Sydney Self-Guided Indoor Route Day Tour: Art Gallery, State Library of NSW, Sydney Opera House

A self-guided day tour for rainy days in Sydney.


Sydney was awashed with rain that very wet weekend. We decided to do a relatively 'indoor route', but if it were a clear day, I'd think it's more ideal to prep your feet for another intensive day of walking to maximize the number of attractions cleared in a day. (Check back on the next self-guided day tour article) This indoor route is suitable for wet weather plans for an afternoon in Sydney. Please note that walking from point to point still requires ponchos and umbrellas as there are no covered walkways.
See previous day route.
TLDR; suggested indoor route: 
Art Gallery (1hr) > State Library of NSW (30mins) > Sydney Opera House (1hr)






From Royal Botanic Gardens to Art Gallery: 250m
Recommended time to reach: 10am
The previous self-guided tour ended at the Royal Botanic Gardens, and if you have any spare time and energy from that day, you can continue on to the Art Gallery which isn't too faraway from it. The Art Gallery houses a large collection of Australian, European and Asian paintings and exhibitions. If you are not particularly fond of museums, it is likely that you will be bored to tears because this is a typical 'do-not-touch' museum without any new-age interactive displays. I did manage to pick out a few paintings that I really liked though! Photography is allowed in here, no flashes, but I tried not to take too many photos based on my principle on museums and photo-taking... just the few that I liked as shown above.


From Art Gallery to State Library of New South Wales: 550m
Recommended time to reach: 12pm
The State Library of New South Wales is interesting in its own way, with a more vintage wing and a very modern wing of the library. I prefer the vintage side - it feels like tumbling back along an imaginary timeline! It is extremely simple, just a gigantic rectangular room where everyone can see everything all at once. You'd see another side of Sydney that's different from its glitzy opera houses and bridges, slightly closer to what some of the city locals do on a regular day.
From State Library of New South Wales to Malay Chinese Takeaway: 300m

Lunch stop recommendation:
Recommended time to reach: 1pm
Malay Chinese Takeaway
1/50 Hunter Street

From Malay Chinese Takeaway to Government House: 1,300m
Recommended time to reach: 2.30pm
Please note that the Government House closes at 3pm on Fri - Sun, and 4pm on Mon - Thu. Plan your route accordingly so that you won't miss the Government House like we did. It looks pretty spectacular from the outside.


From Government House to Sydney Opera House: 400m
Recommended time to reach: 3,30pm
Catch the glow of the afternoon sun at Sydney Opera House here if you reach here on time! The rain showed zero signs of abating, and it was a really different version of the Sydney Opera House as seen on pictures. Nonetheless, hundred-percent legit! The harbour bridge had a melancholic look to it.. this is the time to take pictures with the bridge from the opera house's side of the harbour! There's no easy way to cut across, you have to do it the long way around Circular Quay.


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Amie

a travel and food blogger with a constant longing to be somewhere to makes her feel alive ☆ life's an adventure