Darling Harbor in New South Wales Australia is one of the region’s most loved leisure spots. The 1.3 million tourists that come here annually would testify to the fact that there is very little to be bored about Darling Harbor. The area was originally part of the commercial harbor of Sydney, during the Great Depression in the 1930’s the area was referred to as the Hungry Mile as many of the hungry and unemployed population would congregate here. A government led initiative in the 1980’s saw Darling Harbor being redeveloped as an interesting tourist attraction.

A monorail line has been built linking the Central Business District of Sydney to Darling Harbor, which allows for many city executives to head here for an entertaining evening. Among the attractions here is the IMAX theatre, which is a gigantic movie screen almost eight stories high. Many IMAX movies are designed to be similar to virtual reality games; large speakers placed in different locations of the theatre create even more realism.

The Sydney Aquarium is one of the world’s biggest such facilities with over 5,000 different species of fish being exhibited in their natural habitat. Another ocean related attraction is the Australian National Maritime Museum; this has thousands of displays depicting Australia’s history, from Aboriginal rafts to British Sailing Ships and present day ocean liners.

The Darling Harbor has an eclectic mix of retail outlets ranging from souvenir shops to fully fledged shopping malls. Over 120 retail outlets can be seen here, even locals from Sydney opt to shop here as the beautiful waterfront setting and the absence of traffic makes it preferable to the city. Also to be found here are a great mix of restaurants and bars, over 50 eateries can be located at the Harbourside Centre offering food from all over the globe.

The Darling Harbour is also known host a number of well attended events through out the calendar, the Cockle Bay area regularly hosts a Winter Concert series where artists perform on a platform floating on the sea. Other interesting events such as the Darling Jazz Festival, Street Theatre, Harbour Circus and the World’s Longest Buffet can also be seen here.