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If you only manage to explore one building in Sydney, make it this one. Not simply beautiful from afar, a close look at the shells’ interior reveals the complexity of the gravity-defying construction. Renovations are underway to realize Jørn Utzon’s original vision for the interiors.

The Walsh Bay wharves recently became the first World Heritage-listed urban site in Australia. They have been reinvigorated as an elegant new precinct made up of theatres, restaurants, a hotel and apartments. Shipping timbers and dock machinery have been incorporated into the new buildings.

The ethereal white glass skin and sails atop Renzo Piano’s office block and apartment buildings, built in 2000, echo the Opera House’s shells and the spinnakers of yachts on the harbour. They also regulate the temperature, making the skyscraper one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the CBD.

Part of a large development on a historic site, the base of this elegant high-rise carefully slopes over several 19th-century terrace houses. The neighbouring Museum of Sydney preserves the footings of the first Government House. In Mission Impossible 2 , Tom Cruise abseiled through the roof’s steel blades.

Designed by Sydney’s arbiters of style, Engelen Moore, Altair was voted the world’s best apartment building in 2001. The coup was clinched by its environ-mental performance and sleek lines. Mechanical louvres on the building’s façade open to catch the breeze.

Built in the 1960s, this structure was a revisioning of Sydney’s downtown, combining office, retail and public space. Today the build- ing is still revered as a marvel of concrete construction. Architect Harry Seidler cham-fered the building’s corners to reduce its shadow, giving the tower its iconic round form.

Over-scaled openings animate the grand façade of this cool white apartment complex, designed by the architectural style gurus Burley Katon Halliday. The large apartments are situated around a sunny, stone-paved courtyard, complete with sculpture and a great breakfast café.

Sydney’s most significant architect, whose work spans over 50 years, Harry Seidler was almost single-handedly responsible for bringing Bauhaus and European Modernism to Australia. This modest but lovely house, commissioned by Seidler’s mother in 1950, assimilates the best Modernist features. Also check out its interesting collection of original furniture and appliances.

The roof of this stadium is a low-slung “Mexican hat” which allows tantalizing glimpses of sports crowds from nearby Fox Studios. Designed by local architect Phillip Cox, it was built to coincide with Sydney’s Bicentenary in 1988.

Not often is a station so architecturally interesting: this one is a rare beast. Supporting a delicate membrane roof, 18 vaulted arches hover over the rail platform and provide an impressive gateway to the extensive Homebush sporting complex (see Sporting Venues & Olympic Sites).