Hi All,
If you had only 5 hours to kill in Sydney before flying back to Perth, what place/s would you regard as "a must see"?
Are there hop on/hop off bus trips that take you to all the attractions?
Please help.

If you have 5 full hours (and as I assume you are flying domestic and won't have to negotiate the time lottery of international arrivals) then here is what I would do ...

Take a taxi to the Art Gallery of NSW.
Just whizz in, spend half an hour. Walk from there thru the Botanic Gdns to The SOH. It's a wonderful way to approach it. Continue walking around east circular quay. Then take a ferry - round trip back to CQ via Mosman or via Darling Harbour/Balmain.

And back to the Airport.

If you find yourself with time to spare - take the ferry to Mosman and walk around to Cremorne (45 mins max) and take the ferry back to CQ.

Happy sailing!!

Do a search for "sydney layover option", which might help.

And to answer your other question - yes, there is a hop on hop off bus option as well!

Thanks everyone for responding. Appreciate the help.I'll be flying in from Hamilton Island and then on to Perth.

While it would be nice to hit the Art galery imho it deserves well more than a half hour. I spent and hour and a half in the book store alone!. I'd say take to the water. Buy a transport pass and take as many ferries as you can squeeze in. The ride out to Watson's Bay gives you most of the harbour and I remember fondly a short hop from under the bridge at the Commonwealth Games Pool to Circular Key.

In some ways the city is best seen from the water. The walk across the Botanical garden is lovely as is the walk out to the Opera House.

A/D

well yes, AD - of course the Art Gallery deserves more than half an hour. Don't you think I know that? It has a great collection, and a lovely building, and a great kaff. And is the starting point for a great walk. If you go straight from the Airport to CQ and get on a ferry you don't know any of that is there.

But there you go. I bow to your superior wisdom. And when push comes to shove what people want to hear here is the experiences of other short stay tourists.

fuzzylogic

Of course I know you knew that. We chanced upon dance performance in one of the lower galleries and saw an awards show w/ a great portrait of the actor who starred in 'The Tracker" David something?

We enjoyed the cafe too; the line was at least ahalf hour!

cheers
A/D

Andrew D: David Gulpilil - a most interesting man straddling two very different cultures.
http://www.eniar.org/news/Gulpilil.html

That portrait was, as are most Archibald winners, highly controversial, with a legal suit being lodged by another artist on the basis, I think, that it was more a sketch than a painting. Personally, I think it's fabulous, irrespective of it's elegibility under the "Archibald" R & R's. You might find this link interesting.

I knew that fuzzylogic knew that too, and I knew that AndrewDavid knew that fuzzylogic knew it. Seriously, fuzzylogic, why so prickly?