The 5 Best Historical Tours in Sydney

1.The Rocks 90-Minute History Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 1,092 reviews · 1h 30m · from $32Our pick

Walk The Rocks with a specialist guide for 90 minutes, hearing stories of convicts, settlers, workers, and waterfront life. Expect cobbled lanes, old pubs, courtyards, Sydney Cove views, and practical tips for exploring the area afterward. Small groups, amplification, and a pram-friendly route help you keep up.

“Vickie was very knowledgeable, and encouraged questions. She bought the tour to life with her photos and stories. The pace of the tour was perfect and vickie could be heard very clearly at all times. We thoroughly enjoyed this experience and would recommend it if you are interested in the history of Sydney.”

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2.Sydney The Rocks Historical Pub Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 251 reviews · from $82Top rated

Walk through The Rocks with a local guide such as Dave, Nick, Simon, or Doug, stopping at four historic pubs for four included drinks. Expect stories about Sydney’s early days, back alleys, old buildings, local beer, cider, wine, and a small group of up to 15 people.

“Fun experience! It is great you can get something other than beer too! Everyone enjoyed themselves! Our guide was so fun!”

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3.Sydney Convicts, History & The Rocks 2.5-Hour Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 181 reviews · 2h 30m · from $36

Meet your English-speaking guide at Customs House and walk through Circular Quay, Macquarie Place and The Rocks. Hear about convicts, rum dealers, street gangs, Indigenous history and unusual sandstone buildings. Guides such as Bec, Max and Pete bring old Sydney to life with stories, images and plenty of context.

“A lot of information in a short time Very interesting stories and approach to the history”

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4.Historical True Crime Walking Tour of East Sydney

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 53 reviews · from $24Best value

Join guide Elliott for a two-hour walk from the Museum area through Hyde Park and Darlinghurst. Hear about cold cases, gang fights, criminals, and old Sydney society while seeing the former gaol, courthouse, police station, Victorian streets, and Kinselas Hotel at Taylor Square.

“Excellent tour and Elliott has so much overall knowledge of the history of East Sydney, Elliott not only had extensive information on the riveting murder stories but he gave us a very good understanding of the sociological aspects from convict years to the 1970’’s”

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5.Sydney Photography Course in the Historic Rocks Area

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 35 reviews

Spend 2.5 hours with Alfonso Calero Photography in The Rocks, learning manual camera settings, composition, exposure, and shutter speed. Choose an afternoon or nighttime class, bring your own camera, and work in a small group of up to 10 at Sydney’s best photo spots.

“I had a fantastic photo tour, really informative, and I learnt lots of new techniques. Was cool to view things differently and there were plenty of opportunities for me to experiment and use my creativity. Highly recommend, it was well worth the money.”

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