Anchoring Sydney’s CBD, George Street is a buzz of activity. Stretching for three kilometres, it links a host of the city’s most iconic buildings and precincts. Gleaming skyscrapers tower on either side of the thoroughfare and house Australia’s biggest agglomeration of corporate HQs. Beyond business, George Street is a mecca for shoppers. It also serves up some of Sydney’s best nightlife, with the stylish Ivy Complex located just off a George Street laneway.
While office towers may dominate the skyline, George Street is still home to some of Sydney’s most beautiful historic buildings. The magnificent Queen Victoria Building is an architectural masterpiece, with St Andrew's Cathedral and Sydney Town Hall also reflecting the city’s illustrious past.
Officially, George Street starts in The Rocks, near the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. It runs south to Central Station and finishes in Railway Square. Public transport access is a dream, with trains and buses stopping at various points along George Street.
Today, George Street is a mecca for retail and businesses alike. But it was Captain Arthur Phillip who pioneered its original footprint. When organising the Sydney Cove colony, he housed convicts and soldiers on the bay’s western slopes. The district was connected to the main settlement by a track that led from The Rocks to the current location of Central Station. It soon became one of the city’s major thoroughfares and is widely recognised as Australia’s first street.