Macquarie Street

Macquarie Street

Macquarie Street
4
Points of Interest & LandmarksHistoric Walking Areas
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Top ways to experience Macquarie Street and nearby attractions

The area

Neighborhood: Central Business District
The Sydney Central Business District is abuzz with energy. Power brokers run to and from high rise buildings and after-work drink places, high-end shoppers tour venues like the QVB, and fine diners frequent the many celebrity chef restaurants. For a dose of culture, walk to the NSW Art Gallery, or visit the Sydney Museum. To escape the hustle and bustle, reconnect with nature at the Sydney Botanical Gardens or picnic lunch at High Park. No matter your interest, be sure to check the full calendar of events hosted by the city, from the Sydney Festival in January to October’s Good Food Month at Hyde Park.
How to get there
  • Martin Place • 3 min walk
  • St James • 5 min walk
Reach out directly

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles131 reviews
Excellent
34
Very good
70
Average
25
Poor
0
Terrible
2

Mairwen1
United Kingdom12,072 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Solo
For tourists, there is quite a lot to see around Macquarie St. It is a little removed from the city’s main shopping area but it puts you right near the Art Gallery, the Australian Museum and Hyde Park end of town.
This is probably the most historically and culturally significant stretch of road in Sydney so for those, like me, who like to combine walking & sightseeing, this is a good thing to do.
The walk can easily be extended and turned into a longer, looped trail.
Starting from Hyde Park, we walked down Macquarie St, past the historic Hyde Park Barracks, the Law Courts, the old Mint building, old Parliament House and the NSW State Library to the Palace Garden entrance to the Botanical Gardens.
An interesting diversion is the many historic statues along the way, including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and two of Governor Lachlan Macquarie.
A fun statue is the large bronze boar, nick-named il Porcellino, outside the historic Sydney Hospital. People stop here to rub its nose for good luck.
This first, short stretch already covers most of the significant buildings and sculptures.
From here, you can either cut the walk short and wander through the gardens or continue on to Circular Quay and the Opera House. Hyde Park to the Opera House, will take roughly 20 minutes (plus stops).
To turn it into a looped walk, from the Opera House stairs head to your left (away from the Harbour Bridge) and you’ll will find yourself at the main gates of the Botanical Gardens. We strolled beside the sea wall along the harbour front, then cut up through the park to the NSW Art Gallery, which brought us back up to St Mary’s Cathedral and Hyde Park where we started.
TIP: The Botanical Gardens, the Mint and the State Library are all free to enter. If you have time, the library is worth a stop. Upstairs, you’ll find a small but very good art gallery with a large section of early portraits and paintings of the colony and some indigenous works.
Written December 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

AJ23
Rajasthan, India59 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2024 • Friends
This was my busy with my friend at this place and has a countless number of restaurant and pubs along with some shopping. We really like this place the ambience and the top notch pubs even we can’t forget the memories we made here . 😊
Written January 2, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dan L
Bunbury, Australia9,018 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022
I explored Macquarie Street while my wife headed to Westfield Shopping Centre. Certainly a historic street, named after Lachlan Macquarie and with various and church institutions located here or in offshoot streets; - Parliament House, The Mint, Hyde Park Barracks, St James Church, State Library, Laws Courts and more. There are monuments celebrating the colonial era and a few more recent. The challenge is coordinating a visit to match the opening hours of the various buildings and institutions that I wished to visit but failed to do.
Written December 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dimitris L
Sydney, Australia53,249 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020
Macquarie Street is not a very long street but it is important. Several institutions are located along this street and also at either end of it. The New South Wales Parliament is situated here. Also the Library of NSW, The Mint, the Old Barracks, Hyde Park at one end and the Opera House at the other, and many others. And of course there is the Botanic Gardens and the Domain Park. The street was named after the famous Governor of the NSW colony, Lachlan Macquarie.
Written November 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Luxecarol
Sydney, Australia4,331 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2011
If you have an interest in Sydney's history then Macqarie Street is one of the nicest streets to go for a walk. The street features the Hyde Park barracks, The Astor - Sydney's skyscraper and many other grand residences, the State Library, parliament House, Sydney Hospital, the Mint, St James Church and Queens Square. The street more or less starts from Hyde Park and runs all the way down to the Quay to 'The Toaster' complex and side trips can be made to Martin Place and the Botanic Gardens. I think it is the most elegant street in Sydney and it is also famous for housing Sydney pre- eminent physicians.
Written April 12, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

niallc
Sydney, Australia31 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2013
I spent most of the day exploring down this street. Started at Hyde Park where I had breakfast outdoor. Then to the Barracks at the top of Macquarie Street. Walk to Parliament House for a look see. Then State Library - great little coffee shop hidden around behind it. Through the Botanic Gardens and Mrs Macquaries Chair. Lunch in the Gardens. Afternoon tour of the Opera House and a beer at the Orient Hotel in the Rocks to cap off the day. Just terrific
Written April 19, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

notthedish
Neutral Bay, Australia21 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2019 • Friends
I belong to a Canasta group and on Friday March 22, we had organised to do a tour and attend a High Tea. We were asked to be there by 12. We were not attended to - except for being given a glass of water - for about an hour and then it was only after the lady who had made the booking got up from her seat and talked to 'someone' that we finally got a glass of champagne (which was part of our package) and then just after 1pm we received the 'plates' which contained our High Tea. The food was very good except we all agreed that the 2 'sandwiches' we were all allotted was not enough - we all would have preferred less sweet 'foods'. The tour itself was very informative and was certainly worth doing. Our package deal was $60 which included a glass of champagne, High Tea and the tour. Except for the waiting time would recommend.
Written March 24, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

RBFToronto
Toronto, Canada31 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2018
Stayed on a hotel on Macquarie Street. Lovely boulevard with many trees, cafes, library, sculptures, with botanical gardens at one end and a lovely square at the other.
Written January 31, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

b121
Newcastle, Australia825 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2014 • Family
Macquarie Street is full of offices, doctors rooms, NSW Parliament, Sydney Hospital, and a few cafes. I did not think that it was in the main shopping area in Sydney (although there are some expensive retail outlets there). Interesting to walk past, and see if the NSW Parliament House is open (which needs to be more open to the public).
Written December 21, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michael-4551
Caloundra, Australia5,521 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
Visited on Wednesday 13th November. No visit to Sydney would be complete without a walk along Macquaries Street to check out the buildings there, so much of Sydneys early history is here.
Written December 17, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 95
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

Macquarie Street - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

All Sydney HotelsSydney Hotel DealsLast Minute Hotels in SydneyHotels near Macquarie Street
All things to do in Sydney
Day Trips in Sydney
RestaurantsFlightsVacation RentalsTravel StoriesCruisesRental Cars