4 Best Sights in The Rocks, Sydney

Argyle Street, which links Argyle Place and George Street, is dominated by the Argyle Cut and its massive walls. In the days before the Cut (tunnel) was made, the sandstone ridge here was a major barrier to traffic crossing between Circular Quay and Millers Point. In 1843 convict work gangs hacked at the sandstone with hand tools for 2½ years before the project was abandoned due to lack of progress. Work restarted in 1857, when drills, explosives, and paid labor completed the job. On the lower side of the Cut an archway leads to the Argyle Stairs, which begin the climb from Argyle Street up to the Sydney Harbour Bridge walkway. There's a spectacular view from the South East Pylon.

The last surviving example of the elegant sandstone buildings that once ringed Circular Quay, this former customs house now features an amazing model of Sydney under a glass floor. You can walk over the city's skyscrapers, all of which are illuminated by fiber-optic lights. On the ground-floor, there's a bar and the Tourist Information Centre. There's also an excellent two-level library and art galleries. The rooftop Café Sydney, the standout in the clutch of restaurants and cafés in this late-19th-century structure, overlooks Sydney Cove. The building stands close to the site where the British flag was first raised on the shores of Sydney Cove in 1788.

Every morning, redcoats would march to this 1840 Argyle Place church from Dawes Point Battery (now Dawes Point Park), and it became commonly known as the Garrison Church, although now officially called the Church Hill Anglican. As the regimental plaques and colors around the walls testify, the church still retains a close military association. Sunday services are held at 9:30 am and 4 pm.

This ponderous art deco building houses one of Australia's most important collections of modern art, as well as two significant collections of Aboriginal art, a sculpture garden, and continually changing temporary exhibits. Free tours, talks, and hands-on art workshops are conducted regularly.