Site tips for a Sydney visit

[flez007]

I will be in Sydney in two weeks with my wife and will spend 8 full days there (with a 2 day stop in LA to recover back from the loooooong flight), any tips as for must-see places, dinning, museums and the like?

Thanks.

 

[Steve Williams]

Typo fixed

 

[docvale]

I've been to Sydney in January, since it was one of the locations we touched during our honeymoon. I loved it!
8 days is lots of time there: consider that the city is so new, so the variety of the visit-sites is limited.
The must-see are:
- the Opera House. You have to do a guided visit inside
- the 2 harbors
- The Rocks. It's the most ancient neighborhood there and it's very nice.
- Ferry boat trip. I'd recommend to go to Manli e visit the beaches and the village
- Botanic Garden. Not that interesting to me, since I'm used to Central Park, otherwise it's truly a beauty.
- Wildlife habitat. It's not a real zoo, the animals are in contact with the visitors are it's a nice chance to meet kangaroos or koalas.
Outside the city you might like to hike in the Blue Mountains. Maybe you could book a trip in advance...

In general, you'll meet sunny and relaxed people. There's many nice places where to dine, specially steakhouses. You'll love the general vibes.
In the main city area, you'll see an artificial waterfall, placed in a square: that's where the filmed the clip of the woman with the red dress in Matrix (I forced my wife to re-make that scene, in her red dress...).

Enjoy it!

P.S.: it's a kind of expensive city, I'd recommend no high expectations on shopping. NYC is way better...

 

[flez007]

Typo fixed

Thanks Dr. Williams!

 

[flez007]

Grazie Valerio! All good suggestions!

 

[Steve Williams]

wish I could be there with you. My wife lived in Sydney for a year. We are hoping to be in Australia and NZ later this year

 

[Mike]

Lived in the suburbs for 9 months. It's a really pretty city. I liked to walk around and explore the inner-city neighborhoods. The inner eastern suburbs (as they call them), like Paddington, have lots of nice places to eat. When I was there, it seemed like there were Thai restaurants in every block of the city. You can take a bus from downtown that goes along the harbor to the most eastern point, which has great views of the city, harbor, and Pacific. The northern suburb of Kirribilli has great views of the opera house and harbor bridge. The ferry boat ride to Manley beach is really nice. I wasn't impressed by Bondi. Watch out for the funnel web and red back spiders...

 

[flez007]

Thanks! I have been as well busy in the net and looks like there are nice beaches and exotic food options there, Sydney is now ranked at the top-5 most expensive cities, so no shoppinga around.

 

[Keith_W]

Where are all the Aussies in this thread!!!

Restaurants - we go to Sydney every year to try their best restaurants. IMHO the best restaurants in Sydney are Quay, Marquee, and Tetsuya. Many say that Tetsuya isn't as good as it used to be, but I disagree. They are still very good. Quay is probably the best restaurant in Australia, and is quite difficult to get in. Make sure you book early. If you want to eat in Chinatown, Golden Century and Supper Bowl are our favourites.

Art galleries - Art Gallery NSW is well worth a visit. It has a nice collection of the most important art in Australia. Admittedly Australian art is pretty shallow when compared to the great art museums of Europe and the USA, but it is worth a visit nonetheless.

Must-see places - in addition to the attractions listed above, go to Bondi Beach. It is far from the most spectacular Aussie beach, but it is the most glamorous. Go on the right day and you will see models strutting around in bikinis trying to attract the yuppies in their Porsches. Truly spectacular Aussie beaches are out in the boondocks - e.g. the Whitsundays on the Great Barrier Reef, which is several thousand km's to the north. Watch for the sharks, they are right bastards

 

[flez007]

Where are all the Aussies in this thread!!!

Restaurants - we go to Sydney every year to try their best restaurants. IMHO the best restaurants in Sydney are Quay, Marquee, and Tetsuya. Many say that Tetsuya isn't as good as it used to be, but I disagree. They are still very good. Quay is probably the best restaurant in Australia, and is quite difficult to get in. Make sure you book early. If you want to eat in Chinatown, Golden Century and Supper Bowl are our favourites.

Art galleries - Art Gallery NSW is well worth a visit. It has a nice collection of the most important art in Australia. Admittedly Australian art is pretty shallow when compared to the great art museums of Europe and the USA, but it is worth a visit nonetheless.

Must-see places - in addition to the attractions listed above, go to Bondi Beach. It is far from the most spectacular Aussie beach, but it is the most glamorous. Go on the right day and you will see models strutting around in bikinis trying to attract the yuppies in their Porsches. Truly spectacular Aussie beaches are out in the boondocks - e.g. the Whitsundays on the Great Barrier Reef, which is several thousand km's to the north. Watch for the sharks, they are right bastards

Thanks Keith - I arrived yesterday and the place is great, our room has a window view directly to the Opera House, we walked by The Rocks and got into the Sunday Flea Market, had a great Pizza/wine at a local gourmet place and dinner at The Rocks and then a walk by Kings Cross looking (without success) for a Jazz bar.

We have plans to go to the Blue Mountains, a city tour, a harbor tour, and some other restaurants. I tried both crocodile and kangaroo meat last night!

 

[Keith_W]

Croc and kangaroo eh I think we are the only country to eat the animals on our coat of arms (kangaroo and emu). I don't know what they are doing there, considering how many motorists die when they run into them on the roads. Imagine you are cruising along at 110km/h on our boring interstate when a kangaroo or emu jumps in front of you. Kangaroos aren't so bad, all their mass is at the bottom - so all they do is take out your radiator. All the mass in emus are at the top, so they tend to crash through your windshield and land on your lap. The last thing you want when you are travelling at speed is to have an angry bleeding giant bird with sharp beaks and claws on your lap ... right bastards they are too.

No doubt you will run across the Queen Victoria Building in your travels. They have a very nice classical music specialist in the top floor. There are also a couple of record shops in town, try Red Eye Records.

Suggested walks:

- start at the Opera House then walk down Circular Quay and into Darling Harbour.
- start at the Opera House then walk up The Rocks and cross the Harbour Bridge to Luna Park on the other side, then walk back
- start at Circular Quay, catch the ferry to Watson's Bay and walk around the national park, then catch the ferry back. Along the way you will boat past a few glamorous houses that belong to various Aussie celebrities (Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, etc).

 

[rockitman]

Avoid Cassowary Birds at all cost if you go northeast...I think you are safe in Sydney however...

 

[flez007]

A very enjoyable trip, incredible city, nice people. Thanks all for their input.