Citiwalks: Walk around Sydney's Rocks area

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This easy walk starts and ends at [1] Circular Quay and takes in part of the historic Rocks area. Allow about one hour. Walk West to George Street then head North towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Turn first left into Globe Street, keeping the entrance to the underground car park to your left. Turn right into the tranquil [2] Nurses' Walk where there are a number of unusual shops. Watch out for the many wall plaques with interesting historical information. At the end of Nurses walk, turn left and up the hill into Suez Canal (see wall plaque). At the top, turn left into Harrington Street and proceed South. Along this stretch are some of the oldest surviving buildings in the Rocks.

Crossing Harrington Street, climb up the two sets of steps to [3] Susannah Place, a small terrace of four brick houses including a corner grocer's shop (entrance is up the further steps in Gloucester Street). The intact houses, backyards, and amenities record the great changes to domestic life over 150 years - down to the original brick privies and open laundries. In Gloucester Street, continue North towards the Bridge joining Cumberland Street with the [4] Australia Hotel on the corner. Opposite this corner is the entrance to the footpath that crosses the Bridge and a subway under the Bridge approaches.

Go through this subway following the signs to Observatory Hill and Upper Fort Street. After you pass through the subway you can see at the top of the park on your left the original [5] Sydney Observatory, now converted into a museum of astronomy. Follow Watson Road down the hill to Argyle Street. Continue West on Argyle Street turning right into Kent Street. On this corner is reputedly Sydney's oldest hotel, [6] The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, established in 1841. Turn right into Windmill Street, named after the windmills that were in this area in the 1800s, at the end of which is [7] The Hero of Waterloo, another of the few surviving examples of early Victorian (pre 1850) pub architecture.

Continue down Lower Fort Street towards Sydney Harbour passing two well preserved 18th century Georgian terraces on your left. Further down on your right, directly under the Bridge in George Street, is Sydney's last remaining (and still functional) [8] pissoir. Make your way to the bottom of Lower Fort Street to the pathway along the edge of the Harbour. Continue along the Harbour pathway, under the Bridge to [10] Campbell Cove, named after Robert Campbell, a noted Sydney merchant, who erected a warehouse and wharf here in the early 1800s, and now the site of the [9] Hyatt Hotel.

Keeping the Hyatt on your right, proceed along the Harbour walkway past the restaurants in the old sandstone waterfront buildings and bars in the Overseas Passenger Terminal to historic [11] Cadman's Cottage, one of the oldest remaining buildings in Australia. The walk finishes at the [12] Museum of Contemporary Art.