Australia is one of my favorite countries in the world to travel to. Sydney, as the most popular city, is often the city most folks go to for their first experience of Australia. Taking that into account, I thought it would be helpful to share my top five things to do in Sydney. If you plan well, you could do them all in 80 hours like I did in 2010, or, spread them out, and enjoy them over a longer visit.
Five Things To Do in Sydney: Take the Sydney Ferry to Manly
Manly – A great place to visit, whether its winter or summer!
The first of my top five things to do in Sydney, and one of the things I have done every single time I’ve visited Sydney, is taken the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly.
The ferry ride offers a great vantage point of the harbor, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the world famous Sydney Opera House. You also get a good view of the
Park Hyatt Sydney, you know, if you’re into that sort of thing.
You can’t beat the view of the Sydney Opera House from the water.
It is also a great boat ride.
Once you get to Manly, there are plenty of shops to browse as you walk the Corso. There are other streets to wander, but the Corso is kind’ve the main drag.
There’s also a beautiful beach, where you can watch surfers ride the waves, or just enjoy the beautiful South Pacific.
Five Things To Do in Sydney: Visit the Sydney Opera House
My second of five things to do in Sydney, you absolutely
must walk by the world famous Sydney opera house, but really the best way to experience it is to take in a show. You can of course do a tour, but if there’s a show that is even of the least bit interesting to you. The
main concert hall is probably preferable, but I enjoyed the
Pirates of Penzance in the
Joan Sutherland Theatre, which was phenomenal.
My father and I in front of the Sydney Opera House
Seeing the Sydney Opera House is a must do, visiting it, seeing a show in it, is recommended, but do what you can.
Five Things To Do in Sydney: The Rocks Friday Foodie Market
Every Friday there is a small market in the Rocks, nearby to the Circular Quay. Sometimes there are more robust markets or events. Either way, it’s definitely worth a stop, if only to grab a great lunch!
Trust me, the Shawarma is wonderful, though a bit spicey!
The larger events are even more awesome, like Vino Paradiso
Vino Paradiso in the Rocks of Sydney
Five Things To Do in Sydney: The Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour
My wife and I happened upon the Maritime Museum with absolutely no planning. It was our first trip to Sydney, we were only there for 80 hours (as I mentioned before), yet we were incredibly happy to spend 2 of those 80 hours wandering through the Museum.
It covers the Australia’s rich maritime history, and we even learned some US Naval History, too!
I for one was surprised with two things:
1 – the same Captain Cook who found his fate in Hawaii had charted some of Australia.
2 – nearly 2/3rds of Australians saw the US Great White Fleet. Incidentally the Great White Fleet was actually heavily armed. The idea being that the US Navy was painted white in times of peace and gray in times of war, at least back then.
Five Things To Do in Sydney: Paddy’s Market
Invariably you will want some sort of souvenir from your trip, perhaps its a boomerang, a t-shirt, or a stuffed koala, well, Paddy’s Market may just be your place!
There are plenty of souvenir options, whether it’s a bush hat or a boomerang. While I can’t guarantee everything will be made in Australia, I can say that this Market has something for everyone.
Wrapping Up
Sydney is an excellent city for a visit. While I only identified five things to do in Sydney, there are still a ton more awesome things to do. Bondi Beach–and they have a weekend market at least sometimes–and so much more is available. Sydney isn’t my favorite city in Sydney–Melbourne is–but there are just so many awesome things to see, some of which are serious bucket list items, like the Sydney Opera House.
One more thing to do: Take your Triple Platinum American Express Card with you. You will need it for a cup of coffee and especially if you need anything remotely resembling service. They have no idea what that is. My god, this place is one of the most expensive places I have ever been. Like crazy expensive! So unless you are super-rich, a good place to avoid. Bloody awful mate. Try Hong Kong ( although you might think you are already there when you are in Sydney ! ) Hong Kong much cheaper.
@Robbo – true, they do charge for many things, but last I checked the currency was favorable at least compared to the USD… You just have to get a little bit off the beaten path.
Also – touristy, but so cool was doing the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb!! Did all of your suggestions plus this. We thought it was worth it for the view and stories!!
@Jane – Awesome! I’ve seen folks climbing the bridge, but never felt comfortable doing it myself… Despite my love of flying at 40,000 feet, I’m not a big fan of heights.