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| Ranking Among Int'l Cities/Regions: #9 |
| Venturers: 9 |
| Mid-Venturers: 10 |
| Centrics-Venturers: 10 |
| Centrics-Authentics: 9 |
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| Authentics: 8 |
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• Meant to cost $4.5 million, the opera house cost $64 million and opened 10 years late
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| • Stadium Australia, built for the Olympics, covers 39.5 acres; its roof covers 7.5 acres |
| • It takes 10 years and 8,000 gallons of paint to cover the Sydney Harbour Bridge |
| • Trees on the grounds of the Sydney Observatory were planted to be used for hangings |
| • More than a third of Australia’s manufactured goods are made in Sydney |
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The outdoor lifestyle, Down Under
Sydney is Australia’s largest city with a population approaching 4 million and the gateway city for most overseas visitors. No wonder, then, it is also the nation’s business and financial center. In addition, it is the political capital of New South Wales.
But Sydney has another face. It sits on one of the world’s most beautiful harbors and boasts a climate that makes it a playground for lovers of an outdoor lifestyle. In other words, it’s ideal for anyone who wishes to combine sightseeing with some active play time. In addition, visitors can wrap up their days in fine restaurants, eating the best local foods and drinking regional wines, or sampling a lively nightlife.
About Sydney
It may have had an ignominious beginning — it was founded as a penal colony — but, for Americans, Sydney is the best-loved of all Australia’s cities. It is the country’s most cosmopolitan city and, some would say, the most beautiful given its dramatic harbor. Sydney also got a boost by hosting the 2000 Summer Olympics. Indeed, the city is gorgeous. Many a visitor spends time gawking at the vistas, and it’s hard to miss the city’s best-known emblems: the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. If you can’t contemplate climbing the bridge, walking across it is a fine way to see it and the city, too. As to the world’s most recognizable opera house, it is considered a masterpiece of 20th century architecture. The Sydney Opera House is striking, both for its unique design and its position jutting out into the harbor. The best part is the exterior, but it’s worthwhile to tour the interior or attend a performance — which would not necessarily be an opera.
A chunk of Sydney’s history is rooted in an area called the Rocks, located below the southern end of the city’s great bridge. Here, convicts and their keepers established the first settlement in 1788. Today, workers’ housing and other buildings are preserved; many are used nowadays for the cafes, restaurants, shops and galleries that appeal to modern sensibilities — and to tourists. Sydney, the 21st century city, serves up a full range of cultural choices, boasts a rich collection of ethnic and fine dining establishments and, no surprise, offers numerous water sports options, many available year-round because the climate is so mild. Americans appreciate Sydney, as well, as a safe destination with friendly hosts. For some, it also is appealing to head way south in winter, just in time for summer Down Under.
Are there any downsides? None, if you are not intimidated by a long flight well into the Southern Hemisphere. Indeed, for Americans in the West, flying to Australia doesn’t take all that much longer than flying to Europe.
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• Of course, you know about the BridgeClimb, but consider climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge at night for the best bragging rights — and a nighttime view of the city.
• Dive with the sharks in the controlled environment of Oceanworld Manly. Other companions in the water will include stingrays, sea turtles, moray eels and others. Then, go surfing on Manly’s beach. If that is not exciting enough, dive with the grey nurse sharks in the sea. There is a permanent colony of the critters close to Botany Bay Sydney. See www.cronullabeachyha.com.
• Go scuba diving. Or, go sailing, or charter a yacht for a big event.
• Take a seaplane flight from Rose Bay near the city for a great overhead view of the harbor and Sydney itself. Or, sightsee by helicopter.
• Download a walking tour onto you iPod or MP3, and wander the streets of any of several neighborhoods at your own pace.
• Go out on the town at night. Or start in the afternoon by sampling the goods at these historic pubs in the Rocks area: the Australian, the Lord Nelson or the Mercantile. Make your way to a few wine bars, too. Or, head straight to the clubs. Find ideas at www.visitnsw.com.
• Attend pasta-making classes at Sandalyn Estate in Hunter Valley, or sit in on cheese and wine-matching sessions at the valley’s Binnorie Dairy and the Hunter Valley Cheese Factory.
• Board the Thunder Jet, for the jetboat ride of your life, in Sydney Harbour. You’ll enjoy (or not) speeds of more than 50mph, 270-degree turns, wild fishtails and on-a-dime crash stops.
• Book a tandem skydive over the area’s beaches.
• Take the Skywalk, a stroll around the outside of Sydney Tower. You will be harnessed to a safety rail and led along purpose-built external platforms as your guide points out the city’s landmarks. If you dare, walk out onto the glass-bottomed platforms for a view of city crowds 853 feet below. It’s your choice.
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• Work out in the North Sydney Olympic Pool, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge overhead and the opera house in sight across the harbor.
• Sail on the America’s Cup yacht Spirit, built for the San Diego Challenge in 1992. Join a regularly scheduled three-hour sailing for sailing enthusiasts and nonsailors, as well. No sailing experience required.
• Sign up for a BBQ seafood cooking class at the Sydney Fish Market at Blackwattle Bay. The market is the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Stick around Sydney Fish Market for a meal, or skip across the bay to taste 12 kinds of fresh oysters at the Boathouse.
• Leave Sydney for a bit, to visit wineries in Hunter Valley, but maybe you would like to do that by horse-drawn carriage. Complement your wine tasting with olive tasting; the olives are grown in the valley, too.
• How (often) do you like your coffee? If a fan, consider the Rocks Aroma Coffee Festival. Plan ahead: It is a one-day event in July, and it includes workshops for the really serious.
• Go to the theater. Yes, you can see many of the shows in New York, but if you don’t live in or near New York, that does not matter.
• Kayak in the harbor; rent equipment in Manly.
• Have a nightcap at the Blu Horizon Bar in the Shangri-la Hotel in the Rocks. The 36th-floor bar offers a to-die-for view of Sydney's lights, harbor and the opera house.
• Shop at the Paddington Markets, held each Saturday, for a chance to pick up the latest in fashion, housewares and jewelry from the city’s rising designers.
• Are you a lover of the arts? Take a self-guided arts discovery tour, starting at the Art Gallery of NSW, moving on to the Museum of Sydney and other exhibits as well as lots of outdoor sculpture.
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• Have high tea at the decadent Victoria Room (offered Saturdays and Sundays) in the Darlinghurst neighborhood.
• Board your whale watching cruise at Darling Harbour.
• Get inside the city’s iconic opera house. Even if you cannot see an opera or other production, take a tour of the building, which is now a World Heritage site.
• Dine waterside in the historic Rocks district or on the wharf at Woolloomooloo Wharf.
• Time your visit for the food festival most suited to your palette. Choices Include the annual Italian Gusto event, Spanish Quarter Festival or the more ecumenical Feastability food and wine fair, all in September.
That timing does not work? Consider the Manly Food and Wine Festival, in June.
• See a cricket game at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
• Try a new approach to laps. Swim at Wylies Baths, a sea pool at Congee Beach, where you can have a massage at poolside and early morning yoga classes.
• Spend a romantic night on a luxury yacht in a secluded bay on Sydney Harbour.
• Pamper yourself with a spa treatment at Spa Chakra, set on the harbor at Woolloomooloo’s Finger Wharf.
• Take the family, or any friends of any age, to Luna Park to enjoy the world of 1930s amusements. Ride the Ferris Wheel for another way to view the world-famous harbor and the opera house.
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For more information, consult Tourism New South Wales at www.visitnsw.com/Destination.aspx?DProductID=9017195, or find all Australia resources via Tourism Australia at www.australia.com. Also, find Premier Aussie Specialists, travel agents who specialize in Australia, at www.australia.com/plan_your_trip/aussie_travel_specialists/Travel_Specialists.aust?L=en&C=US
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