Walking across the Harbour Bridge is a must-do activity for anyone visiting Sydney. The walk offers the best views of Sydney Harbour and the Opera House, as well as the chance to walk across one of the world’s most iconic structures.
If the BridgeClimb is a bit out of your budget it makes a fabulous and free alternative! It might not offer the adrenaline rush, but you get the exact same views, just from a little lower down. Despite the fact we’ve done it many times, we still absolutely love it!
Here’s everything you need to know about walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The sunset views from the Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk
Tips for the Harbour Bridge Walk
Here’s a few tips for walking over the Sydney Harbour Bridge:
If you want the very best light, and most special experience, go for sunrise. You’ll see the sun rise behind the Opera House and it’s a truly spectacular sight.
If such an early start is not for you then go close to sunset. The sun sets behind the bridge on the opposite side to the one you walk across, but the harbour will still have gorgeous soft light and it’s incredibly photogenic. Once you have finished the bridge walk you can head to Jeffrey Street Wharf to catch the last of the sunset, it’s easily one of our favourite sunset spots in the whole city. It’s just 500m from the end of the bridge walk.
Walk over the bridge from The Rocks and grab coffee on the other side at the waterside cafe, Celsius. If you’re walking on a weekend at any other time than early morning, there will be a queue but the views from this place are worth it.
The cafe is right on the water and the food is beautiful too, think lots of edible flowers etc. It’s a ten minute walk from the end of the bridge.
Alternatively extend your walk by heading along the ridiculously photogenic Lavender Bay boardwalk. It’s utterly gorgeous and you can visit Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden, a locals favourite picnic spot. It has full jungle vibes as well as fabulous views and lots of little hidden nooks and crannies to relax at. The walk to the garden is 600m and well worth it.
Instead of retracing your steps back over the Harbour Bridge, head over to the Milsons Point Ferry Wharf which is less than a five minute walk away, and take a boat to Circular Quay. This ferry journey takes you right under the Harbour Bridge which is another Sydney must do!
If you’d prefer to cycle along the bridge you need to go to the path on the opposite side to the pedestrian walkway. The view is not as good because you can’t see the Opera House though. The entrance to the cycle way is on Burton Street.
The Harbour Bridge Walk
The stats
Distance: 1.8km
Staircases to climb: 6
The walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge is easy, and doesn’t take too long. We recommend half an hour or so to take in the views, but you can walk across it quicker than that.
The hardest part is finding the start of the path across the bridge, which requires knowing the way as it’s not signed at first, and walking up six flights of stairs.
Where to start the walk
You can start the walk at either end, but most people start from Circular Quay and walk over to the North Shore, which is how we’ll describe it in this post. To get to the start of the walk from The Rocks you need to head to the Argyle Stairs.
If you want to walk it in the opposite direction, you will need to find the Cahill Walk. From Milsons Point Train Station, turn left at the exit and you will see the staircase on the other side of Burton Street. You can also walk from the Milsons Point Ferry Wharf to the staircase in five minutes.
The Harbour Bridge Walk from The Rocks
If you are starting at Circular Quay, head towards Argyle Street (you can get here by walking round the Museum of Contemporary Art). Walk along Argyle Street until you reach an arch for the Argyle Stairs (pictured below).
The arch is just before the bridge and beside Sake restaurant on the right side of Argyle Street. Head up the stairs and at the top take a sharp left and head up the next staircase (also pictured below).
The entrance to Argyle Stairs
The U turn you need to make
At the top of the stairs, cross over Cumberland Street and head up the arch labelled “Bridge Stairs”.
You then have four staircases to climb before you get to a junction. Turn left for the Harbour Bridge and within a few seconds you’ll see it ahead of you.
The Bridge Stairs - the entrance to the Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk
You might be surprised to see the Harbour Bridge has several lanes of traffic and unless you’re here very early morning it will be really busy.
Luckily your designated walkway is for pedestrians only and cyclists must ride on the other side of the bridge which doesn’t have as good views!
The many lanes of traffic on the Sydney Harbour Bridge
The walkway is fenced on both sides but you can put your camera or phone through the gaps and still get great pictures. All the pictures in this post are taken on the walk.
The walk across the bridge only takes around 20 minutes and offers fantastic views of the Opera House, Circular Quay, Fort Denison, Kirribillii and of course a lot of the wider harbour.
I also find watching the ferries pretty mesmerising from up here, and despite the fact this was part of my regular commute for years, I still absolutely love it!
It does get very noisy because of the road but I’ve personally never been too bothered by that, I usually put headphones in and just enjoy the views.
Part way along the walk you’ll come to the Pylon Lookout. This is another option for views at a slightly more elevated position, but it doesn’t come for free. There are 200 stairs to the top and you can get a good view of people climbing up the Harbour Bridge.
I’ve personally not done it because it costs $19 for adults and I love the view from the Harbour Bridge walk so have never felt the need, just to gain a little extra height. Having said that I’m sure it’s wonderful if you don’t mind the price point.
The latter part of the walk across the Harbour Bridge is not quite so spectacular as the first part, but I always enjoy having a little peek at all the amazing roof top gardens the houses along this stretch have!
After roughly 20 minutes or longer if you can’t help stopping for photos a lot (yep, always us!) you’ll be at the staircase down to Milsons Point. Now it’s time to grab a coffee or explore Lavender Bay!
For other great harbour walks in Sydney, we have you covered in this post on the best in the city.
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Are you visiting Sydney? Have you done the Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk or BridgeClimb? Let us know in the comments below!
