The weekend kicks off on Friday 2 November with Sydney Open Night, which provides behind-the-scenes access to five iconic city buildings (map). Best of all, it’s absolutely free (from 6pm to 9pm - no bookings required). Enjoy live music, DJs from Future Classic and don’t miss the exclusive pop-up bar, courtesy of Fresh Catering, in the grand ballroom at On Seven at David Jones
Free
-
Chief Secretary's Building
This sandstone Victorian Free Classical building is one of architect James Barnet’s finest
-
Hyde Park Barracks Museum
One of 11 Australian convict sites recently inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list
-
On Seven at David Jones
The Great Restaurant on Level 7 was the venue for the Queen’s State Banquet in 1954
-
Parliament House
A complex of buildings of exceptional heritage, architectural, social and political significance
-
St James’ Church
Designed by Francis Greenway, this is Sydney’s oldest surviving church
Saturday 3 November marks the next step in your big city romance as you head out on one of the Sydney Open Focus Tours. Led by the buildings’ architects or owners, these tours are incredibly popular so it’s best to book early. Price includes OzTix booking fee & credit card surcharge. Please note: Any tickets purchased from Friday 26th October 2012 onwards will not be posted out. If you purchase a Focus Tour ticket your name will be on a booking list on the door. For further queries please call 1300 242 365 (HHT Box Office open from Mon – Friday, 9.30am – 4.30pm) or 02 9251 5988 (daily 10am – 5pm).
-
BVN Studio and Challenger Workplace
Both of these Sydney office spaces redefine the way we think about work
Bookings closed.
-
Central Station: Ghost Platforms & Tunnels
An eerie subterranean space, site of the legendary platforms 26 and 27
SOLD
OUT -
Cranbrook Junior School
Envisaged as a ‘school in the park’, its design takes advantage of the adjacent playing fields
Bookings closed.
-
The Hyde
Sydney’s most significant high-rise development since Harry Seidler’s Horizon Apartments
Bookings closed.
-
The Jack House
Mid-century modernism at its best, down to the groovy wallpaper and timber wall panelling
SOLD
OUT -
Kharkov House
A glamorous property that leaves you feeling a little jealous of the owners
SOLD
OUT -
Kingsclere
Built in 1912, a luxury residence that boasted the latest in technology
Bookings closed.
-
Lyons House
Architect Robin Boyd captured the groovy possibilities of 1960s architecture
Bookings closed.
-
Manar
Considered one of Macleay Street’s finest addresses
Bookings closed.
-
Millers Point Leaseholders’ Group
Built by convicts, an example of English early 19th century architecture
Bookings closed.
-
One Shelley Street
The first building in Sydney’s CBD to receive the 6-star Green Star rating
Bookings closed.
-
Queen Victoria Building dome
Completed in a Federation Romanesque style and crowned by copper-sheafed exterior dome
SOLD
OUT -
Roslyn Street Commercial
Awarded the 2010 AIA Harry Seidler Award for Commercial Architecture
Bookings closed.
-
The Shed
Worthy winner of the Alterations and Additions, Randwick City Council Urban Design Awards in 2010
SOLD
OUT -
St Mary's Cathedral Bell Tower
Features the heaviest change-ringing bells in NSW
SOLD
OUT -
The story of Bennelong Point and Sydney Opera House
Get up close and personal with one of the architectural wonders of the world
Bookings closed.
-
The Strelein Warehouse
This project won a commendation at the 2011 Australian Interior Design Awards
SOLD
OUT -
Tank Stream
As the colony’s first fresh water supply, the Tank Stream is of national importance
SOLD
OUT -
The Wayside Chapel
Founded by the late Ted Noffs as a Methodist ministry in 1964
Bookings closed.
Sunday 4 November is the big day. We’ll provide you with a map to help you to find your way around, and a City Pass wristband to get you into special places. Don’t forget to download your Sydney Open 2012 Planner app so you can short-list your favourites.
A City Pass ticket gives you access to 50 of Sydney CBD's best loved buildings. Prices start from $32.15 and include OzTix booking fee & credit card surcharge. Please note: Any tickets purchased from Friday 26th October 2012 onwards will be available to pick up at the Museum of Sydney, Cnr Bridge and Phillip St, open daily from 10am – 5pm. For further queries please call 1300 242 365 (HHT Box Office open from Mon – Friday, 9.30am – 4.30pm) or 02 9251 5988 (daily 10am – 5pm).
Having trouble deciding what to see? Check out our Quick picks »
-
1 Bligh Street
This $667 million development is Sydney’s first 6 Star Green Star office tower
-
30 The Bond
Three magnificent sandstone buildings combine sustainability with state-of-the-art technology
-
343 George Street
This sandstone-clad building is considered by many to be Sydney’s finest commercial building
-
70B William Street
The northern elevation of a heritage-listed stone bridge is located in the basement
-
AWA Building
Built in 1939, this was Australia’s tallest building until the late 1950s
-
BMA House
Art Deco style building embellished with medieval and Gothic decoration
-
BVN Studio
An unexpected reworking of a typical 1970s commercial office floor
-
Central Local Court
Constructed in 1892 as part of a court, cells and police station complex
-
Challenger Workplace
Well-deserved winner of the 2010 RAIA NSW Interior Architecture Award
-
Chief Secretary's Building
This sandstone Victorian Free Classical building is one of architect James Barnet’s finest
-
City of Sydney Fire Station
An example of architect James Barnet’s use of the Victorian Free Classical style
-
City Recital Hall Angel Place
Purpose-built and specifically designed for fine music and spoken word
-
Culwulla Chambers
This building cost £100,000 to build in 1912, a fortune at the time
-
Deutsche Bank Place
This is Sydney’s first Lord Norman Foster designed building
-
Fort Phillip Signal Station
Originally built on the site of Windmill Hill to defend the colony
-
Glover Cottages
Sydney’s first example of semi-detached cottages
-
Government House
The most sophisticated Gothic Revival building in the colony
-
The Grace Hotel
Originally the headquarters of the Grace Brothers department store
-
The Great Synagogue
Built in the 1870s, this is the earliest surviving synagogue in Sydney
-
Henry Davis York Building
This magnificent sandstone example of inter-war Art Deco was completed in 1938
-
Hilton Sydney
One of the city’s most sophisticated destinations, features the heritage listed Marble Bar
-
History House
One of only two original townhouses still standing on Macquarie Street
-
Hong Kong House
A lovingly maintained example of Victorian Architecture
-
Hyde Park Barracks Museum
One of 11 Australian convict sites recently inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list
-
IAG House
This exemplar of sustainability includes a rooftop rainwater harvesting system
-
The Judge's House
Built in the 1820s as a Colonial Georgian single-storey sandstone bungalow
-
Justice & Police Museum
Once housed those responsible for maintaining law and order on the city’s waterfront
-
The Mint
Once the place where currency was produced for every Australian colony
-
Museum of Sydney
This modern museum is on the site of Sydney’s first Government House
-
On Seven at David Jones
The Great Restaurant on Level 7 was the venue for the Queen’s State Banquet in 1954
-
Parbury Ruins
A new building was redesigned to preserve the archaeological remains of a c1900 cottage
-
Parliament House
A complex of buildings of exceptional heritage, architectural, social and political significance
-
Property Council of Australia House
A magnificent commercial building with a Victorian Academic Classical sandstone façade
-
Radisson Blu Hotel Sydney
Originally home to John Fairfax & Sons, publishers of The Sydney Morning Herald
-
Royal Automobile Club of Australia
Features a façade of face brickwork, honey-coloured sandstone and neoclassical columns
-
St Andrew's Cathedral
The oldest and one of the finest Gothic Revival cathedrals in Australia
-
St Andrew's Cathedral School
Ken Woolley’s late modernist urban masterpiece
-
State Library of New South Wales
Founded in 1826, it features a marble mosaic map of Tasmania
-
State Theatre
Its design incorporates elements of Gothic, Italianate and Art Deco architecture
-
St James’ Church
Designed by Francis Greenway, this is Sydney’s oldest surviving church
-
Susannah Place Museum
These terraces survived the slum clearances of the early 2oth century
-
Sydney Dance Company Studios
This former wharf was revamped as a creative hub in the 1980s
-
Sydney Eye Hospital Nightingale Wing
This Gothic Revival building was home to the oldest nursing school in Australia
-
Sydney Grammar School New Hall
Successful example of how to design and build on a confined inner-city heritage site
-
Sydney Harbour YHA & The Big Dig
Challenges everything you thought you knew about youth hostels
-
Sydney Hospital
These sandstone buildings were built in the Victorian Free Classical style
-
Sydney Masonic Centre
This uncompromisingly brutalist building has never been an architectural shrinking violet
-
Sydney Theatre
The theatre’s façade is dominated by a massive Romanesque proscenium
-
Sydney Town Hall
Built on the site of Sydney’s first official cemetery (1792-1820)
-
Westfield Sky Lobby
Splayed structural columns animate the volume of the main lobby