AMP Tower / Centerpoint., Sydney

O K so you have figured out the food is disgusting, not even prepared on site, the view wonderful if the clouds part and if it's race up the Sydney tower day or worse still only 1 lift is operating (which is common) you have to queue for a while but the tower does have a use after all and it is free.
Whenever you are walking around Sydney and start to panic feeling that you may be a little lost look up in the sky and head in the direction of the tower, that will get you back to the mall, from the mall if you want Circular Quay head with the Harbour Bridge in view, if you want China Town and can see the Bridge you are going the wrong way!

Unique Suggestions: Use the bathroom - they are few and far between in Sydney

Fun Alternatives: Harbour Bridge Climb - it looks hard but you go at your own pace and it is actually a gradual incline not a huge hill as it appears.

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This is something I didnt think I would do. But somehow they have it remarkably balanced so there isnt much motion.

And its worth the views although I feel it is a bit too expensive.

Fun Alternatives: If you can, go to Summit instead.

The AMP / Centrepoint tower is a definite tourist trap. On the day we went the queue to get up to the view went down the tower and out onto the street and you'll have to trust me (and quite a few other tourist tippers by the look of it) and spend your money elsewhere. Please.

Unique Suggestions: Go early in the morning to avoid queues. Don't bother on a cloudy day.

Fun Alternatives: If you're into lofty views, try the Pylon Lookout of the Sydney Harbour Bridge ($9.00) or take a free walk around the revolving restaurant on Level 47 of the Australia Square building.

I can imagine that the view would be great from up here, I have seen photos taken by family members so I didn't venture up, as it is quite expensive at UK£20!!

Fun Alternatives: I think you can get a better view from Harbour bridge, or even the monorail!

Fair enough, I can't give the best judement but i would not recommend this!

In a curly city such as Sydney, knowing the lay of the land is an essential part of getting oriented. And the spindly, cable-strung edifice known to locals as Centrepoint but renamed AMP, then Sydney Tower, in recent times, is the perfect vantage point. One of the city's most visible landmarks, it's also one of its most popular tourist pitstops and, at 305 metres (if you include the spike), is Sydney's tallest building.

Wedge-shaped lifts hoist visitors to the refurbished Observation Deck, from which the surrounding city looks like Legoland. There are picture windows (thankfully free of finger smudges) all around, and big, clunky pivoting binoculars for those wanting to examine details of the cityscape more closely. Free tours start hourly, on the hour, and are filled with chewy stats: who knew that there are eight million rivets in the Sydney Harbour Bridge?

Tower tickets include entry to the 40-minute, multi-million-dollar "virtual expedition", Skytour, which employs technical wizardry - surround screens, sensory effects, vibrating chairs, water sprays - to take you on a whistlestop tour of spectacular Australian locations

Unique Suggestions: If being thrown about virtual Australia doesn't appeal, sightsee the old-fashioned way: via the windows of the observation deck. Don't forget to spend a few minutes gawking at the ceiling, with its illuminated panels showing typical Sydney scenes.

Clearest viewing conditions usually occur in the morning on sunny days, and dusk affords occasional spectacular sunsets - though the reflections from the lights and the souvenir shop on the viewing windows tend to obscure the view. After dark, you'll have difficulty identifying landmarks but you're guaranteed an impressive light show.

Hungry visitors can continue to enjoy panoramic 360-degree views as they dine, slowly revolving on the tower's axis, in one of the two on-site restaurants, the International Revolving Restaurant and the Self Select Revolving Restaurant.

I may be prejudiced ~ living in the city with the Northern Hemisphere counterpart to Sydney Tower (the CN Tower) ~ but I find both to be overpriced and overhyped. Neither one is particularly attractive; luckily, they offer great views. . .but those can be found in nicer places.

Fun Alternatives: Catch the views from the Habour Bridge Pylon ~ your photos will be better (no glass blocking you view).

The AMP Tower is a must-see, no doubt about it, but I found the Skytours experience a total waste of money. I don't believe it's possible to pay the ticket price for a visit to the top of the tower alone. If it is, then do just that. Otherwise you are forced to pay for your Skytours visit and Tower view together. Skytours is basically one of those 'multimedia experiences' where you sit in chairs that move around and listen to the sounds years gone by. Yawn ....