Short answer: the Sydney Opera House is the number-one tourist attraction in Australia by international visitors per year — receiving approximately 11 million visitors annually (Sydney Opera House Trust, pre-COVID baseline; 2024 figures recovering toward 10 million). The other major contenders by visitor numbers are the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, and the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road.
Here’s the ranked list and what each is actually like.
1. Sydney Opera House
UNESCO World Heritage listed (2007). Designed by Jørn Utzon (1959-1973). Hosts Opera Australia, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Bell Shakespeare Company, and a continuous programme of theatre, music and dance.
Visitor experiences:
- The exterior — accessible 24/7, free to walk around
- Guided tours — paid, daily, around $40
- A performance — varies by season; opera and orchestra from $85
- Forecourt events — free, throughout the year
The Opera House is genuinely the most-visited single tourist site in Australia by a wide margin. The exterior alone is worth the trip; the interior tours and performances add depth.
2. The Great Barrier Reef
UNESCO World Heritage listed (1981). The world’s largest coral reef system, covering 344,400 square kilometres along the Queensland coast. Access from Cairns, Port Douglas, the Whitsundays, and Townsville.
Standard tourist experience: a day-cruise from Cairns or Port Douglas to a reef pontoon, snorkelling or diving, glass-bottom boat tour. Cost from $200–$400 per person for a full-day tour.
The reef has experienced significant coral bleaching events since 2016. The northern sections (Cairns/Port Douglas access) have been more affected; the southern Whitsundays area has retained more coral health.
3. Uluru (Ayers Rock)
UNESCO World Heritage listed (1987). Sandstone monolith in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, central Australia. Sacred to the Anangu people, the traditional custodians.
Climbing Uluru was banned in October 2019 (in line with the wishes of the traditional custodians). Visitor experiences now:
- Walking the base track (10.6 km, around 3.5 hours)
- Sunrise and sunset viewing (the rock changes colour dramatically)
- Field of Light installation (Bruce Munro, ongoing)
- Cultural Centre at Yulara
- Indigenous-led cultural tours
Access from Yulara (Ayers Rock Resort), 5 hours drive from Alice Springs or 3-hour flight from Sydney/Melbourne. Annual visitor numbers around 250,000 pre-COVID.
4. The Twelve Apostles
Limestone stacks on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria. Originally nine stacks (one named “the Twelve Apostles” was a tourism rebrand in the 1950s); seven now after several have collapsed since 1990.
Free to visit; viewing platform with full visitor centre. Day-trip from Melbourne or overnight stop on a Great Ocean Road self-drive. Annual visitor numbers around 2 million.
5. Bondi Beach
Sydney’s most-famous beach. Free to visit. Bondi-to-Coogee coastal walk (6 km) is the most-photographed urban-coastal walk in Australia. Annual visitor numbers around 2.8 million per year (City of Waverley estimates).
6. Kakadu National Park
UNESCO World Heritage listed (dual listing — natural and cultural). Northern Territory, 240 km east of Darwin. Rock art sites (Ubirr, Nourlangie), waterfalls, wetlands, crocodile populations.
Access requires 4WD for some areas; the wet season (November-April) closes large parts of the park. Best visited May-October.
7. Melbourne (the city as a whole)
The Economist Intelligence Unit “world’s most liveable city” winner 2011-2017 and a consistent top-three city since. Melbourne doesn’t have a single iconic landmark like Sydney’s Opera House; the city’s appeal is distributed across food, coffee, sport, arts, laneways, and the Yarra Valley.
Annual international visitor numbers approximate Sydney’s, but distributed across many small attractions rather than concentrated.
8. Phillip Island Penguin Parade
Phillip Island, Victoria. Daily evening parade of little penguins coming ashore at Summerland Beach. Around 600,000 visitors per year (Phillip Island Nature Parks).
9. The Royal Botanic Gardens (Sydney)
In central Sydney on the harbour foreshore. Free entry. Approximately 5 million visitors per year. The Mrs Macquarie’s Chair lookout has the most-photographed Opera-House-and-Harbour-Bridge view.
10. Federation Square (Melbourne)
Melbourne’s central public space. Free. Around 10 million annual visitors (event-driven). Hosts the Ian Potter Centre at NGV Australia and a continuous calendar of cultural programming.
What This Means for You
For a UK visitor doing a first Australia trip:
- Day 1 of arrival: see the Sydney Opera House
- Day 4-5: visit one regional natural wonder (the Reef from Cairns, or the Twelve Apostles from Melbourne, or Uluru from Alice Springs/Yulara)
- Day 6-7: experience a non-landmark Australian city (Melbourne if you went Sydney first; Sydney if you started in Melbourne)
Visiting all four major attractions (Opera House, Reef, Uluru, Twelve Apostles) in a single trip requires at least 14 days, multiple flights and a significant budget. Most international tourists pick two of the four.
For more, see what is famous in Melbourne to buy and Sydney vs Melbourne.