Sydney, Australia: City Notes
City and local notes: Line on Travel’s vignettes of larger cities, well-known attractions, and short trips.
Sydney is big, well documented and full of options for travelers. There are easy day trips (such as the Blue Mountains), beaches and beautiful hikes all around the city. There are good restaurants and nightlife, but I’m usually already sleeping when the nightlife ramps up. Here are some spins on Top 10 sights and a few just-off-the-beaten path things I’ve enjoyed in Sydney. There’s so much more – check your favorite guidebook.
Spins on Sydney’s Top 10
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is definitely Top 10. Why not climb it? I don’Bridge 8t like heights much but paid the sizable fee to do the Bridge Climb. They give you a breathalyzer test, a good-looking jump suit, a belt with a safety cable, a hanky with a wrist band and croakie for your glasses (up on the bridge you can’t wear or hold anything that’s unattached), some climbing practice and coaching. Then up you go, to the very tip top of the bridge and Sydney Harbour. It is way, way down. Don’t worry about having to leave your phone behind. Bridge guides take plenty of pictures of you with a variety of dramatic views. A photo of your climbing group comes with the package but the individual shots are available for purchase when you leave (through the picture-purchase line of course). I bought all of mine which they gave me on a thumb drive. When I said that I wanted them all, the cashier asked again to be sure. Maybe that’s unusual. Anyway, I’m glad I bought them. It might be my only climb.
Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk. Take the street-level pedestrian walkway. It’s not as exciting as the climb but it’s free. You’re still high up over the water so it’s exciting enough, and it’s a nice walk over to Kirribilli where you can wander around and look at houses, have a snack, sit in the park and see great views of Sydney before you head home.
Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb
Opera House Backstage Tour. Opera House. Top 10. Of course. Everyone has to do something with the Opera House if only a selfie with it behind you. I’ve gone to performances there (including opera – how fitting). But I especially liked the backstage tour. You get to poke around pretty much everywhere, stand in Joan Sutherland’s dressing room (for you opera fans) and have a chance to sing on stage (to an empty house). I immediately clammed up. Darn. But great fun, breakfast in the green room, and you learn a lot, too. Don’t forget to set your alarm – the tour starts very early in the morning so you’re out of the way before it’s time to set the stages.
Hike to North Head. The Sydney Harbour National Park is a Top 10, but I wonder how many people take the nice long hike from Manly to North Head. There are dramatic views and lots of flora, fauna and geology to observe. Depending on the season, you might even find yourself alone a lot. If it’s whale watching season, take binoculars and look for where the whale watching cruises are circling. Do keep an eye out for directions. Maybe you won’t, but I got lost twice, was re-directed once by a nice man and his daughter, and got lucky the second time when I wound up at the Q Station just as a Manly bus arrived. As I said, watch the path. You can enjoy lunch in Manly, too, on the right day. I found it horribly crowded on a nice weekend day at summer’s end, but just perfect other times.
Hike to South Head. This is a beautiful (and popular) walk along the ocean cliffs and around South Head. There’s a historic lighthouse, and the views of the ocean and Sydney Harbour are gorgeous. I have not gotten lost here. It’s a different and easier walk than at North Head. I suggest avoiding weekends in good weather. Way too crowded. I like getting there by ferry to Watson’s Bay, and I can grab a snack at Doyles on the Wharf or just have some ice cream and watch other tourists before I go walking.
Leave the crowds behind at Circular Quay
Take a night photo tour. I enjoyed day and night photo tours with Alfonso Calero in Sydney. Otherwise, the opera house picture here wouldn’t exist. Opera HouseThe people I met on the night tour were all from Sydney if I remember right and had taken Alfonso’s tours and classes before. We had a good session on the harbor and then doing light painting at the Observatory while listening to fruit bats forage in the Moreton Bay figs.
Elizabeth Bay House. Elizabeth Bay is a pleasant (and expensive) neighborhood around a pretty bay, and Elizabeth Bay House is right in the middle of it. The house was completed in 1839 and is a neoclassical house as beautiful as money could buy, except that the Colonial Secretary who built it ran out of money and hardly lived there. It was originally surrounded by magnificent gardens (I think that’s what broke the bank). I was there on a beautiful day. A wedding was starting in the little park just across the street. After the visit, I had a good lunch in the nearby Café Two Ants. It’s tiny and popular. I was happy to get a table.
Sydney Opera House
Vaucluse House. An odd, neo-gothic, hodgepodge of a house started in 1805 but built onto and rejiggered for years. It’s kind of two houses in one, connected awkwardly, and oddly without a front door. But so interesting for its quirky design, pretty rooms, views and history. Vaucluse is a nice outing. The grounds are pretty and it’s not overrun with crowds. One of the most pleasant things to do while you’re there is have tea or a meal at the Vaucluse Tea Rooms. (Well, you might find a crowd here.)The art deco Tea Rooms were built in the 1930s. There’s a terrace but I had brunch inside, casement windows open to the breeze and bird songs. White table cloth, pretty china, pot of tea, poached eggs on asparagus. So nice.
Paddington Markets have been around for years, and it’s crowded the way a market should be. Expect to find a little of everything, clothing, ready-to-emerge designers, jewelry, bonsai, umbrellas with a picture of your favorite dog breed, tiaras, guitars, flowers, essential oils. And lots more. I wasn’t in a mood to buy much except small gifts, but got a good look around, had lunch from a Turkish food stand and watched a sinuous singer who also played electric violin. There are lots of outdoor markets. Find your favorite.
Some basics
More on food. There are loads of places to get good food in Sydney, including several top-rated restaurants. I don’t travel to eat so here are a few thoughts. I had a serviced apartment on two trips to Sydney and mostly self-catered. I got to know the Coles supermarket at World Square quite well. But I did go to the very good Fish at the Rocks which a friend recommended, and got great takeaway from Chat Thai on Campbell Street several times. I like a boat ride, so have made a few trips to Doyles on the Wharf at Watson’s Bay for fish and chips (and there’s Doyles [restaurant] on the Beach, too). Otherwise, I grabbed lunch at museum cafés, markets, or back at the apartment.
Getting around. I walk a lot and also use the trains, buses and of course the ferries. Get the super convenient Opal card and you can hop on anything.
Trip date: Most recent in 2016.