Visit the Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera house is not only a well known and loved building, but it has also become the face of Australia.

Even though it only opened in 1973 it has become as recognisable as the Egyptian Pyramids and the Colosseum in Rome.

You will find the Opera House nestled on the waters edge on Bennelong Point, jutting out into the harbour. When you view the skyline Sydney, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House from across the blue of the harbour it is truly beautiful and breathtaking.

It is quite ironic to know that this Aussie icon, the building is in fact the brainchild of the renowned Danish architect - Jorn Utzon. In the 1950's the New South Wales Government ran a competition for the design of the opera house. Utzon's design won but at the time was deemed to be beyond the capabilities of engineering so Utzon spent the next few years reworking his design and in 1961 he solved the problem of building its striking feature - the Sails of the roof.

During its construction, the costs blew out and on occasions the Government of the day was very tempted to call a halt to construction. But in 1973 the Opera House was eventually completed.

In 2005, The Sydney Opera House became a National Heritage Listed building and was also included on the World Heritage List in 2007.

The Opera House in fact 6 venues. The two biggest venues are the Opera Theatre and the Concert Hall and are found in the larger set of the sails. There are three smaller theatres, the Drama, Playhouse and Studio which are found on the western side of the complex, and the Utzon room is found on the eastern side. There is also a seventh venue, The Forecourt, which used for free community events and large sized outdoor performances. Also housed inside the smaller sails is the award winning Guillaume at Bennelong restaurant.

Tours of the Sydney Opera House run daily between 9am and 5pm. Price for adults are $35.00, and discounts for buying online are available. There are even official tours in Korean, Mandarin and Japanese available.

So, if you are in Sydney, drop by the house and take in this incredible engineering masterpiece. A visit to Sydney or Australia in fact is not complete without a visit to this fabulous Aussie Icon.

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