Sydney, the oldest city in Australia, was born as a British penal colony. Today it is a very big city and has more than 400 suburbs. It is the financial and business capital of Australia. Sydney is in the State of New South Wales, which is the most populous state in Australia. Sydney is surrounded by 70 beautiful beaches. The views of the sea are spectacular, especially from the modern skyscrapers.
The Rocks is the old part of the city and has streets with old stone buildings beautifully restored, near the eastern entrance to the Harbour Bridge.
The best way to visit this big city is to take a tour on a hop on, hop off bus. You get a good idea of the city and can get off at the places that most interest you to wander around and get to know them better. I always suggest that the first thing to do in a new city when you arrive and want to get to know a place is to take the hop on, hop off bus, if it is available.
The principal streets in Sydney are Pitt street and George Street and both take you to Circular Quay. They cross the centre. It is nice to walk around and see the old buildings, skyscrapers, old shops and department stores, lots of cafés and restaurants. There is a great atmosphere of new and old that you will enjoy. In recent years, in North Sydney on the other side of the bay modern buildings have been built that today are a part of the city centre. This area is the most expensive in Australia: Point Piper, Double Bay and Vaucluse. They all have great sea views.
Beaches
Going East you will find the famous Bondi Beach, very famous for the surfing near the city on the Pacific coast. Every morning you can see men, women and children in their neoprene suits get in the (cold) water to catch the waves. They come bare foot and don’t bring anything with them except their surf board. If you see them from the distance they look like seals in the water, until they catch a wave and then you have in front of you the incredible spectacle when they run the waves. I really enjoy watching them surfing. Recently in Newcastle, on the coast between Brisbane and Sydney, I got up in the morning, opened the curtains on the magnificent beach in front of me which was full of surfers, several dozen of them. The waves looked perfect for surfing, and the water was full of surfers and as the hours passed more arrived. Funnily enough the next day the weather was not suitable and only 3 or 4 surfers where there.
After Bondi Beach you will find Tamarama Beach, called “Glamarama”, since the glamorous people of Sydney go there. Continuing there are Bronte, Coogee and other beaches. You can drive along the coast and decide which beach you like most. The selection is infinite.
Central districts
On the eastern inland part of Sydney, you find Paddington and Darlinghurst with their modern buildings and cafés, and a bubbling nightlife. Here you will surely enjoy the evenings. Annually the gay and lesbian Mardi Gras takes place here. Every year lots of people come for this event.
The main Oxford Street is full of cafés and libraries, strip-tease joints, night clubs, sex shops, etc. On Saturdays there is a market. The houses in Victorian style are very well restored. The area of Kings Cross is the red light district.
Going west you will find the Darling Harbour, easy to get to from the City Center. It is full of nice restaurants, bars, museums and there is always a lot is going on. It is ideal for families. It used to be an abandoned area in the docks. It was opened to the public in 1998 to celebrate 200 years from the founding of Australia. It is a great place on the sea to have very good fish like Australian Barramundi and Australian farmed oysters (you can see the oyster farms along the coast). They are small, tasty and succulent and in the restaurants they serve them raw or with cooked with different recipes. Some friends took us out for dinner in a fish Restaurant in Newcastle and they ordered 3 different plates of oysters. Australian Beef is excellent, and they cook it very well. Food is very good everywhere in the country.
In Darling Harbour visit the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, where I enjoyed seeing a very tiny seahorse. It is years since I went to the aquarium, but I still remember him! Ja…ja, you can also see other tropical fishes from the Great Barrier Reef, big and small. You and your children will love it.
Beside the aquarium there is a Wild Life Sydney Zoo, where it is possible to see all the local fauna. You can see kangaroos, some very big and old. What particularly struck me when I was there was that they looked like old men. There are wallabies, koalas, crocodiles, snakes and others. The Ferry tour also stops there. If you are interested, there is also a Madame Tussauds wax works museum.
By the way there are three zoos in Sydney. The other two are Taronga Zoo, 20 minutes by ferry from Circular Quay, and Featherdale Wildlife Park.
From Darling Harbour you can take a ferry tour during the day. I recommend you do the night tour too, to see all the city illuminated from the water. It is fantastic.
If you are with your family Darling Harbour is a good place to keep your children entertained all day and from there you can walk easily to the centre. You can also cross the Pyrmont Bridge, that was inaugurated in 1902 and was the first electrically controlled swinging bridge in the world.
Nearby you can find the Australian National Maritime Museum, that is very interesting. You are also close to the Harbourside Shopping Centre with shops and restaurants. In the same area if you like to gamble you have the Star (hotel and casino).
In the Koala Park Sanctuary, a short drive away, you are able to cuddle the koalas.
Visit the Art Gallery of New South Wales in the Domain Park, before or after which you can have a nice picnic in this beautiful park. On the way to the Botanical Garden, pass Mrs Macquarie’s Point, where you can relax under a fig tree. This point took the name of the wife of the Governor Macquarie, Elisabeth, when the garden was constructed in 1816.
Visit the Botanical Gardens, which have incredible trees and plants and don’t miss the enormous Australian native fruit bats (called flying foxes). They sleep in the trees during the day and fly when the sun starts going down. They are really big!! Ugh!!! If you have time, and you are interested in plants, there are walking tours in the garden. Check at what time they start. I really enjoyed it.
Then have a look at Government house and the gardens inside, which were constructed in 1843 in neo gothic style for the governor of New South Wales. It was donated to the community in 1996. You can visit it.
Walk to the famous Sydney Opera House, the construction started in 1959 and after a lot of complications, with the architects and costs, it was inaugurated by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1973. The roof is made to look like sails. You can visit the building and have a drink in the opera house bar and enjoy the beautiful view of the sea. Then walk to Circular Quay, where you will find the Museum of Contemporary Art in an Art Deco building.
From there to the Rocks, the old area of the city, full of nice restaurants, bars and boutiques, art galleries and boutique hotels, a very nice place to walk around and enjoy. You can have a drink in one of the oldest bars in Sydney, the Hero of Waterloo, constructed in 1843. On Sunday there is a market selling food, crafts and other items.
You can visit Cadman’s Cottage, from 1816, the oldest house in Sydney. Then continue to Observatory Hill, to admire the panorama of the city. It is not an easy climb.
Cricket is an important part of life for Australians as well as other countries and in summer it is played in the parks and in the stadiums. The games can last 5 days. Although today most matches last only one day. I remember some years ago, while a visit to Kolkata in India the city stopped for 5 days because of a cricket final! Indians and Pakistanis are big fans of this sport, like England and other countries of the Commonwealth.
The Centre of Sydney is interesting to visit. Have a look in the Sydney Town hall, St. Andrew’ s Cathedral and the Queen Victoria building, constructed in 1898 as a fruit and vegetable market. It was abandoned for a long time. This building call QVB offers today more than 200 of the better shops in Sydney and has very good cafés and restaurants.
The Marble Bar in the Strand Arcade, in Victorian style, is very nice. In the area you can also see the State Theatre and nearby the Sydney Tower, where you can have a good meal in the rotating restaurant of have an incredible view of the city, from the sky walk.
If you have time, visit Hyde Park, the green heart of Sydney. Around the park you can see The Anzac War Memorial, the Australian Museum, The Mint, State Parliament House, State Library and Museum of Conservatory of Music.
Luxury Hotels
The Langham Sydney. Voted amongst the 100 best hotels in the world. Located in Sydney’s most historic suburb, The Rocks, within walking distance of many of the city’s most iconic attractions and city’s finest shopping. It is renowned for its impeccable service and superlative cuisine. For food lovers there is Bistro Remy Private Chef’s table. You can enjoy Sydney’s finest afternoon tea, served with Wedgwood China. There is a spectacular Indoor heated swimming pool and Day Spa by Chuan. The rooms have a private butler service.
Hyatt Regency Sydney, 161 Sussex Street. Incredible location in Sidney CBD right alongside all the attractions and entertainment. It is a dynamic hotel for business or pleasure and relaxation.
Lillianpels Blue Mountains Resort and Spa, Katoomba, is surrounded by the picturesque World Heritage listed Blue Mountains. It has the multi award winning restaurant, Darley’s and an excellent Spa. The resort is just 500 metres from the iconic Three Sisters. The hotel is just 90 minutes’ drive from Sydney.