The City Centre, is where Governor Philip first raised the British Flag on Australian soil in January 1788, and is the earliest site of European settlement in Australia. Two hundred and twenty years later, it is now a Manhattan-like skyline of skyscrapers on the harbour. It is the commercial centre of Sydney seeing hundreds of thousands of Sydneysiders commute daily, to work, shop, and socialise.
The city centre meets and embraces its harbour. The entire foreshore is walkway, and much of it is parkland. The office towers compete with each other for the best view of the harbour, with those in the back row grateful for any glimpse.
It is the site of Sydney's grandest structures, from the modern Opera House and Sydney Tower, to the art-deco, the granite facades of the early 20th century, and the colonial sandstone of a convict era. The oldest buildings may be in The Rocks, but those warehouses and residences lack the proportion, scale, and inspiration of the construction in the city centre.
Into the evening, there is a stark contrast as many of the crowded footpaths grow quiet, and many of the city eateries and cafes wind down. There are still people around though, the after-work crowd is still around in the city pubs, the opera aficionados and diners are out down at East Circular Quay, and the groups meeting up near Town Hall for a movie, a drink, or a night out.
