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Travel destination: Tour of the Opera House, Sydney, Australia

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

Sydney Opera house is located on the eastern headland of Circular Quay just a few minutes from the train station. It is made up of 1,056,000 Swedish tiles on the roof, which are off white and are self-cleaning. Construction began in 1959 after a Danish architect Jorn Utzon won an international design competition for the $7 million building. In 1966 Utzon quit after political interference leaving Australian architects to design the interior costing $102million. He has never seen the building completed. Utzon who is now in his eighties has announced to refurbish the interior and he has high hopes that it will be full of colour rather than a black hole. His son comes to Australia to oversee any developments. It was finally was completed against all odds and after several disagreements in 1973. It now is one of the busiest performing arts centres in the world with different plays being shown all the time. There is always something new happening at the Opera house. It is an icon of Australia!

To view the outside of the Opera House is free. You can walk around it at Circular Quay and up to it and into the reception and shop for free. If you want to see the interior there is a tour you can take. The best views are early in the morning during the week as there is fewer tourists, in fact some mornings there may be only a handful of people or no-one at all.

You can view the Opera house from several different locations:

The Rocks has a great view especially when the sun it setting as you can view the Opera House from the side. It is also free, you can have some lunch in one of the cafes overlooking the Opera House. There is an observation deck here where there is lots of restaurants, which you can walk up to and get an elevated view.

Taking the boat to Manly cost $12.80 and is cheaper than a cruise. You will get to see the same views of the Opera House only with fewer tourists and at a fraction of the cost. This will give you a 270-degree view of the building and walking around it you can see the rest. You will have the added bonus of being able to see the Harbour Bridge and you can get a photograph of both the bridge and Opera House together.

Personally I didn't get the boat from Parammatta but this is another cheaper option to see it. The boat journey will take you under the bridge. It is a longer journey to do. The reason why I chose to go to Manly as it has a lovely beach to see once you get to the other side.

If you go for


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Travel destination: Tour of the Opera House, Sydney, Australia

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    by Denise Kelly

    SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Sydney Opera house is located on the eastern headland of Circular Quay just a few minutes from ... read more

  • 2 of 2

    by Norman A. Rubin

    If we were to consider the eight wonders of the modern world I would nominate the Sydney Opera House, situated on Syd... read more

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