Unique Sydney: the Rocks

Located across the harbour from the Sydney Opera House and adjacent to Circular Quay, the city's transport hub, today’s The Rocks is a popular tourist area of museums, cobbled streets, picturesque buildings, charming shops and a lively nightlife and dining scene. Forming one side of Sydney Cove, the Rocks stretches down from Circular Quay to Dawes Point under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Here on George Street you can find Sydney's oldest house - Cadman's Cottage that dates from around 1816. Once the home of John Cadman, it's now the National Park Information Centre. In fact, George Street, the main Rocks thoroughfare, is the oldest street in the whole of Australia. It’s home to such interesting places as the Billich Gallery, the Old Police Station, the union Bond Store, the Vault Restaurant and the nearby Art Deco-styled Museum of Contemporary Art.

There's much to see and do in The Rocks and the best place to start is The Rocks Discovery Museum.

Located in a restored 1850s sandstone warehouse, the Rocks Discovery Museum displays the story of The Rocks from the times before the settlers arrived all the way up to the present day.

These displays take the form of images and locally-found artefacts. The collection is interactive with history being brought to immediate life through the use of touch screens, and audio and visual presentations. You'll learn the complete history of The Rocks including how life was for the hardy pioneers - the convicts, sailors, whalers and traders who forged this land into the great city of Sydney.

For the more energetic and those with a taste for Australia's famous brews, there's The Rocks Pub Tour. This early evening event involves a crawl around some of the area's historic watering holes in the capable hands of a knowledgeable guide to bring history alive. The Rocks Pub Tour runs from 5.00pm to 6.45pm. and is a great way to explore the back streets of The Rocks and sample the lore and legend of some of Sydney’s best old pubs. It makes the perfect prelude to dinner or a start to a night on the town. Tours leave daily except public holidays from in front of Cadman’s Cottage.

A major landmark in The Rocks and one with superb Harbour views is the Sydney Observatory in the hillside Observatory Park. It houses the Museum of Astronomy and Public Observatory. The park is a great spot for a picnic under the trees.

The Rocks is also a great shopping spot especially for gifts, Australian souvenirs, fashions, Aboriginal art, and duty-free. George Street, Nurses Walk, the Argyle Centre and Playfair Street, are the best shopping areas.

So go and make The Rocks a part of your Sydney holiday and if you want to stay awhile, you'll find The Rocks is also home to some of Sydney's finest hotels such as the Park Hyatt, Orient, Glenmore, Observer, Mercantile, the Shangri La Hotel Sydney and the Russell Hotel Sydney.