Sydney Harbour Bridge, Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney Opera House, Royal Botanic Gardens.

START: at Circular Quay and walk down to the eastern end of the quay. Follow the water around and shortly you will see the spans of the Opera House. You can spend time here just sitting in the sun and taking in the harbour and bridge, or else arrange to go on one of the tours of the Opera House. This should be good for about an hour of your morning.

Next keep following the water's edge and you will quickly come to the Royal Botanic Gardens. Here you can walk along the walk along the water's edge at the bottom of the gardens or else make your way up to the gardens proper. There is a small trackless train that runs around the gardens, if you're not feeling energetic. The gardens are a splendid place to sit and waste time on a warm sunny day and the higher parts offer some of the best views of the harbour.

Make your way back to the eastern end of Circular Quay. From there, walk under the railway structure and across the street. At the far eastern end of the roadway that runs alongside Circular Quay station, you will find Macquarie Street, one of Sydney's oldest streets. Walk up Macquarie Street until you come to Hyde Park Barracks, a home to convict men and a place of punishment between 1819 and 1848. You may wish to spend some time here.

Next, make your way back to Circular Quay, this time walking to the opposite end of the Quay. Follow the water edge around, walking in line with George Street and up past the disembarkation terminus for the passenger cruise ships. Next, walk past the gallery of restaurants earmarked by a tall ship's mast. This is right at the edge of the area known as The Rocks. (Don't get distracted with The Rocks as this will be our third day's outing.) Just keep walking through this area and look for a set of steps that leads up into one of the Harbour Bridge's pylons. Go up these steps and you will find yourself on the bridge. Start walking across the bridge and less than half way across you will come to the Pylon Tower or Lookout. Go inside and climb the stairs to the top where, for a very small cost, you can watch an interesting movie about how the bridge was constructed, learn about its history since, look at pictures and posters around the walls, and then go out on to the observation area for one of the best views you will see anywhere. This is great value for money and a hugely underrated attraction. Count on spending a half an hour to an hour here, depending on whether you stop to watch the film about how the bridge was built.

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