Priscilla W.
Yelp
I'm Free Tours offers a wonderful, educational, and scenic experience of Sydney's CBD and The Rocks. Our tour guide, Ramsey, was very friendly, knowledgable, and enthusiastic throughout the tour. The walking tour runs for about 3 hours, with a short 10 minute break midway, for coffee, snacks, and the bathroom.
The meeting point is outside Town Hall (just look for a tour guide wearing a bright green shirt) at 10:30am or 2:30pm, daily. The last stop is at a lookout tower near Circular Quay, which concludes the tour with a nice view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Other points of interest that we visited were Queen Victoria Building (QVB), Westfield, Hyde Park, Sydney Hospital, The Rocks, and Circular Quay, just to name a few.
Some cool and interesting facts I learned:
- The ground that Town Hall is built on used to be an old cemetery, so body remains have been found while digging.
- Sydney Hospital has a pig statue outside, and people rub the nose for good luck. However, some people have rubbed elsewhere... based on the faded color.
- The Rocks used to be populated with gangs back in the late 1800's. One gang tortured people by tying them to benches and beating them with wet sand-stuffed socks.
- The Opera House was budgeted at $7 million, but it actually cost $102 million when complete.
Overall, I'm Free Tours is a great way to explore the main parts of Sydney. Tour guides make money based on tips, so give whatever amount you think your tour is worth. If you're visiting/ vacationing in Sydney for the first time, I highly recommend taking a tour at the beginning of your trip; therefore you get an overview of which places to explore if you have more time, which restaurants to eat, etc.