The Rocks

The Rocks is the oldest part of colonial Sydney and the most atmospheric few blocks in the city. It occupies the rocky peninsula on the western side of Circular Quay, between the ferry wharves and the southern end of the Harbour Bridge, and it was here that the First Fleet came ashore in 1788 and the colony's first rough settlement grew up along the sandstone ridge. For a century it was a crowded, rowdy district of sailors, dockworkers, warehouses and pubs; in the 1970s, when much of it was slated for demolition, unions and residents fought the redevelopment with "green bans", and the heritage you see today survived because of them. Now it is a maze of laneways, stone steps, courtyards and terraces with restaurants, galleries and souvenir shops, and the best way to see it is simply to wander. Look for Cadmans Cottage, one of the oldest surviving buildings in Sydney, beside the water; Susannah Place, a row of terrace houses kept as a museum of working-class life; and the free Rocks Discovery Museum, which tells the story of the area from the Gadigal people to the present. Climb the lanes to Observatory Hill for a view of the Bridge and the harbour, and stop at one of the historic pubs — the Lord Nelson and the Hero of Waterloo both claim to be among the oldest in the city. The Rocks Markets fill the streets on weekends, from 10am to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays, with crafts, design and street food, and a smaller Friday market from 10am to 3pm concentrates on food. On the waterfront, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (general admission charged since 2025) has a terrace cafe overlooking the Opera House, and Campbells Cove and Dawes Point give the closest views of the Bridge.

To understand The Rocks, start with the people who were here first. The Gadigal people of the Eora Nation lived around these shores for tens of thousands of years, and the arrival of the British in 1788 transformed their world; the Rocks Discovery Museum and the walking tours that start in the area tell this story honestly. The colonial history is everywhere in the stone: convict-cut sandstone, narrow lanes laid out by use rather than plan, and buildings that were warehouses, boarding houses, chandlers and bond stores. In 1900, an outbreak of bubonic plague led the authorities to demolish parts of the district, and the construction of the Harbour Bridge in the 1920s cut through it again. The fact that so much survived is due to the green bans of the 1970s, when the Builders Labourers Federation, led by Jack Mundey, refused to work on demolition projects, a story commemorated in the square named after him where the markets now set up.

How to explore: give it at least two hours, ideally a weekend morning with the markets. Start at Circular Quay, walk along the waterfront past the MCA to Cadmans Cottage and Campbells Cove, then turn inland up the stairs to George Street and the market lanes. From there, climb to Observatory Hill for the view, cut through the Argyle Cut, a tunnel carved through the sandstone by convicts, and drop down to Walsh Bay and its converted wharves. Guided walking tours run daily and are worth it for the stories; there are also ghost tours at night for something different.

Eating and drinking: The Rocks is touristy in parts, but it has good pubs with history, rooftop bars with Bridge views and restaurants on the water at Circular Quay West. A drink at sunset on a terrace looking across to the Opera House is one of the simplest pleasures in Sydney. The BridgeClimb base and the start of the free bridge walk are here too, so it pairs naturally with a climb or a walk across to the north shore.