Sydney, Australia facts and trivia
Harbour Bridge, Australian Hotel, Opera House, The Rocks & more
Information and statistics on the tower, art gallery, Queen Victoria Building and other highlights of the 1580 square kilometre capital of New South Wales.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge (affectionately dubbed 'The Coathanger') requires regular paint jobs as part of its maintenance. The surface area to be painted is equal to about the surface area of 60 sports fields.
Sydney is 1580 square kilometres across – the same as London and more than double New York's 780 square kilometres. Amsterdam is 167 square kilometres, and Paris is a mere 105 square kilometres.
In 2001, Travel and Leisure Magazine voted Sydney the top city in the region, and one of the top ten cities in the world, according to both travellers and tourist industry workers.
In 1989 on the site of the Australian Hotel in Cumberland Street, The Rocks, three intriguing artefacts were found - not at all what you would expect from the remains of houses dating back to the 1820s. There was an Egyptian "ushabti" figure made around 400BC, a topaz ring inset made in the first century BC, and a Roman coin dating to 123BC. It is unclear how these pieces were brought to Australia by the 1820s.
Approximately 4.5 million people visit the Sydney Opera House each year. This is about a quarter of Australia's total population and more than twice the number of yearly visitors to America's White House.
Sydney Tower is stabilised by 56 cables each weighing seven tonnes. If these cables were laid end to end they would stretch from Sydney to Alice Springs or Sydney to New Zealand.
When it comes to variety, Sydney's Fish Markets rank as the 2nd largest in the world, boasting over 100 types of fish on the market floor daily.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales is home to The Yiribana Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Gallery, the world's largest space devoted to the permanent exhibition of Aboriginal art.
Sydney's Queen Victoria Building (or QVB) on George Street is the nation's favourite. Completely refurbished, the QVB is a shopper's dream, with over 180 shops, numerous cafes and a fantastic food hall.
MORE TRAVEL FACTS AND TRIVIA
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MORE IN AUSTRALIA
New South Wales: Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley,Port Macquarie, Sydney
Northern Territory: Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine, Litchfield, Red Centre, Uluru
Queensland: Airlie Beach, Brisbane, Bundaberg, Cape Tribulation, Daintree, Fraser Island, Gold Coast, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Whitsundays
South Australia: Outback, Woomera
Tasmania: Hobart, Outside Hobart
Victoria: Warrnambool
Western Australia: Albany,Broome, Coral Coast, Fremantle, Hutt River Province, Kalgoorlie, Kimberley, New Norcia, Nullarbor, Perth, Pilbara, Shark Bay, South West,
