Prince Alfred Park commemorates balloon rides and sailing ships

The park and pool pay tribute to Sydney’s history while helping ensure a sustainable future.

Award-winning park

Prince Alfred Park sits in the heart of Sydney, next to Central train station. The City of Sydney transformed the 7.5 hectare park and pool with landscape architect Sue Barnsley Design and Neeson Murcutt Architects. It has won multiple design and architecture awards.
A perfect spot to exercise

A 1 kilometre accessible exercise path runs through the park for joggers, people walking and riding, prams and wheelchairs. Distinctive blue lights with silver legs represent birds looking up and grazing with heads down.
Green roof

Prince Alfred Park Pool has the biggest green roof of its kind in Sydney. It’s topped with a native meadow of more than 35,000 indigenous plants which naturally regulate the temperature of the building. Roof chimneys serve as functional public art pieces.
Healthy food and snacks

The café opens daily for breakfast and lunch, serving healthy food to people visiting the park and using the pool facilities.
The pool welcomes visitors

Thousands of people visit the pool each year. It’s operated by Belgravia Leisure in partnership with the City of Sydney.
Accessible outdoor pool

Prince Alfred Park Pool is Sydney’s first accessible outdoor pool with a ramp into the water. The pool is heated and open all year round, with the exception of Good Friday and Christmas Day.
Assassination dodged

Prince Alfred Park was originally bushland and a camping place for local Gadigal peoples until the 1850s. The park is named in honour of HRH Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, who survived Australia’s first attempted assassination while visiting in 1868.
Take a dip

The 50 metre pool is 9 lanes wide and holds 1,850,000 litres of water. It’s surrounded by a grandstand dotted with bright yellow umbrellas, grass and picnic tables.
Energy-efficient features

The pool complex features the latest filtration systems, water-saving fixtures, custom-designed energy-efficient lighting and bright sky-lit change rooms.
Shoot some hoops

Basketball players can shoot hoops on 2 courts and an extra half-court. The park features 5 tennis courts made of Plexicushion, the same material used at Flinders Park, the home of the Australian Open. Fitness stations can also be found throughout the park.
Fun for the young

The pool features a toddler splash deck with water toys and a soft fall landing for the young and young at heart to explore and play.
Of balloon rides and sailing ships

There are 2 playgrounds with play equipment playing tribute to the park’s rich history. A giant balloon highlights the story of Thomas Gale’s infamous balloon ride from Prince Alfred Park to Redfern in September 1870. A playground dinghy is named Galatea after the sailing ship that brought Prince Alfred to Australia in 1867. The pet elephant the prince brought on a later trip appears in the park’s elephant slippery slide.