Behind-the-scenes tours give you an all-access pass to Sydney’s biggest icons, brightest cultural institutions and vibrant food and drinks scene. Discover the working worlds of Sydney’s draw cards on one of these experiences.
May 2025 -
4
min readSydney icons
Look behind the curtain and discover the inner workings of one of Sydney’s icons with The Backstage Tour at Sydney Opera House. This early-morning experience, limited to just a handful of guests, provides an intimate glimpse of unseen spaces of one of the world’s most famous stages. Led by expert guides, guests are invited into the hidden heart of the Opera House, through a maze of corridors, rehearsal spaces and the orchestra pit. Visitors will walk in the footsteps of legendary performers before enjoying breakfast in the exclusive Green Room, a space ordinarily reserved for the stars and crew.
Sydney Opera House Backstage Tour - Credit: Tobias Rowles
Once you’ve uncovered the secrets of the Opera House, discover a quieter, but equally captivating side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge at the Pylon Lookout and Museum. Operated by BridgeClimb, this lesser-known experience invites visitors to discover the bridge’s remarkable history before embarking on a 200-step ascent to the top of the south-east pylon, where you’ll be greeted with sweeping views of the harbour and beyond to the Blue Mountains.
Across the harbour at The Royal Botanic Garden, enjoy almost two hours of guided exploration of the tropical and rare plant collection with the Behind the Scenes Glasshouse Tour. Beginning at The Calyx, the tour runs every second and fourth Wednesday of the month and is limited to 10 guests so you can take a tranquil stroll surrounded by natural beauty.
The Calyx at the Royal Botanic Gardens
Wild and wonderful
Just a 12-minute ferry ride from the city, Taronga Zoo draws serious crowds thanks to its various furry, feathered and finned inhabitants. But there’s an under-the-radar experience that gets you even closer to the action. The Wild Australia Experience is a small group tour where a zookeeper takes you through the Nura Diya Australia precinct at the zoo, so you’re up close and personal with native Australian wildlife. For those looking to dive deeper into Australia’s unique aquatic life (literally), SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium hosts a Behind the Scenes Tour that takes you below the surface. Learn about how the aquarium maintains its marine environments, prepares meals for the animals, and hear about the team’s vital conservation work.
Food and drinks
Discover the stories of sustainability, seasonality and the many hands that shape Sydney’s acclaimed seafood scene with Sydney Fish Market’s Behind the Scenes Tour. You start the day bright and early seeing a flurry of deliveries at the bustling heart of Sydney Fish Market on Blackwattle Bay. Led by passionate guides, you’ll see the auction floor (usually closed to the public) and learn about tuna filleting, oyster shucking and the delicate art of sushi preparation.
Vendor with a king crab, Sydney Fish Market
For a different flavour, head to Gelato Messina’s Marrickville HQ to see the humming factory where mixers whirl with caramel, chocolate, pistachio and all the magic that has earned Messina its national acclaim. If you’re after something stronger, there are plenty of tours available across Sydney’s award-winning distilleries, with Brix Distillers serving up rum, Archie Rose Distilling Co. crafting fragrant gins and Manly Spirits Co. blending its own hyper-local concoctions. Here, you can sip, sample, and learn about the craft behind some of the country’s finest small-batch spirits.
Brix Distillery Tour & Tasting at Brix Distillers
Sport
Walk the path of the champions that have created Australian sporting history with the Sydney Cricket Ground Tour. This captivating 90-minute guided tour offers visitors insider access to the players’ dressing rooms, the heritage-listed Members Reserve, the SCG Museum and more. Sports enthusiasts and history buffs alike won’t want to miss this one.
Sydney Cricket Ground SCG Tours - Credit: Sydney Cricket & Sports Grounds
Art and culture
The secret workings and histories of Sydney’s beloved cultural institutions lie in the spaces that are usually reserved for those in the know. Be wowed by the grandeur of the State Theatre's architecture or peek behind the curtain on a backstage tour at the Sydney Theatre Company. The Australian Museum offers a range of tours, including Early Bird and Night Owl options that are specifically designed to help those with autism or sensory sensitivities make the most of their museum experience.
Australian Museum - Credit: James Horan | Australian Museum
The Art Gallery of NSW hosts a range of guided tours, including Art After Hours and State of the Art. Art After Hours opens the door to the gallery’s collection every Wednesday night until 10pm. Away from the daytime crowds, guests are welcome to explore exhibitions on a guided tour or at their own pace, enjoy live music and participate in one of the weekly interactive workshops. The State of the Art Tour lifts the veil on the workings of the gallery, offering small groups insider access to the newer Naala Badu Building. You can also join the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia’s Artist in Focus guided tour, which grants deeper insight into highlights from the MCA’s collection, where expert guides reveal more about the creative minds behind the works.
Museum of Contemporary Art - artwork copyright: Julie Mehretu
History
For those looking to learn all about Sydney’s layered history, take the Island Highlights Tour on Cockatoo Island and explore the island’s many lives from penal colony and naval shipyard to a host for art, music and more. At Q Station at Manly’s North Head, learn about the property’s former life as a quarantine station against a backdrop of spectacular harbour views, with the Q Station History Tour.
Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour
The Inside the Maritime Collection Tour at the Australian National Maritime Museum puts you in the shoes of a sea farer thanks to the many artefacts housed here. Put on a pair of white gloves and sift through the museum's collection, discovering centuries of shipwrecks, legends, Aboriginal artefacts, and lives lived at sea. Finally, follow in the footsteps of thousands of convicts on the two-hour Convict Sydney Walking Tour, listening to tales of hardship and triumph, and passing through historic sites like the Museum of Sydney, The Mint and Hyde Park Barracks.
Heritage gallery, Australian National Maritime Museum - Credit: Australian National Maritime Museum
