Town”.

Hyde Park

Past Australia’s oldest park is also one of its most well-known. Hyde Park offers 16 hectares of wide open space in the heart of central Sydney. The passengers have seen so much on the Sydney Bridge +city tour.

Australian Museum (AM)

They turned into College St and rode past the Australian Museum (AM) on the right, Hyde Park on the left. It is the nation’s first museum and one of its most significant cultural and scientific institutions. Located opposite Hyde Park in Sydney, the AM holds more than 22 million specimens and objects spanning the natural sciences, mineralogy and cultural collections, and is one of the largest and most diverse collections in the Southern Hemisphere.

St Mary’s Cathedral

They rode along William St and past St Mary’s Cathedral which is very impressive, even when riding past. It’s a Gothic Revival architectural building which opened in 1928. It took from 1866 to 1928 to build and has a height of 75m.

Art Gallery of NSW

Further on they turned left, along Mrs Macquaries Road. The Art Gallery of NSW has beautiful historic sandstone buildings which were built between 1896 and 1909. The Art Gallery of New South Wales began without a collection and without a building on 24 April 1871 when a group of 30 art-loving citizens established a society to support artists and promote knowledge and enjoyment of art in the wider community. In 1874 they secured government support for their project and by 1880 they had their own dedicated building, the first of its kind in Australia.

Mrs Macquaries Chair / Point

This leads to Mrs Macquaries Point. This peninsula was named in 1810 after Elizabeth, Governor Macquarie’s wife, who ordered a seat to be chiselled into the rock from which she could view the harbour. Mrs Macquaries Chair, as it’s known, is still there today. It’s in the Domain but is effectively an extension of the Botanic Gardens. See photo below.

Macquarie Street

After finishing that loop road, they rode down Macquarie St. This street, is the location of the main governmental institutions of NSW: Parliament House, Government House, and the Law Courts Building (which houses the Supreme Court of New South Wales). There is so much history behind Macquarie St. and the buildings that front it.

In the years since its founding in 1788, Sydney had developed organically, and by the early 1800s was lacking in major public buildings, and had a complex network of narrow streets. The supply of drinking water and waste management was also becoming an issue. Governor Macquarie initiated the construction of Sydney’s first public buildings of any real permanence and set the boundaries of Sydney’s grid of streets, laying out the street in 1810.

Mitchell Library

Next, it was past the Mitchell Library. The Australian Subscription Library, established in 1826, was renamed as the Australian Library and Literary Institution in 1853. In 1869 the NSW Government purchased the collection and building to form the Sydney Free Public Library, the first truly public library for the people of NSW. Free Public Library was renamed in 1895 as the Public Library of NSW. In 1907 David Scott Mitchell bequeathed his collection to the NSW government and the Mitchell Library, built to hold the extensive collection, opened in 1910.

1975 saw the Library renamed as the State Library of NSW. We all still call it the Mitchell Library!

Sydney Opera House

Riding past the iconic Sydney Opera House shows a different view. We can’t ride close but you can see it from a different angle to the usual. The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, but completed by an Australian architectural team headed by Peter Hall, the building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973. See photo above.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

At last, they rode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We always tell our passengers to look up and enjoy the unique view. The more than 6,000,000 rivets are so interesting and the arch is so iconic. It’s nicknamed ‘The Coathanger’ because of its arch-based design. It is the largest steel arch bridge in the world. This bridge is the eighth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 m (440 ft) from top to water level. It was also the world’s widest long-span bridge, at 48.8 m (160 ft) wide, until a bridge in Canada was completed in 2012.

McMahons Point / Blues Point Reserve

Turning left, they rode on through Milsons Point and rode up a few streets. This leads to Blues Point Reserve. The views over Blues Bay towards the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the CBD are just stunning. The Sydney Bridge +city tour has shown our passengers some major Sydney icons.

Kirribilli

Lastly, they headed east, where the rider took them through the back streets and into Kirribilli, to the Prime Minister‘s residence and Admiralty House. Kirribilli House is the secondary official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia.

Next door is Admiralty House. It is the Sydney residence of the Governor-General and one of the most historic and important residences on Sydney Harbour. The house – originally called ‘Wotonga’ – was built in the mid 1800’s.

After that, they rode around the corner to Jeffrey Street Wharf. From here, the views across Sydney Harbour towards the Sydney Opera House and the CBD are magnificent. In addition, it also has an up-close view of the side and underneath of the bridge. What a great view of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge!

The Kirribilli Loop – Harbour Bridge north side

From there, they rode under the north side of the bridge and continued on their tour. The underside of the northern end of the SHB – Sydney Harbour Bridge – is very interesting. The Kirribilli Loop was finished by riding past Luna Park and the North Sydney Olympic Pool. The rider dropped the passengers off here so they could continue to explore the area. Then they were either going to walk back over the SHB or catch a ferry.

In conclusion, the Sydney Bridge +city tour on a trike, was a fun and memorable experience to do.

Feel the Freedom!

Check out a description of the tour here. Don’t forget every tour is unique so may not be exactly as stated but you will always see the icons mentioned.

or just email trevor@trolltours.com.au and tell us what you would like to do.