Places to visit in and around Darling Harbour NSW

On a sunny day, sneak down to the Darling Harbour water play area at Darling Quarter for some fun amongst the water.

The kids – and the young at heart – can spend plenty of time playing under the unpredictable fountains and sprays. You can also visit the nearby popular Darling Harbour Children’s Playground which features a mixture of traditional and adventure play equipment. The kids will enjoy balance ropes, a giant slide with tunnels and other slides or a 21 metre flying fox. They can explore spiders web climbing frames, a giant ring swing and superlong swings. They might want to play in the sandpit with a sand digger or take a twirl on the supernova roundabout.

Bookworms, get excited. Darling Square Library is a beautiful public library near Sydney’s waterfront. This hub for learning and creativity opened in late 2019 and features an eye-catching architectural design wrapped in over 20 kilometre of timber ribbons.

You’ll discover plenty of space to read, work or study in peace, as well as a dedicated children’s area, free Wi-Fi, public computers and meeting rooms. Turn the pages of more than 30,000 items, including an extensive Asian literature collection and daily newspapers from around the world. This is a fantastic community resource and integral to Haymarket’s thriving, creative environment.

In 2006, Ryoji Ikeda, one of Japan's leading visual artists, began creating a series of audio-visual works that sought to visualise pure data.

You’ll find one of the project's most ambitious installations on Moriarty Walk near the Exhibition Centre at ICC Sydney.

A gigantic screen, 4 metre high and 96 metre long, constantly displays streams of moving data against striking, colourful backgrounds. Its daytime display is titled 'DNA', while in the evening, you can view 'The Universe'.

Come and be amazed by the Woodward water feature, a gigantic, spiralling fountain water feature on the shores of Cockle Bay.

This is considered one of the most important pieces of work by Robert Woodward, a renowned local architect and designer. Heritage listed to recognise its importance, it won many awards when unveiled in 1988.

You'll be captured by the interplay of light, texture and spiralling water that makes this feature an irresistible and interactive part of the Cockle Bay promenade.

The lovely Dancing Brolgas water fountain at Cockle Bay Wharf  was created in cast stainless steel in 1998, as part of the refurbishment of Cockle Bay. Designed by Terrance Plowrig, the foundation celebrates the Brolga, a native bird also known as the Australian Crane.

It's a lovely addition to a remarkable area, and really comes to life with the stunning Darling Harbour sunsets. You might see visitors taking a selfie with these beautiful birds as they visit the many restaurants and bars at Cockle Bay Wharf, or Darling Harbour attractions such as SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo and Madame Tussauds Sydney.

'The Night Sky' by Jacob Nash lies within the Canopy, a place with a shared history. Three constants have always been here: the land the artwork is on, the Wangal and Gadigal clans that care for this Country, and the night sky above us.

The night sky evokes central ideas of creation, dreaming, wonder and home. It holds stories about our place in the universe – stories that unite people. When you look up, you'll be reminded of the many narratives that live up there, connecting people and place.

Nash is an urban Aboriginal artist who has lived on Gadigal land for 20 years. His work explores his personal response to standing on Country and looking up at the night sky, imagining what it may have looked and felt like on the evening of the 28th April 1770, before Captain Cook landed on these shores.

More than just a way to get from A to B, Pyrmont Bridge is a symbol of Australia’s industrial history. As one of the oldest surviving electrically operated swingspan bridges in the world, it features a steel truss swingspan with timber truss approach spans.

The first bridge opened in 1857 with today’s swingspan bridge opening in 1902. This was the main way for people and goods to get between the city and Sydney's growing western suburbs, while allowing tall vessels to access Darling Harbour. At the time if opened, an electrical swingspan was new technology, enabled by the electrification of Sydney’s trams.

The redevelopment of Darling Harbour in 1988 included a restoration of Pyrmont Bridge's swingspan and a new addition – the Monorail.

Today, the bridge is a busy thoroughfare of pedestrians and cyclists, and a celebration of this area’s industrial legacy and ingenuity.

The Chinese Garden of Friendship is a serene place of beauty at the southern end of Darling Harbour. Designed in 1986 by landscape architects and gardeners from Sydney’s sister city, Guangzhou, the garden follows the Taoist principles of Yin-Yang – the balance of opposing yet complementary forces – and Wu-Xing – the harmonious 5 elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water.

Wander serene pathways and take in exotic plants, blooming flowers and a lake of shimmering Koi. If you fancy staying for a while, experience The Gardens by Lotus, an onsite restaurant in a heritage-listed teahouse.

While exploring look carefully at the many spectacular Burrawong Limestone rocks. Most of these rocks were found in central western NSW near the small town of Cumnock. Incredibly, they’re embedded with coral fossils of 400 million years old, when life just started to conquer the land from the sea. You might also want to take a closer look at the Dragon Wall, which was installed with 943 pieces of individually designed and crafted ceramic pieces transported from China and assembled on site.

Opening hours: 10am – 5pm daily.

Luminous is the world’s largest interactive light display, featuring 557 solar powered LED lights on a façade overlooking Darling Quarter.

When you’re visiting from Monday to Thursday, or on a Sunday, you’ll be inspired by content pre-programmed by the creator of Luminous, Bruce Ramus. This is a light show that instils a sense of awe and wonder.

On Friday and Saturday nights, visit from 6pm to become part of the art: people are invited to take over the full display, using the nearby controls to create their own incredible light show.

We see many animals when we're enjoying public spaces, but rarely do we see a working dog in action in the heart of a busy city.

Bailey's main job at the Australian National Maritime Museum is to chase away seagulls from their ships and wharves. If you see Bailey wearing his yellow vest and his ID tag (yes, he has his own ID tag) then he's very busy working – so don't come and approach him when he's working.

But if you spot Bailey when he's not wearing his yellow vest - come up and say hello.

Bailey loves to get out and about, and has a regularly scheduled walk around the museum every day at 2.30pm. Of course, not every day is the same, and sometimes Bailey is busy or the weather is terrible.

If you're visiting the museum, check at the front desk to see if you'll bump into Bailey that afternoon. Bailey contributes to the museum in many ways. He's got his own Facebook page, and regularly updates on what he's doing with his blog.

Opening hours: The Museum is open 9.30am to 5pm daily.