Queen Victoria Building

The Queen Victoria Building, in Sydney

The Queen Victoria Building, nicknamed QVB by the inhabitants, is one of the finest buildings of Sydney, sometimes presented as the most beautiful shopping centre of the world. The Sydney audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this sumptuous Victorian building of 1898, dedicated to Queen Victoria, whose Byzantine-inspired architecture today shelters nearly two hundred shops.

The Victorian palace of commerce

Some consider it as the most beautiful shopping centre of the world: the Queen Victoria Building, called QVB by the inhabitants, is without any doubt one of the finest buildings of Sydney. Its architecture, that takes up that of the Byzantine palaces with its great copper dome, has enough to amaze. Designed in 1898 to host the first markets of the city, it was dedicated to Queen Victoria, who reigned over the United Kingdom for more than sixty years and became Queen of Australia; the building celebrated her long reign, one of the longest of British history. The building that stands in front of you had to be worthy of this sovereign who marked her era, and it reveals a Victorian style typical of this period, with its glass roofs, its mosaics and its monumental staircase. Offering nearly two hundred shops on four floors, this shopping centre is a paradise for shopping lovers: restaurants, cafés, souvenir shops and exhibition halls follow one another. It even hosted the city council in the 1930s. Left abandoned between 1959 and 1971, it was nearly demolished before being magnificently restored in 1984, recovering all its brilliance for the delight of the inhabitants and visitors who come to stroll there each day. A Victorian building and a temple of shopping, the Queen Victoria Building is a fine stop of the discovery of Sydney.

What to see

Here you admire one of the finest buildings of Sydney, sometimes said to be the most beautiful shopping centre of the world, designed in 1898 in a Victorian style of Byzantine inspiration and dedicated to Queen Victoria; capped with a great copper dome, adorned with glass roofs and mosaics, restored in 1984, it shelters nearly two hundred shops on four floors. The Queen Victoria Building is a jewel of Sydney. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Queen Victoria Building lies in the very centre of Sydney, reachable on foot or by transport. It is a shopping centre freely accessible, whose architecture and shops you admire at the opening hours, which vary. You discover it during a walk in the centre.

Why does the Queen Victoria Building of Sydney bear this name?

Because it was dedicated to Queen Victoria, who reigned over the United Kingdom more than sixty years and became Queen of Australia, the building of 1898 celebrating her long reign; designed to host the first markets of the city in a Victorian style of Byzantine inspiration, restored in 1984, it today shelters nearly two hundred shops.

Where is the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney?

In the very centre of Sydney, in Australia.