Five surprising ways to spend a day at the Sydney Opera House

After the past few years of staying inside and sticking to our neighbourhood it's high time you reclaimed your corner of the Sydney Opera House. It's Sydney's original community centre, after all. Rediscover the cool, quirky and meaningful elements of the House. Take a stroll around her at night and take in the magical projections of six First Nations women artists and their work in Badu Gili: Wonder Woman. Drop in to Opera Bar for a Quandong Fizz cocktail by the sea. Spontaneously buy a ticket to a wacky comedy show, an artful contemporary ballet or a sound effect-filled farce. The House is your oyster.  

As we've already mentioned – you can throw your preconceptions about Opera House shows being all about classical pomp and formalities out the window. Scratch the surface and you'll find a treasure chest of indie music, edgy theatre and blockbuster performances from all over the live art spectrum. For a spot of hip hop, power pop and rebellious herstory nab tickets to the smash hit musical Six (until April 2) – remixing the history of Henry VIII’s six wives (read our full four-star review). Have a chuckle at some of our country's brightest comedians at Let's Laugh (May 31- June 2) featuring Tommy Little, Celia Pacquola, Sam Taunton, Alex Ward and David Woodhead.

Vivid Live may feel less surprising to include but this year's iteration has some tricks up its sleeve. The music and art event program for 2022 is packed with rollicking harbourside parties from legends like Club Kooky, Picnic, Astral People and Mad Racket plus headlining turns from international and local stars like Paul Kelly with Thelma Plum, Sampa the Great, Moses Sumney, Low Life and more.

Those famous sails also encase a year-long roster of talks, workshops and experiences to invigorate your critical thinking skills and get your creativity moving. The Opera House regularly updates their workshop roster – take a deep dive into playful design with the Architecture Club series on selected Saturdays until June 25.

The Sydney Opera House isn't all gowns and opera galas, there's also very accessible tiers of delicious dining options and world-class booze to peruse. Don't know where to start? Hop along on the Taste of the House tour, a fun way to sample all the goodies Opera House venues have to offer. Ignite your foodie side with this progressive long lunch experience that takes you through hands-on mixology lessons, learning how to make fresh salmon poke bowls, a robust main lunch from Portside Sydney and a memorable new dessert at the famous Bennelong restaurant. 

If you close your eyes and try to conjure the image of the Sydney Opera House your imagination won't have to work very hard. The iconic building is burned into our collective memories. But did you know you can take in its majesty from more unusual angles? Reignite your creativity and connection with the House with a tour. On Saturdays you can learn more about the building's design and observe the inspired engineering up close on a dedicated architecture tour. Or sketch the Opera House on a drawing and walking tour. Draw the House invites visitors to see the Opera House through an artist's lense while learning about its creative history on a walking tour (you'll get to gawk at the famous foyer tapestries too).