Sydney Travel Guide: What to do in Sydney, Australia

Last Updated on March 23, 2024

Sydney Travel Guide What to do in Sydney Australia Sydney Opera House

After my home town Melbourne, Sydney is one of my favourite Australian cities, and I’ve visited it many times.

On my recent trip to Sydney, I tried to fit in as much as possible, whilst also trying to visit locations that I hadn’t visited before.

My first stop on this trip were two gardens. The first was The Royal Botanic Garden, which I hadn’t been to before, and the Chinese Garden of Friendship, which I’ve visited many times because I love it so much.

I was immediately surprised at how large the Royal Botanic Garden was, and everything was landscaped to perfection.

Sydney Travel Guide What to do in Sydney Australia The Royal Botanic Garden greenery

To make sure I saw as much as possible, I joined a free walking tour. The tour guide’s surname was Branch, which I loved.

The group was small, and the guide was super knowledgeable. The tour went for over an hour, and I saw the main areas of the garden. I learnt a lot, and got to see which areas I’d like to revisit.

As a bonus, there are some amazing views of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge from the garden, so I was able to take some fantastic photos.

My next stop was the Chinese Garden of Friendship, I absolutely love this garden, it’s so tranquil and has many waterfalls, pavilions, sculptures, pathways, and a lake and teahouse, to visit.

Sydney Travel Guide What to do in Sydney Australia
Sydney Travel Guide What to do in Sydney Australia The Chinese Garden of Friendship pagoda
Sydney Travel Guide What to do in Sydney Australia The Chinese Garden of Friendship sculpture

I also joined a free tour in this garden, where I learnt why certain trees and plants were planted in the garden, as well as the reasons behind why certain sculptures were given as gifts from other countries.

One interesting fact was that one of the zodiac sign sculptures was Japanese, not Chinese, so it was given as a gift to the garden by mistake.

I love how this garden is situated in the middle of apartments and buildings. It’s a piece of tranquillity amongst the business of the city.

On this trip I also wanted to visit some markets.

The first market I visited was The Rocks Friday Foodie Market, which is a market I haven’t been to before.

Sydney Travel Guide What to do in Sydney Australia The Rocks Friday Foodies Market

I was very excited to get some breakfast at this market, instead of eating breakfast in my hotel room from a container.

I got to the market at 11am, and it was very quiet. I was expecting a variety of stalls, with a lot of choice, but instead there were a lot of burgers, sausages, cupcakes, chocolate, and other non-breakfast items. Although the food on offer looked delicious, it wasn’t breakfast food. So instead I ended up getting breakfast at a nearby café.

I decided to head back to the market at 1pm, and it was much busier by this time as the lunchtime crowd had arrived.

The next market I visited was Paddington Market.

Sydney Travel Guide What to do in Sydney Australia Paddington Market

This market was filled with stalls selling clothes, jewellery, wallets, artwork, homewares, food, flowers, and handmade treasures. There was even live music.

This market was easy to walk around, it took about an hour to explore and was easily accessible by public transport.

As a bonus, it’s situated near other great shops and cafés on Oxford Street.

After this market I visited the Rock’s Weekend Market.

Sydney Travel Guide What to do in Sydney Australia Rocks Weekend Market

This market had everything from souvenirs, candles, clothes, hats, bags, jewellery, artwork, homewares, and food.

It’s spread out across Playfair Street, George Street, and Jack Mundey Place, so it’s large, but easy to navigate as it’s set out in columns.

On my last day in Sydney, I decided to head out to Balmain and The Museum of Contemporary Art, two places I hadn’t visited before.

I ended up in Balmain as I really wanted to take a ferry somewhere that I hadn’t been to before, and I found out that Balmain had some fantastic little boutique shops there.

When I exited the ferry and started my Balmain adventure, I saw many houses and a large park, so thought that I might have made a bad choice with my location search.

However, after a little bit of walking I reached Darling Street. Darling Street was full of cafés, shops, and gorgeous buildings, making it perfect for a lunch stop.

Sydney Travel Guide What to do in Sydney Australia Balmain Darling Street
Sydney Travel Guide What to do in Sydney Australia Balmain cakes

After a few hours I went back into Sydney and visited The Museum of Contemporary Art.

The museum was free to enter, and had a lot of great exhibitions to look at.

I visited two exhibitions whilst I was there, from artists Tabaimo Mekurumeku and Annette Messager.

I started with Tabaimo Mekurumeku, a Japanese artist who used videos to tell stories about happiness, anxiety, and even murder.

I loved how it felt like I was part of the story, due to being surrounded by screens, and even having to wear headphones.

Annette Messager’s works left a lot up to interpretation. I was able to join a free tour of Annette’s works. The tour leader was highly intelligent, and encouraged us to discuss what we thought the art was about.

This exhibition combined drawings, photos, sculptures, and large scale installations. It was very memorable.

I love Sydney and would jump at any chance to visit again.

Do you have any other Sydney city recommendations?

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