A colossus of engineering, the Harbour Bridge brings the pieces of Sydney together, and offers you a different perspective on the city's wide-angle drama.
You'll be hard-pressed to find a photo of Sydney Harbour Bridge without the Opera House. The two go together like koalas and cute. But the long lines of Sydney's 'coat-hanger' deserve more than just a passing glance. This feat of Oz engineering stands with a majestic yet 'gallant restraint' – a counter-weight to the showy cultural aspirations of the Opera House. This is a bridge that reaches across a mile of sea, held together by six million rivets, and which turned Sydney's separate halves into a true Harbour City. The chances are that, if you come to Sydney, you'll end up crossing the bridge at some point. It carries all manner of traffic – from cars and trains to walkers and cyclists – and is the main route to reach North Sydney's attractions, like Tarango Zoo or Manly Beach. But whisking across it on your way elsewhere isn't the same as paying it all-due respect. And as a visitor, the Harbour Bridge will welcome you with open arms. There are two separate organised tours of this, Sydney's second icon. The strenuous 1,000-step ascent up the long supporting steel arc of the bridge, and the less vertigo-inducing 200-step jaunt up to the Pylon Lookout. Take your pulse, and then take your pick. Whichever tour you take, though, you're sure to be assailed by an impressive array of stats and numbers. 52,000 tonnes of steel were used to make it. 15,000 cans of quick-drying paint are needed to paint it. It is one of the world's broadest bridges, at 160 feet wide. It is the 5th longest span-arch bridge, at just under 1.8 kilometres. And it has the tallest steel arch of any bridge in the world, towering 134 metres above water-level at its centre. In short, it is a colossus. The idea for a bridge linking the north and south shores of Sydney Harbour had been floated since the city took shape. But the bridge was only finally completed in 1932. Now it's a 365-day a year workhorse for the city. Except for one. For a few minutes, Sydney Harbour Bridge is the star of the show, hosting thousands of fireworks for the city's spectacular greeting-in of the New Year. That is the one time when all the world's eyes are on this mammoth coat-hanger, for a global 'oooh'.
