Historical walking tours
Walk this way
A fascinating range of historical and themed self-guided tours are available for you to enjoy. You can download a brochure (and in some cases, an MP3) below.
If you would prefer to pick up a printed copy, most (not the Rock and Roll Walks) are available from the City Host information kiosks and our Neighbourhood Service Centres and libraries.
Self-guided walking tour series
These self-guided historical walking tours introduce you to different aspects of Sydney's history. Each one features a clear map with numbered points of interest, detours and museum stops suggested along the way. All of these tours take 1–2 hours to complete.
Barani/Barrabugu (Yesterday/Tomorrow)
Showcases Aboriginal culture and history in the local area.
Colony
Departs from Customs House at Circular Quay and covers nearby Millers Point and The Rocks. Convicts, soldiers, whalers and sailors all walked this route. Remnants and traces of these early times can still be found among the bustling city streets.
Also available in Chinese, Japanese and Korean versions.
Community
Takes you from Town Hall to what was once the industrial backyard of Sydney and today contains its Spanish Quarter and Chinatown. Includes what is along arguably the most significant 20th century Aboriginal site in the City of Sydney. Concludes in Hyde Park.
Also available in Chinese, Japanese and Korean versions.
Exchange
Much of Sydney's commercial history can be seen in its buildings. This walk will take you from St James Station through the heart of the financial and retail district. You'll see the architectural features of key buildings and learn the history behind them. Finishes at the former Mark Foys Department Store.
Gritty
Although it began as a rural outpost scattered with ‘gentleman’s estates’, Newtown became increasingly populous with the coming of the railway in 1855. This tour will guide you through the history of Newtown.
Hidden
A series of informal paths behind Sydney's earliest main streets gave the settlers access to rear gardens, stables and storage areas. Over time, other laneways developed to provide rear access to the commercial buildings that came to dominate the area. Whether charming hidden gem or grungy service lane, they all contribute to the tapestry of the city.
Parade
Oxford Street has hosted many parades: military and celebratory, ceremonial and political. Journey from the start of this long strip at Hyde Park in the city to Centennial Park in Paddington to discover the evolution of this cosmopolitan area.
Passion
Kings Cross and its adjoining locales (Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay), has a rich and risque history. Departing from Kings Cross Station, this circular route uncovers the history of Australia's most famous red light district.
Port
In past decades, the Pyrmont-Ultimo peninsula was Sydney's industrial heartland, with its wharves, goods yards, woolstores and factories. Departing from Pyrmont Bridge, the tour visits key sites while exploring an often overlooked Sydney community.
Preservation
Glebe has always been a place of contrasts. This tour explores the areas fascinating built environment and its long history of bohemian lifestyle, activism and intellectual pursuits.
Renewal
Until 1850, Ultimo was semi-rural, with cornfields and cow paddocks. Members of the Gadigal people still harvested cockles on its foreshores. When the landscape was remade by sandstone quarrying and a new railway and goods yard, the suburb became crowded with factories, woolstores and workers’ housing. Eventually, its industrial sites were adapted for entertainment and education. Ends in Darling Harbour.
Skirting Sydney
The majestic Queen Victoria Building stands in the heart of the city as a monument to a much-loved and long-reigning Queen, although she never visited Sydney. But what of the other, less obvious, city spaces where Sydney women went about their daily lives? This map pinpoints key sites where girls and women lived and worked, where they were educated and entertained, and where pioneering activist women held meetings, published journals and sometimes in the process expanded the possibilities for all women's lives.
Strip on the Strip
Part guide, part history, this booklet presents the stories that inspired the bronze street plaques set in the pavement of Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross. Each story highlights the colour, diversity and wit of the bohemians and artists, entrepreneurs, residents and business owners of Kings Cross.
Walk on Water
This walk is a guide to Sydney's water features and was developed in conjunction with the historical exhibition Water, Water Every Where. Thirty different water features are identified on the map, which also features photographs and historical information.
Rock and Roll Walks of Fame and Shame
City to Pyrmont
We traverse the city to discover what remains of your favourite CBD venues then go across to Ultimo and Pyrmont to visit the site of the world famous Festival Records, itself a virtual corporate jukebox of Australian rock history. Finally we examine the place where bands as diverse as Sherbet and Nirvana made their mark on the Australian music scene.
King Street and Enmore Road
Some of Sydney's music scene was based in Newtown and the adjoining suburbs Erskineville and Enmore. On this tour we take you along City Road to King Street, Enmore Road and beyond. Features John Kennedy (the king of King Street), Brad Shepherd of the Hoodoo Gurus and musician, manger and Ivy League label boss, Andy Kelly.
Oxford Street
This journey takes you along Oxford Street and back to when the music of the '60s, '70s and '80s changed the face of rock'n'roll in Sydney. You'll visit the locations, hear the songs and listen to guest voices from Sydney's legendary past. Features Radio Birdman, Mental as Anything, The Missing Links and many more.
Surry Hills to Kings Cross
Revisit all the great live venues near Central Station and Surry Hills that gave birth to new music in the '70s, '80s and beyond. Then travel down memory lane to Kings Cross to track the history of its notorious late night clubs.
King Street & Enmore Road
(16 minutes)
Download MP3 (14.8 MB)
Surry Hills to Kings Cross
(21 minutes)
Download MP3 (20.1 MB)
Last updated: Thursday, 2 May 2013
