These stone stairs were built in 1870 to connect spiffy Potts Point with the Woolloomooloo slums below. The steep steps run past an apartment block: residents sip tea on their balconies and stare bemusedly at the fitness freaks punishing themselves on the 113-stair uphill climb.
McElhone Stairs
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
3.48 MILES
Definitively Sydney, Bondi is one of the world’s great beaches. It’s the closest ocean beach to the city centre (8km away), has consistently good (though…
1.32 MILES
Sydneysiders love their giant 'coathanger', which opened in 1932. The best way to experience this majestic structure is on foot. Stairs and lifts ascend…
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
15.97 MILES
A spectacular mix of sandstone, Australian bushland and tranquil water vistas, this 14,928-hectare park forms Sydney’s northern boundary. It’s located 20…
3.91 MILES
Lovely Watsons Bay, east of the city centre and north of Bondi, was once a small fishing village, as evidenced by the heritage cottages that pepper the…
2.05 MILES
A 12-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay, this forested harbour hillside is full of kangaroos, koalas and similarly hirsute Australians, plus numerous…
0.94 MILES
Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, this magnificent building is Australia's most famous landmark. Visually referencing a yacht's sails, it's a…
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5.57 MILES
About 3km south of central Manly, spectacular North Head offers dramatic cliffs, lookouts, secluded beaches, pretty paths through the native scrub, and…
20.59 MILES
This central section of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is a spectacular wilderness, with awe-inspiring vistas over Pittwater and Broken Bay, hidden beach…
Nearby attractions
0.04 MILES
The top deck of a multistorey navy carpark doesn't sound like a great place to hang out, but this beautiful park is a hidden gem, offering a secluded…
0.14 MILES
Artspace is spacey: its eternal quest is to fill the void with vigorous, engaging Australian and international contemporary art. Things here are decidedly…
0.14 MILES
A former wool and cargo dock, this beautiful Edwardian wharf faced oblivion for decades before a 2½-year demolition-workers’ green ban on the site in the…
0.21 MILES
Now dwarfed by 20th-century apartments, Colonial Secretary Alexander Macleay's elegant Greek Revival mansion was one of the finest houses in the colony…
0.24 MILES
This little commercial gallery stages interesting curated shows, including lots of Aboriginal art.
0.29 MILES
It’s testimony to the ‘cleaning up’ of the Cross that this once-dodgy park is now a reasonably safe place to hang out (probably helped by the austere…
0.33 MILES
With its neoclassical Greek frontage and modern rear, this much-loved institution plays a prominent and gregarious role in Sydney society. Blockbuster…
0.36 MILES
Recline on a patch of lawn in front of the Art Gallery of NSW and listen to religious zealots, oddballs, political extremists, homophobes, hippies and…