Sydney is a gigantic metropolis that doesn't live up to the "inflated expectations" of travelers
When you come here, you expect something new and unusual)))). And in fact, the most interesting thing about this city and the country in general is the people! It's a mix of all the races of the world and everyone lives friendly! Everyone can be themselves without hiding their orientation or appearance. There is no poverty, disease, greed, or anger...
Itinerary #1 of the Sydney walk - all the best known things to do while hiking in 1-2 days - Promenade along the Parramatta River
- Circular Quay ⭐ - "Chicken coop", nothing to see, nothing beautiful. There's nothing to see, nothing beautiful, nothing to see. From Circular Quay to Sydney Opera House there is a lovely little promenade, 7 minutes long).
- Sydney Opera House ⭐⭐⭐ - beautiful but no more building! Whether the Sydney Opera House is a relic of a bygone era or you've waited too long... There is a fee to get in and nothing to do inside!
- Sydney Harbour Bridge ⭐⭐⭐ - It's like a bridge, it's a mighty structure...but what is so great about it that people have to climb right onto it from above?
- Royal Botanic Garden Sydney ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - it's a nice walking park but it's a bit of a stretch to be a botanic garden. But the views to the Sydney Opera House are nice and it's a lovely place to walk along the path. Admission is free 24 hours a day. The best views are of the peninsula of Mrs Macquaries Point. Walking time here is 1-1.5 hours, the more beautiful section is further from the Sydney Opera House. The blue cross marks the section of the park where there is nothing to see. Although many parks in Sydney show many trails on the map, but in fact, walking one gives you an understanding of the whole structure of the park and if you walk all the trails, you won't find more views...
- Hyde Park ⭐⭐ is a beautiful walking park, but very small. Because of the structure of the park, you can walk it along in 10 minutes and there is nothing else to see... In Hyde Park, only the giant trees in the central alley are beautiful.
- The Sydney Tower Eye ⭐ - this is the local viewpoint, in fact just a waste of money and time( The tower is very low, most high-rises in Sydney are already higher than it. And the views of the city of Sydney themselves are nothing( The time to visit the observation deck itself is 10 minutes!!! But the queue to the elevator, watching an incomprehensible quality 3D movie, the photo on the background of a normal beach (the price is included in the admission ticket)... Honestly some kind of dumbass takes 1-2 hours!!! You can buy tickets on the spot for 31 c.u., and you can buy online for 1 day and the price will be 25 c.u. And if you want to visit the oceanarium, zoo and wax museum, then definitely take an online group ticket, which is much cheaper. You can buy a ticket online at this website https://me-sydneyeye.tickets.sydneytowereye.com.au
- The Queen Victoria Building ⭐ is a shopping mall in a beautiful building. Sydney, unlike Brisbane, already has a lot of stores and malls with branded fashion houses. The building is beautiful, the stores inside are branded, but not many)
- Darling Harbour ⭐⭐ - Quay, well absolutely ordinary by the standards of a sophisticated traveler) Nearby is a park "Chinese garden of friendship. What kind of friendship is this, if the entrance to the park costs 13 c.u., but in fact there are a couple of bansai, which can be seen for free in Bresben botzadu! Walking towards the Ferris wheel doesn't even make sense, there's nothing beautiful there at all...
- SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium - Darling Quay is home to the oceanarium. Because of the low reviews on the internet we didn't visit it.
- King Street Wharf Darling Harbour ⭐⭐ - again don't expect any views, but lots of cafes and restaurants. At the end of the promenade is another park in Sydney - Barangaroo Reserve - and again just grass, a couple of trees and paths, supposedly picturesque... Well there's nothing scenic there! Walking time is about 1-1.5 hours.
- Sydney Fish Market ⭐⭐⭐ - address Corner Pyrmont Bridge Rd &, Bank St, Pyrmont NSW 2009, is near Darling Quay. It's a real fish market. But don't get excited the prices here are "not sour") It's worth a tour for sure! So many exotic and expensive fish, sea creatures. The supermarkets have shrimp, lobsters, tuna and it's all at adequate prices. At the market the prices for the same products are higher! The trick of the market is that here is something that you will not find in the supermarkets - live lobsters, crabs... The shrimps, oysters at the market are just gigantic and the choice is huge... There are many cafes at the market that cook these fresh products right there. Surprisingly there is not even a hint of stench at the market - everything is clean and tidy!
- The Rocks ⭐⭐ - The Rocks area is no different from any other neighborhood) It is located between Harbor Bridge and Circular Quay.
The route described above involves walking and a net walking time of 4 hours or more. Visits to the Sydney Lookout Tower, the oceanarium and shopping malls are limiting. It is easier of course to divide this route into 2 sections, with visits to the above places and of course taking into account the time for lunch. In total, the main locations of Sydney can be visited in 2 days.
Itinerary #2.1 of the Sydney Walk - Real Beaches - Bondi to Coogee Walk ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a promenade along the Pacific Ocean
This route connects Sydney's best beaches. The walk follows a very comfortable path, with benches constantly encountered. The route is 5 km long, with a walk time of about 2+ hours. You can start from Bondi Beach or Coogee Beach - doesn't matter) There will be several beaches along the way, but the most beautiful and are the extreme locations on the route. Bondi Beach is more photogenic, but very windy. The wind is the main feature on this route, the wind is constant, strong and still cold( And it's December - summer. A walk here is a must! But choose the sunniest and windiest day. When the wind in Sydney is 6 m/s, it will blow hard on the Pacific) Another nice beach is Bronte, so if you are not ready for a long walk, you can make a trial walk from the Bondi to Bronte Walk. It will take about 30 minutes.
Route #2.2 - Marubra Beach + Malabar Headland National Park to Malabar Beach ⭐⭐⭐
This route logically follows route #2.1 and can easily be done the same day after Kuji Beach. This route involves walking on an equipped trail through a grove/forest, cliffs, along the Pacific shore itself. Maroubra Beach is a very beautiful beach with the strongest wind) Malabar Beach is a beach that indicates the direction of the walk rather than having value as a location itself. Malabar Beach is a small, unremarkable rural beach. The peculiarity of this route is that all the beautiful views are around Maruba Beach. So there are two options: you can walk the whole section from Malabar Beach to Maruba Beach, but the section of the trail near Malabar is not scenic and takes almost a third of the way... So there is a second option: from Malabar Beach, walk to Boora Point Lookout and walk back! That's exactly where the views will be along the way and you won't have to turn your head back... The walk on both options will take 1.5-2 hours.
Route #3 - Centennial Park - a park with lakes and trails ⭐⭐⭐
Centennial Park is a lakeside relaxation area with birds. The main thing here is to walk around each lake in a circle! On one lake you will meet dozens of different birds, such as ducks, swans, and many local individuals) Over another lake there will be parrots running straight through the grass, and next to the third lake all the trees will be in flocks of flying foxes... There are benches everywhere. Be sure to take food for the birds here, but not bread! Bread is bad for the health of the birds!!! It will take you at least 2 hours to walk around the park. There isn't much to see, but the place is so atmospheric that you can come here all excited, and leave totally relaxed and cool.
After a walk through the park, we suggest stopping by the unusual seafood restaurant "Kickin'Inn Zetland". The concept of the restaurant is in the way food is served) They bring you the food in a bag with a paper tablecloth spread out on the table. The food is poured out of the bag right on the table and you eat it with gloved hands. The atmosphere is really great! The seafood is fresh and tasty. Prices are not low but not overpriced either. We recommend taking the second or third option of their 3 sets. One set is designed for 2 people! The price of about 120-150 USD. Cook the dish in 10-15 minutes! In comparison we dined at a restaurant with a view of the Sydney Opera House and we waited 50 minutes for our order! In the end the steak and dessert were not very different, neither taste nor presentation, with the same price... One steak and dessert for two is not enough, unlike the mega seafood portion at Kickin'Inn Zetland!
Sydney Park ⭐ - dog park
There's nothing to do here. There are trails and lakes, but everything is dull and depressing. All overgrown with grass, there is nothing to see. We do not even recommend to come here if you do not have a favorite pet. From interesting is only inhabitants of overgrown lakes, namely moray eels or eels - who is it and did not understand).
Route 4.1 - Bradleys Head Walking Track ⭐
This route is not interesting at all! The trail goes through the woods through a narrow, unequipped trail. Only occasionally there are beautiful views of the iconic Sydney Opera House and Bridge through the trees. The trail starts from the Taronga Zoo Sydney ferry stop/dock. Generally, the starting point of the trek is the entrance to the Sydney Zoo. Because of the negative reviews from the internet, we didn't visit the zoo as we had visited two zoos in Brisbane before. If you want to see the view as pictured below, you can walk to the Bradleys Head Amphitheatre and turn back to the zoo / ferry. The ferry runs "Circular Quay, Wharf 4 - Taronga Zoo Wharf" every 30 minutes, entry by Opal card or you can use a regular bank card. At the entrance scan the card and the funds will be blocked, on the exit scan the card and you will be charged about 5 c.u. per person. Please note! If you buy a ticket to the zoo, ferry fare is included! Zoo tickets are sold right at the Circular Quay station. It takes 10 minutes to sail on a large comfortable catamaran. Ferries in Sydney are a form of public transport, like buses and trains.
Route #4.2 - Cremorne Reserve ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - the best promenade overlooking Sydney Harbor
The map shows the trail for the walk. It has gorgeous views, and there are benches with panoramic views. The squares indicate the pier locations - you can get to Circular Quay from there, runs roughly once every half hour. Walking time along the trail is about 1.5 hours at a leisurely pace. It's worth coming here precisely because of the view of the Sydney Opera House)
Route #5 - Sydney's Blue Mountains ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Blue Mountains are not in Sydney, but it takes 1.5 hours by car or 2 hours by train to get there. Blue Mountains National Park is a must visit for at least 1 day. But if you want, you can come here with an overnight stay and spend two days walking/driving around the viewpoints. Detailed instructions and recommendations for visiting the Blue Mountains are in a separate article on the Sydney Blue Mountains website.
Route 6 - Manly Beach is a beautiful beach and promenade along the Pacific Coast ⭐⭐⭐⭐
You can get here from downtown Sydney from Circular Quay. The ferry goes to Manly Wharf. It takes about 20 minutes to get there, but it can take 20-40 minutes to board. The ferry costs about 6 c.u., payment by Opal card or regular bank card. Note, Circular Quay has departures from Wharf 2 and Wharf 3. Well, Wharf 3 is a 6 c.u. gosparom and has a long line, and Wharf 2 is a private ferry that has no line, and costs only 10 c.u. By the way the private ferry is even faster) At the pier of Manly Beach to the right is gosparom, left is a frequent ferry (facing the water).
If you are not a beachgoer, but want to walk, this route is still a choice. You get an overview walk along the harbor to the beach, and a long promenade stretches along the entire Manly Beach with beautiful views of the beach itself. There are picnic and barbecue spots, by the way, in the bay of Shelly Beach. In the opposite direction, you can easily walk the Curl Curl Boardwalk to South Curl Curl Beach, and from there take bus 166 or 167 back to Manly Wharf.
New Year's Eve fireworks in Sydney 2022 / 2023
Where to watch fireworks in Sydney on New Year's Eve? This question never left everyone throughout December) The official website has developed a bunch of places where you can do it and most of these places are paid. Transport after 5 pm on December 31st stops running in the central part of the city - this applies to buses, cabs and all cars in general. You can get to the beginning of Hyde Park or North Sydney Station - either side of the river, respectively. As for the trains, they run all night every 4 minutes! At Central station you can catch the T8 train and go to Wynyard station, then change to the train to North Sydney station. Note - Milsons Point Station and Circular Quay stations are closed from 5pm to 1am. From North Sydney station you can get to the free Mary Booth Lookout Reserve (location 1) - a 20 minute walk, or you can get to Cremorne Reserve (location 3) - a pay site with a gorgeous view. Mrs. Macquarie's Chair (Location 2) is a pay site in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Circular Quay is free on its own, but the view is not great and it is overcrowded.) The fireworks are best viewed from afar, so Mary Booth Lookout Reserve, Mrs Macquarie's Chair and Cremorne Reserve are the best locations. Entry tickets - everything is clear here - you have to get them a month in advance) Free sites - places not only that need to be occupied with the morning of 31, so around 23 hours the entrance to them blocks the police, so they "did not get up on the second floor" to those who are there in the morning. The most influx of people is from 22/30 to 23/50 - everyone is looking for any hole in the fence!!! Where there is little to no view, but it's private property, there will be a policeman / security guard standing there. In general, if you decide to come half an hour before the chime, you will have to stand under the fence, look up into the sky and listen to the sound of fireworks, as especially it will not be seen)))) Back at 00:12 this whole crowd rushed to the train!!! I must pay tribute to the fact that they walked very disciplined, no crush and drunk people! But near the entrance to the train station there was a stampede. No one was pushing anyone, but everyone was standing so close, and before that I was sweating because of the fast walking that I had to smell the sweat of dozens of people(( In the end, the most ordinary fireworks in 12 minutes are not worth the effort, and certainly not worth 400 $. So an honest recommendation - look for where the fireworks will be more spectacular, but it's definitely not Sydney!
Should I go to Sydney? Yes, I do) But not for long... The beaches are beautiful in Sydney, but they are not the main attraction of the city... The winds blow all the time and the water in the ocean is cold. At least the sun doesn't warm much, though I can't say such things about the UV) A couple of days will be enough to see the main cult sights of Sydney, if you want a week! And then you can go see the Blue Mountains) and the next city in Australia - Melbourne. Melbourne is definitely worth going only in the height of summer - the month of January)
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