Enjoy Sydney, amazing all year around. Sydney, NSW, Australia

Australia is a land of wonders. Somehow you never really recover from visiting the land Down Under. You will have a longing in your soul for the rest of your life to go back, explore and see Sydney. Baz Luhrmann, Australian film director and producer once said, “If Paris is a city of Lights, Sydney is the city of fireworks”.
Sydney is hard not to fall in love with, and so is New South Wales, which has everything we do not have back home in Denmark. Prepare for the fact, though, that a million other tourists had the same idea and went down-under.

Sydney Opera house from the Botanical garden viewpoint

Sydney was my home for over a year and I loved the city very much. Writing about it made me want to go back, and miss Australia more than you can possibly imagine. It has been hard to sum everything I love and recommend about Sydney down to be on these pages because Sydney is beautiful and vibrant all year around. It always has something new going on or is celebrating a festival that you should be around for. I’ve tried just writing about the basic.

Sydney Opera house from the Botanical Garden

Geography

Sydney is the state capital of NSW and the biggest, oldest and most cosmopolitan city in Australia. It is on the south-eastern coast, on the Tasman Sea. Sydney was the site of the first British colony in Australia. Today this first settlement ‘the Rocks’, can be visited as a tourist attraction. The Discover the Rocks museum takes you through the stories and lives from before the first settlers landed, and up to today (admission free), and tells you the story of the establishment of Sydney in 1788 at Sydney Cove and the lives of the first settlers. Sydney is known as the Harbour City with a reputation as maybe the world's most beautiful and livable city. This city is vibrating with culture, art, fashion and, of course, sandy surf beaches.
The city is surrounded by nature and national parks, which must be visited when going down under.

Watsons Bay, where the first settlers arrived

When to Visit

Sydney has a temperate climate with warm summers and mild winters, with rainfall being spread throughout the year. So there isn’t a specific time to avoid. It really depends on what kind of traveler you are, and what you are looking for. If you are considering going to Australia, I would personally recommend going there in December to February. You would escape from the cold of the Northern Hemisphere winter in exchange for a warm Aussie summer! But even in wintertime, the temperatures are mild compared to Denmark. The coldest month is July, with an average of 8-16 degrees in Sydney. This is when the Aussies do Christmas in July and do all their old English Christmas traditions, and go to the mountains where they can get that frosty weather they do not get on the coast.
If visiting in winter, know that many houses do not have heating systems, nor good isolation. It will be cold inside, probably as cold as outside.

Victoria Park, Sydney

Dates not to miss

When talking about dates, 26 of January is THE date not to miss. 26 of January is ‘Australia day’ and a public holiday/party day. The city is pulsating all over. Visit Darling harbor, the Quays and the various parks and public places. Most Aussies spend the day having a pool-party and a BBQ while listening to the hottest 100 on the radio with their mates. Should you not have any ‘mates’ (yet), the night is full of parties in all the bars in named places. The night, as expected, ends with the firework. (This day is also known as invasion day when the first fleet landed in 1788, so some people have mixed feelings about the celebration).

Darlin Harbour

ANZAC Day, 25 April, is probably Australia’s most important national celebration. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. This day is used as a national remembrance, which takes two forms. Dawn service – the time of the original landing. And the Parade where ex-servicemen and women meet to take part in marches through the major cities. Being Australia, after the parade it becomes a day for a party, getting drunk and playing two-ups, a traditional gambling game, which is illegal 364 days of the year.

Mardi Gras is another event that might be fun to join-in; the Gay and Lesbian parade in February involves over 10.000 participants and usually is a breathtaking open-air show out for both participants and observers. When we watched it in 2014 the parade was over 17 km long and political as well as fun.
Remember to book hotels/hostels far in advance if you are staying in Sydney for this week. The LGBT-scene migrates to Sydney from all over the world for this event, so every hotel in the city will be booked.

Mardi Gras, Sydney

Mardi Gras, Sydney

Best area to stay

Central Sydney.
Public transport is fairly expensive, therefore, if you intend to see as much as possible, you don’t want to be too far away from everything. That being said there are different areas depending on priorities.
Central or CBD (Central business district) is located within walking distance from all the main attractions in Sydney and is, therefore, a good choice if you only have a short time in the city.
Kings Cross is the official party-district of Sydney and has a lot of low-budget backpackers. This is where the party never stops.
Surry Hills has a lot of cafes and bars, and are considered the chic area and where a lot of locals go out on the weekends.
If you are here to surf or go to the beach, Bondi, Coogee or Manly are the places to be.But keep in mind it is a bit out of the city, and you will have to catch transportation everywhere you go.

The Rocks, Sydney

Must see

Let me take you on a walk-about of Central Sydney and what must simply not be missed.
Being Danish, you must first visit the almost-Danish Opera House created by Jørn Utzon, which is said to be an architectural masterpiece. The opera house is located in Port Jackson, which is commonly known as Sydney Harbour. Enjoy and take pictures of the most photographed building in the world, walk into the garden and along the water to get even more photos of the Opera House from different angles and perspectives. Catch a show while you are there. The Opera House has other shows than just Opera. I went for a magic show the first time I visited.

View from the Harbour Bridge

Right next to the Opera House you find the Harbour Bridge. It is worth a walk just to enjoy the view. You can either cross the bridge completely or just walk half the way and enjoy the view before coming back to the main side of the city.
Continue your trip right and walk by the old settlements and parks, and end-up in Darling Harbour. You can also spend your rainy days here. Visit the Aquarium and the Sydney wildlife zoo, or simply enjoy the view from one of the cafes, insider tip, Darling Harbour is a free WIFI hotspot. Fireworks can be seen here twice a night every weekend while enjoying dinner or drinks.

Sydney Opera house from Harbour Bridge

Beaches

Bondi beach is the lord of all beaches in Sydney and where everyone goes. But while in Sydney, don’t forget to pay a visit to Bronte, located close to Bondi, but much less touristy and crowded. In the mood for beach walks? The Bondi to Coogee walk lasts a couple of hours along the coastline for a bit of exercise in nice surroundings. Another lovely beach is Manly, located a ferry-trip away, and while here take the Manly walk.
Manly has much fewer tourists and is just a ferry ride away. If scared of animals remember to make noise, because there are quite a few water-dragons and lizards on this walk, amongst others…

Bondi Beach

Lifeguards posing with a picture with good spirit.

If you have a little more time, the Art Gallery of NSW and the contemporary museum of art (both Free admission) are also a good choice.
And of course do not miss out on watching a game of footy either at ANZ stadium or in one of the many pubs.