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Darling Harbour, Sydney

4.4
#1 of 39 in Neighborhoods in Australia
Neighborhood Tourist Spot
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A harbor within the giant Sydney Harbour, Darling Harbour buzzes with activity right next to downtown Sydney. Shopping centers, museums, entertainment centers, restaurants, the largest IMAX in the Southern Hemisphere, Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum, the Sydney Aquarium--the list goes on and on. You can head from attraction to attraction and then stay for dinner, or just stop in, snap a few photos, and people-watch from a cafe. For travelers who use our international travel planner, Sydney holidays become easier to arrange, with trips to the Darling Harbour and other attractions mapped out and timetabled.
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31 days in Australia BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES December, outdoors, popular PREFERENCES: December, outdoors ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 9 days in Australia BY A USER FROM SINGAPORE September, popular PREFERENCES: September ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 8 days in Australia BY A USER FROM THAILAND August, culture, beaches, historic sites, shopping, popular & hidden gems PREFERENCES: August, culture, beaches, historic sites, shopping ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular & hidden gems PACE: Medium 9 days in Australia BY A USER FROM THAILAND August, outdoors, beaches, historic sites, shopping, popular & hidden gems PREFERENCES: August, outdoors, beaches, historic sites, shopping ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular & hidden gems PACE: Medium 17 days in Melbourne, Gold Coast & Sydney BY A USER FROM INDIA October, popular PREFERENCES: October ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 9 days in Australia BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES September, popular PREFERENCES: September ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 6 days in Sydney BY A USER FROM PHILIPPINES August, popular PREFERENCES: August ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 15 days in Australia BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES June, popular PREFERENCES: June ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 15 days in Australia BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES June, popular PREFERENCES: June ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 15 days in Australia BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES June, popular PREFERENCES: June ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 3 days in Sydney BY A USER FROM CANADA September, popular PREFERENCES: September ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 22 days in New Zealand & Australia BY A USER FROM BRAZIL September, culture, outdoors, relaxing, beaches, historic sites, museums, popular & hidden gems PREFERENCES: September, culture, outdoors, relaxing, beaches, historic sites, museums ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular & hidden gems PACE: Medium
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Where to stay in Sydney

Sydney offers visitors hundreds of lodging options in its central area, with choices suitable for most budgets. As expected in a major tourist destination, harbor views play a major role in determining room prices. Expect to pay more for ocean-view suites, especially if you visit at the peak of the tourist season or around big city events. If you don't need to stay in the center of Sydney, consider budget-friendly hotels near the airport, or look for smaller roadside motels in the city's South West neighborhood.
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4.5
  • Spent a lot of time in Darling, had a couple of beers during the day and looked around. Saw some of the street performers who are awesome. But if you'd like to get blown away go at night. Went for din...  more »
  • I brought my guests from China to visit here. We rode on water taxi from Opera House to Darling Harbour. So much to see and do here, and I'm happy that my guest enjoyed their tour here at Darling Harb...  more »
  • We spent our day at Darling Harbor visiting permanent exhibits and shopping in the distinctive shops. Quite a fun day!!  more »
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  • It's the more photogenic side of Sydney city. Circular Quay has the opera house and the bridge but Darling Harbour lets you see the city in all its glory especially in the late afternoon sunset. Lots of places to eat and drink and some great entertainment options await you with some semi-decent shopping in Harbourside.
  • A crazy amount of restaurants and bars to choose from. Amazing during Vivid Festival. Easy access to the light rail, water taxis and the city - plus plenty of accommodation A+++
  • It's a great place to walk around and take in the skyline. Great tourist destination with the maritime museum, wildlife world, aquarium, nice restaurants and shops. Although admittedly the shops are very tourism centric and not necessarily cheap.
  • Pleasant place to wander and lots of choice when it comes to eating and drinking. Love the areas to sit and relax on a nice day. The fire and smoke show for Vivid was impressive but loud - don't stand near the speakers.
  • Beautiful but a bit crowded. Shops are a bit touristy and the IMAX is closed for renovations. The plans seem really fancy so I'll come back and edit this once they are up. It's mostly about seeing the harbour. Recommend checking out the Chinese gardens.
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