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Sydney Opera House

Or as we affectionately call it The Opera House.

This building would have to be one of the world's best known buildings. It is one of the most photographed buildings in Australia for it's unusual structure and the picturesque harbour it sits on.

The roofs or 'Shells' are made up of white ceramic interlocking tiles, most of the external walls are glass or reconstituted granite. Everything about it was revolutionary at the time it was built, the design, the construction, the architect and the cost. In the day it was considered by some to be an expensive white elephant but now it is accepted as one of the wonders of the modern world.

I first went to the Opera House when I was in school, we went into the city on a school excursion not to see a play or an opera but to have a tour of the building itself. One of the things that struck me then and still amazes me today is the acoustics – you can be standing (or sitting) in the farthest row from the front and hear a pin drop on stage. Over the years I have been to the Opera House as a venue for live theatre, open air rock concerts, musicals, movies everything in fact but opera.

It features in almost every backdrop of photos of the Sydney Harbour and is featured in the New Years Eve firework display, the Australia Day Sydney Ferry Race, The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the Dragon Boat Races and many many other Harbour based activities over the summer months. 

It is considered a right of passage for us to attend a New Years Eve fireworks display at least once in our lives. It is a major event in the Sydney Summer Festival and the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge feature predominantly. The Festival of Lights is another where the Opera House is lit up with lasers at night for a month. Those big white sails make a fantastic canvas for the displays.

The great thing about our Opera House is that it is available to everyone. If you cant afford to see a show you can go any time for a look around, there are shows that are cheap and shows that are expensive, shows that cater for the masses and shows that cater to a specific crowd. You can dress up or down, walk there, catch a train, jump into a ferry or a water taxi or drive and park underneath.

I love it and I feel proud every time I catch a glimpse of it. Put it on your bucket list, it's worth the experience.

The Opera House, Sydney Ferry & Water Taxi in the forground