15 Interesting Facts about Sydney

While you’re sky high over Sydney, you’re looking down, taking in the city’s big picture. But when you zone in on the little details and characteristics, you’ll discover a different side of Sydney. With its incredible history and stories, there’s a lot you don’t know about Sydney; here are some out-of-the-ordinary facts to help you get to know the city.

1. Affectionately known as ‘The Coat Hanger’ by local Sydneysiders, the unmistakably shaped Harbour Bridge is the widest long-span bridge and tallest steel arch bridge in the world.
2. While we’re talking Sydney icons, spare a thought for the bright sparks who have to change 15,500 light bulbs inside the Sydney Opera House every year.
3. Sydney is no small fry; this sprawling city measures a whopping 1,580 square kilometres across. That’s more than two times the 780 square kilometres of The Big Apple.
4. The endless beautiful blue water that makes Sydney so superb is the world’s deepest natural harbour. It holds a colossal 504,000 megalitres of water.
5. The Sydney Ferries you can see darting around the harbour have been operating since 1875. These iconic heroes of water transport carry over 14 million passengers each year.
6. The Opera House isn’t just a pretty and famous face. Home to the dynamic performances of Opera Australia, it holds the title of the world’s 3rd-busiest opera company. That’s a whole lot of lah-lah-lah!
7. On the day it opened in 1981, Sydney Tower was Australia’s tallest structure. At 309 metres tall, it’s not only the tallest building in Sydney, but it’s also the second tallest observation tower in the southern hemisphere.
8. Something you can’t see from up there is the incredible depth and diversity of languages in Sydney; there are over 250 languages spoken here. English, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Greek and Vietnamese are the most widely spoken.
9. This city is known for its surf, sand and sea. Boasting over 100 beaches, there’s a sandy spot for all. This beachside lifestyle plays a huge part in Sydney’s laid-back culture.
10. If you think there’s something fishy about Sydney, you’re right! The Sydney Fish Market is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere; it’s also the 3rd largest fish market in the world.
11. The tiny Sydney suburb of Point Piper is the city’s most exclusive and expensive spot. With some of the most sought after real estate in the world, this little place is no small fry.
12. The original Aboriginal inhabitants of the Sydney region are the Gadigal people. Their territory takes in the southern side of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), from South Head to the suburb of Petersham.
13. The other global cities that share a similar latitude to Sydney are Cape Town in South Africa, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Casablanca in Morocco, Los Angeles in the USA and Beirut in Lebanon.
14. That street you can see, snaking across from The Rocks to Central Station, is George Street. As the country’s oldest road, this is the original high street.
15. Those mountains you can see in the distance are the Blue Mountains. They get their colourful name from the eucalypt forests whose leaves discharge a fine mist of eucalyptus oil which creates a blue haze. This region was made a UNESCO World Heritage Area in 2000.

So now you know a little more about Sydney; a little trivia and a few facts which give you insight into what makes the city so sensational.