Forget the Expensive Bridge Climb, Try the Sydney Pylon Lookout at the Harbour Bridge for 1/25th the Price

If it wasn’t before, the Harbour Bridge Climb is officially totally not worth it, especially when you can climb to the Sydney pylon lookout for only $15 AUD. The Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout is contained in the southeast (or pretty much bottom right) pylon of the bridge, and offers some of the best views of Sydney Harbour.

It has fantastic views of the opera house and harbour that I cannot fathom to be much different than views from the bridge climb – I mean, they’re only a few dozen meters apart, but are a couple hundred dollars apart. And you don’t have to wear a ridiculous body suit.

I think its sort of a misrepresented bucket list item that so many people in the world want to ‘climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.’ I mean, it sounds glamorous and all, like some type of massively adventurous and dangerous feat that only the daring could complete – as if you free climb the rungs of the bridge yourself with no rope, using just your hands to pull your bodyweight and possibly plunging to your death into the harbour at any given moment.

But, if I told you that it’s just really being put in an idiotic bodysuit and climbing some stairs, is it still so valiant? I mean, I climbed the stairs up to the roof of my apartment complex this morning; can I have a medal too? Like cool, you paid $300 to walk up some stairs. That actually kind of sucks.

Okay, yes, I’m being a bit sassy. To be totally honest I was really considering doing it myself. I was in Sydney, and being one of the top activities in the area and all (and even in the world), I felt sort of obliged to do it. Like all the other bucket listers in the world, I thought that I should check it off. Wear the bodysuit, take a selfie, and post it to instagram just like everybody else.

But then… I realized I’m actually a smart person. I realized that I should be feeding none of my money into silly tourist traps that shuffle you along like cows and then shuffle you off again in preparation for the next herd to come through. I mean of course I do this sometimes, but not in times that cost $300.

The cost for the bridge climb far outweighs the benefit. The damn thing can cost up to $370 in peak season… Like are you kidding me?! LOL. An instagram photo is not worth that much money. Ever. Especially when thousands of other people take the same exact one.

Just about the same time I made the happy realization that I am not part of a herd of sheep, I was told about something called the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout. This intriguing place apparently had a little museum with a bunch of history about the bridge, and a rooftop lookout on the pylon over the opera house and the entire Harbour Bridge (and harbour itself).

“Wonderful,” I thought, and my parents (who were visiting me at the time) and I went there the next day.

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Staying in Sydney for a while? Check out some of my other articles:

• totally free coastal walks in Sydney to get some more amazing views of Sydney Harbour
•  Guide to Manly Beach (a place you MUST visit while in Sydney, and where I lived!)
• Best Sydney Sunset Spots
• A Blue Mountains Day Tour from Sydney
• Day Trips from Sydney

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The Pylon Lookout

A photo from the opening day of the bridge; part of the Pylon Lookout museum

Not only is this an awesome little museum and lookout, but it is utterly and completely empty. No crowds, no herds of sheep or cows or whatever you want them to be. It was weird – like no one really knows about this little gem of a place called the pylon lookout. Sure, the Sydney Pylon Lookout’s website isn’t as fancy and they haven’t got enzillion social media accounts and marketing employees like the Bridge Climb, but I thought that the word needed to be spread a bit.

We walked up the stairs and read all about the history of the bridge and how it came to be – all the debates about making it, how they decided on the design, all the men who worked (and died) making it, how they held it up during construction, how the steel expands and contracts in temperature, all the tiny little plans and debates and construction dilemmas that had to be ironed out and how they did it.

There were tons of photos, even some scaled replicas of different parts of the bridge and men working on it. There were dozens of interesting facts about the bridge, and so much to learn! And the best part – the view.

We walked out the doors at the top and immediately had a sweeping view of the city skyscrapers, Circular Quay, the Opera House, the entire Harbour Bridge, and the whole harbour for miles all around. The best part was that we could see all the herds of sheep… er, people climbing the harbour bridge from right below where we stood on the pylon lookout.

‘HAHA, SUCKAAAAS!” We thought, as we looked in our pockets and were quite content to find much more money left over than any of the bridge climbers had in theirs. And then, we looked out to see the same view they had. We felt delighted and decided to take ourselves out to dinner with all the money we saved by paying $15 to get this awesome view – and heaps of interesting facts as well. And we were also happy to be wearing normal clothes and not sweating inside silly thick suits that had been worn by hundreds of people before us. It was just wonderful.

And now, a few interesting facts we learned at the Pylon Lookout for your enjoyment:

• It took 7 years and 356 days to make the bridge – from 1924 to 1932.
• On a hot day, the bridge expands and can ‘grow’ up to 180mm. To allow for this, the engineers designed hinges at both sides of the bridge.
• The bridge is made of: 52,800 tons of steel, 17,000 cubic meters of granite, and 95,000 cubic meters of concrete
• There are about 6 million rivets in the bridge.
• The pylons are mostly for visual effect and don’t really serve a specific purpose. They’re made of solid granite.
• 272,000 liters of paint were required to give the bridge it’s initial 3 coats.
• This type of bridge was chosen because a steel arch would look impressive and imposing and could accommodate heavy loads.
• 16 men died while building the bridge. 8 were iron workers, 1 was a carpenter, 1 a painter, 2 were quarrymen, and 4 were laborers… only 2 fell from the arch.
• When it was being built, 128 ‘tie back’ cables held the bridge up and restrained the part-finished arches. These cables were each 365 meters long, 70mm in diameter, 8.6 tons in weight, and made up of 217 individual wires. \\

And that’s all for now, although you can read dozens more at the Pylon Lookout. Go and check it out for yourself!!

Some more photos from the Sydney Pylon Lookout:

A better view of the bridge than being on it itself, in my opinion!

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View of EVERYTHING.

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KimmConn

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Passionate, full-time travel blogger with over 230k on social media and 150kMPV blog. Extraordinary photographer with two DSLR's + a drone with a love for capturing candid moments, epic drone shots, and magical compositions. I'm a natural-born content creator originally from California, but I've been on the road for 9 years living, working, traveling, blogging, and photographing my way around the world. I recommend the most amazingly adventurous and unique + boutique travel experiences/stays and helpful products to my audience and write comprehensive guides on my website that have helped millions of travelers so far. I love to inspire people to plan their dream trips, and many readers have given feedback as such. The reach on my platforms continues to soar, especially when combining cutting-edge social content with optimized articles on my high-authority website.