Sydney Observatory and Observatory Park

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Sydney Observatory is a historic site, a museum and a park all in one

Sydney Observatory showing the time ball tower and the observatory towers cc licensed photo by g_kat26

The Sydney Observatory is our only attraction to be listed under three different categories. In addition to being a historical site it's also a museum and the surrounding gardens form a lovely park with superb views.

Day or night it is free to enjoy a stroll around Observatory Hill Park where you will be treated to panoramic vistas of Sydney Harbour including the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. Consider visiting during the early morning or at night to avoid the busiest times. You can also see the exterior of the heritage-listed Observatory through the gate.

Sydney Observatory Tour

If you would like to explore inside of the Observatory compound and enter the Observatory itself you can book a Sydney Observatory Tour. The one hour tour, available Wednesday to Saturday leads guests through the Observatory's grounds, revealing the stories behind Fort Phillip, the bombproof shelter, the flagstaff, and the numerous buildings on site. Visitors are invited to step inside the Observatory building to explore objects from the Powerhouse collection and investigate the site's role in surveying, timekeeping, and astronomy.

Ascending the Observatory's narrow staircases, guests will be able to venture into the astronomy domes, where they can witness historic and modern telescopes in action. From this stunning vantage point, visitors can take in the breathtaking view of Sydney Harbour and, when conditions are suitable, observe terrestrial objects through a telescope.

It is important to note that the tour includes approximately 125 stairs, some of which have no wheelchair access due to the steep and narrow staircases of the heritage-listed site.

Sydney Observatory Family Tour

A Family Tour that is more suited to families with younger children between age 6 and 12 operates on Friday and Saturday evening.

In the event of rain, tours will be cancelled and payments refunded. Cancellation notices will be sent to participants by email four hours prior to the start of the tour.

Sydney Observatory Late

Sydney Observatory Late is a free program occuring once each month and offers an evening of stargazing, lectures from distinguished astronomers, and live music and performances.

The program is tailored to events taking place in the night sky and includes informative astronomy talks, as well as telescopes for observing the stars. Guests can enjoy live music, and food and drinks are available for purchase.

Sydney Observatory History

Construction of the Observatory took place from 1857 to 1859. It is strategically located on the highest ground overlooking Sydney Harbour. The first purpose of the Observatory was to keep accurate track of the time based on the positions of the stars. A time ball located on a pole on top of a tower is dropped each day at exactly 1pm as a time signal to ships in the harbour.

Beginning in 1887 the Observatory participated in a world-wide project to map and photograph the entire sky. It was nearly 80 years later when the Sydney Observatory had finally completed the large portion of sky that was allocated to them.

The observatory was also responsible for keeping records of meteorological observations and, for over a century, it served as a signal station using various flags to relay information about arriving ships or to communicate weather conditions to the port authorities and to other points around the harbour.

Recent archaeological excavations have clearly revealed the foundation walls of Fort Philips which was built between 1804 and 1806. The Fort even had a bomb shelter, but its primary purpose soon changed to that of the shipping signal station described above.

Without a doubt, a visit to the Sydney Observatory and Observatory Park should be high on your list of things to see and do in Sydney.

Nearby attractions include: Garrison Church, The Rocks and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Facts For Your Visit

Fee: Park access is free. Guided walking tours with access to the inside of the Observatory are subject to a fee and must be booked in advance. See the official website for details.

Sydney Observatory Hours:
Opening hours may differ on holidays

Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: 12:00 – 7:30 PM
Friday: 12:00 – 7:30 PM
Saturday: 12:00 – 7:30 PM
Sunday: Closed

Address: 1003 Upper Fort St, Millers Point NSW 2000, Australia

Phone: (02) 9217 0222

Official Website: Sydney Observatory

Sydney Observatory Reviews

Rated 4.6 out of 5 Star Rating

5 Star Rating 🌿 (True) I was feeling sick before coming here, but after resting and enjoying the scenery, I felt better 🤣 💎 I’ll write about the best spots for laying out a picnic mat and recommended visiting times in the main text! Highly recommended for those who want to spend a relaxing day enjoying beautiful natural scenery in the heart of Sydney 🧘🏻‍♀️🏕️ 🔎 Best spot: Next to a big tree in the park 🌳 (It’s relatively less crowded but the view is fantastic!) 🔎 Recommended visiting time: 🌆 Visit 1-2 hours before sunset and stay to watch the sunset! 📍 Sydney Observatory
Schedulie - 2 weeks ago

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5 Star Rating If you are into STEM, especially astronomy, this place is for you. Highly recommend getting the tour. On that note, I have an awesome private tour with Matt (fellow engineer) throughout the site and the telescopes. The tour provided detailed history of the observatories and the ground as well as the associated history of Sydney. More impressively, the 2 telescopes in the observatories are in working condition and I was able check out the sun as well as terrestrial objects. BTW, it is also great if you are into semaphores. I got to raise a quarantine flag!
Edward Lee - 2 months ago

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5 Star Rating An amazing highlight of our Sydney holiday. Our tour guide (& the others we chatted to) were so knowledgeable and passionate - as they’re all post doc students! We learnt so much about the sites history - from it’s early days as a flag signal post, to fort ruins & the observatory buildings. The items on display were fascinating and looking through a telescope and seeing stars and Saturn & its rings were indescribable!! So much fun to see the observatory domes rotate & open, and the newer telescope automatically focusing on the selected stars! Note there are extremely narrow and steep steps up to the telescopes so good idea to ask your guide beforehand for alternatives or more info. Parking is extremely limited so you can walk through ‘the Rocks’ and up the hill as it’s near the Sydney harbour bridge. You can book a taxi afterwards, just specify the ‘Sydney observatory building’. As it’s a popular viewing site to view the sunset, we booked a tour just after sunset, & arrived an hour earlier to enjoy the beautiful view towards the harbour and walk around the observatory gardens and buildings which weren’t included in the tour. Highly recommended and incredibly interesting. Book beforehand as understandably popular.
Monza Bella - 2 months ago

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5 Star Rating I attended an evening tour of the observatory, which included using the telescopes in the planetarium. The tour was led by a member of the staff at the observatory who is one of the working scientists. He was extremely knowledgeable but was also able to make complex ideas about the Universe and physics accessible to everyone in the group. The weather unfortunately meant we could not see very much, and you may want to take this into account when booking. However, this did not spoil my visit.
Stuart Durham - 2 months ago

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5 Star Rating Awesome museum. It was great to learn about the history of the observatory and Sydney itself. Our guide Matthew was very knowledgeable and friendly. Even got to see Saturn, the moon, and Orion from their telescope. Highly recommend visiting and doing the tour.
Rafal Czykier - a month ago

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Directions

Line	Nearest Station	Walking Time
L2, T2, T3, T8 or Ferry	Circular Quay	12 minutes

How to get to Sydney Observatory by

By Train or Ferry: Make your way to Circular Quay Station; exit and proceed west and north through the park to Argyle Street. Go west on Argyle continuing through the pedestrian plaza and the bridge approach underpass. Take the steps to your left across from Garrison Church to Watson Road and follow it uphill to the park entrance.