Queen Victoria Building (QVB)
- Address: 412-414 George Street, Sydney
- Hours: Open at 9am - 11am, close at 5pm - 9pm depending on the day
- Admission: Free
Sumptuously decorated and timelessly elegant, central Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building is an unforgettable shopping destination. Built in High Victorian Romanesque style in 1898, and now meticulously restored, it stands on the site of the original Sydney markets.
The QVB's soaring central dome boasts translucent stained-glass clad in copper on the outside, and the shopping area takes up several balconied floors linked by grand staircases. Tiled floors, pillars, colonnades, balustrades, and arches. Chiming clocks and interesting historical displays complete the QVB’s flamboyant decor.
Originally the shops included tailors and florists; today there’s a wide range of specialist stores, from stationers to couturiers, cafes and coffee shops.
Latest Reviews
Review by lavendertraveler, August 2011
Doing what: Sydney Sightseeing Pass: See Sydney Card and Attraction Pass
We were in Sydney for a week and bought a two day pass with transport. We definitely got our money's worth! The transport made it very easy to board, trains, buses. The first day we toured the Opera House on the Essential Free Tour, bought the $35 picture package which was well worth the money paid for it. We took the bus to the Sydney Museum-Free and learned about the beginnings of the city, strolled through the Royal Botanical Gardens, stopped by the Government House, visited the Art Gallery NSW and that was free but paid extra for admission to see the 2,000 year old Chinese Terra Cotta soldiers on display. That was incredible! From there we walked to Hyde Park and saw the fountain, took a break for a while, then walked over to the Tower and got in free to view the city, took the OZTrek, that was cool, just like being on Soaring Over California at Disney California. Then after taking in the view and figuring out where our hotel was in relation to the tower, we went to the food court at the tower and had pizza at one of the restaurants. Then took the train back to our hotel.
Day 2- Took the bus to Town Hall, toured that free, walked over through Hyde Park, viewed the Anzac War Memorial, which was temporarily closed, to the Hyde Park Barracks and toured that free. The barracks provided an excellent synopsis of how the country got started. Then we walked back over to the Queen Victoria Building, took the 11:30am tour of the building. This is a great tour with excellent history included! They give you a gift bag with lots of postcards to send to friends/family abroad. Did much more free!
Review by Undercover American, Australie, October 2010
Practical Info
Sydney’s grandest shopping mall, the Queen Victoria Building takes up an entire city block, bound by George, Market, York and Druitt streets.
Town Hall Station is adjacent to the QVB on George Street, just over Druitt St. You can walk here from Circular Quay in around 10 minutes – just head south down George St.
