page_title: Sydney central business district
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Sydney central business district / Culture
caption_attribution_description: English: Sydney CBD at night, seen from Meriton Serviced Apartments Kent Street, Sydney
context_page_description: The Sydney Central Business District is the main commercial centre of Sydney, the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. The Sydney CBD is to a large degree coterminous with Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. The CBD or city centre is often referred to simply as "Town" or "the City". The Sydney city centre extends southwards for about 3 km from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement in which the Sydney region was initially established. Due to its pivotal role in Australia's early history, it is one of the oldest established areas in the country.
  Geographically, its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in the south. Its east–west axis runs from a chain of parkland that includes Hyde Park, The Domain, Royal Botanic Gardens and Farm Cove on Sydney Harbour in the east; to Darling Harbour and the Western Distributor in the west. At the 2016 Australian Census, the City recorded a population of 17,252.
  The Sydney City is Australia's main financial and economic centre, as well as a leading hub of economic activity for the Asia-Pacific region.
context_section_description: Sydney's cultural centre is compacted within its central business district and inner city ring, due to its nightlife, pedestrian traffic and centrality of notable attractions. There is a large concentration of cultural institutions within the CBD including: the Museum of Sydney, the State Library of New South Wales, the Customs House branch of the City of Sydney Library, the Theatre Royal, the City Recital Hall and the Japan Foundation. There are a total of 19 churches located in the Sydney city centre.
  Many other cultural institutions are located at the surrounds of the CBD, such as: the Sydney Opera House and the Museum of Contemporary Art to the north, the Australian Museum and the Art Gallery of New South Wales to the east, the Powerhouse Museum to the west, White Rabbit Gallery and the Haymarket branch of the City of Sydney Library to the south.
  Every January during the summer, the city celebrates with the Sydney Festival. There are art, music and dance exhibitions at indoor and outdoor venues. Australian and International theatre during the month is also featured, including Aboriginal, and Contemporary. Many of these events are free.
  The Sydney Film Festival is an international event organised every year in June at various venues across the CBD. The festival opened on 11 June 1954 and was held over four days, with screenings at Sydney University. Attendance was at full capacity with 1,200 tickets sold at one guinea each.
  Sydney boasts a lively café culture, as well as a club and bar scene distributed throughout the CBD and concentrated in a couple of locations such as Darling Harbour. Although Kings Cross is not technically located within the Sydney CBD, it is accessible via William Street, which runs through Hyde Park and is part of the inner-city region. Oxford Street hosts Sydney's gay scene.
caption: The CBD at night.
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