City Circle: Sydney's Hidden Attraction

City Circle: Sydney's Hidden Attraction

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Posted 2017-01-14 by My Splendid Familyfollow
For many city train commuters, the Sydney City Circle is a pain as it makes their journey longer. Others travel through just a few of the more bland City Circle stations and most are just too busy rushing somewhere to take much notice anyway. But what many of these commuters don't realise is that they are travelling through a working museum that is definitely worth a closer look for local and tourist alike.



Sydney's City Circle is made up of six stations - Central, Town Hall, Wynyard, Circular Quay, St James, and Museum. Each has their own character, and four are particularly worth a closer look.

So all aboard as we take the armchair tour of the City Circle.

Central





Marvel at the European-style train station with grand hall right here in Australia and reminisce about a past trip to Europe. It is where the regional and interstate trains depart from. Central station also caters for suburban trains so if you arrive there by suburban train you will need to follow the signs to the Grand Concourse (platforms 1-7). Warning - you will be left wishing Australia had high-speed trains to whisk you off to another city for the weekend! Wander around and you will discover historic photographs of Central Station with now defunct trams running right up to the front door.

Circular Quay



Enjoy the spectacular views of Circular Quay framed by the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. You don't even have to leave the train! This station must surely rate as one of the most scenic ones in the world so it is worth getting off to take a picture from the platform. If you are playing tour guide to visitors with limited time this might just be the way to give them a quick dose of the quintessential Sydney icons.

St James





St James Station is the art gallery of the City Circle tour. Here you will find lots of historical photos all around the place as well as the odd piece of modern art. It has many of its original fixtures still in place. The wrought iron fencing and brass fixtures are sure to impress. But somehow this station lacks the charm of Museum Station which is our next stop.

Museum



Museum by name, museum by nature. But it's actually named for the nearby Australian Museum. This station will probably never get the facelift that Town Hall station is currently undergoing - and with good reason. Step off at Museum station and you will feel like you are stepping off in a different era. The benches, signs, clocks, and tiled walls are all frozen in history. Even the advertising is made to look old. While modern changes exist for reason such as safety, they don't negatively impact this living museum.

Town Hall and Wynyard

We bypassed these stations on our tour as they are more functional than fancy for locals. However, if you are playing tour guide and your visitors are from another city, consider if they would be impressed by the subterranean world beneath Sydney that takes you from Town Hall Station through to the Pitt Street Mall (travelling underneath QVB and Myer). There is nothing like it anywhere else in Australia.

This tour is best attempted out of peak time as commuters rushing around will get in the way of your photographs and will make it difficult for you to enjoy the tour at your leisure. Off-peak is also the cheapest time to do it if you need to purchase a ticket. If you can attach your tour to the beginning or end of a train trip into the city then this tour is FREE at any time. If not, Off-peak tickets with an opal card are $2.36 for an adult, $1.18 for gold/concession/children 4 years and up.

City Circle is actually a horseshoe rather than a circle so when playing tourist you do need to pay attention to the train you are getting on so you don't end up leaving the City "Circle". Trains run in both directions on a very regular basis so you can hop on and hop off to your heart's content and start and stop the tour at any City Circle Station.

All stations in the City Circle are wheelchair accessible. Families with prams will find the tour easy but be ready to lift prams onto the train in some locations where the gap between station and platform is a bit too wide for comfort. Little kids will be kept well entertained by the passing trains and new sights while you explore the City Circle.

#child_friendly
#family
#family -attractions
#free
#history
#indoor
#rainy_day
#sydney
#cbd
#city
#tourist_attractions
#trains
%wnsydney
114022 - 2023-06-12 17:26:57

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