How to spend a weekend in Sydney

Since April, Steve had been experiencing some serious health issues which had kept us grounded, unable to travel. But last month, with a much better diagnosis, we were finally in the air and on our way to spend a weekend in Sydney.  We had made plans to join some of our fellow Australian Travel Bloggers at the Capitol Theatre with tickets to shake our groove thing and see the stage show Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. This was the 10^th anniversary tour of the book, turned movie, now a stage show musical. But what else could we do during our weekend in Sydney?

Darling Harbour

Arriving in Sydney the day prior to the show, we had allowed ourselves time to relax and look around. As we had planned our weekend during winter in Sydney we were not sure what the weather would be like, so only had planned a few things to do. One of those was Darling Harbour, the place to head if you are looking for a heap of activities and an amazing meal or two. Delicious waterside dining from the various cafes, restaurants and food hall within the shopping complex, offer great variety in cuisine, but seafood is a specialty of the area. The nearby Sydney Fish Market is a popular place, offering visitors and Sydneysiders a tour where they can experience an authentic working fish market.

The former dockside harbour may be small in size, but the area has been transformed into a major tourist site. The biggest tourist event and top thing to do in Sydney is at Darling Harbour each year, Vivid, a light, laser and fireworks display. There are plenty of other things to do in Darling Harbour, a large recreational harbour and pedestrian precinct adjacent to the city centre. Cockle Bay, Barangaroo, King St Wharf, Pyrmont and Chinatown are all part of the Darling Harbour and offer lots of choice of things to do in a weekend in Sydney.

The Darling Harbour area was previously named Tumbalong by the local Cadigal people, the original indigenous inhabitants. Tumbalong translates to place where seafood is found. The National Maritime Museum, Sydney Aquarium, Madame Tussauds, International Conventional Centre, Pumphouse Tavern, Star Casino and the Powerhouse Museum are just some of the attractions in the Darling Harbour Precinct. You could spend a weekend in Sydney and never have to leave Darling Harbour. The area is predominantly a pedestrian area, but there are a lot of share bicycles like Obike and Mobike around.

Public transport is also easily accessible at Darling Harbour, but we also found it very easy to get about on foot and headed to the nearby Paddy’s Market. Outside the International Convention Centre is a spiral water feature which is a hit with children and adults alike. Designed for people to walk along the spiral path, the water swirls and cascades below ground level to the centrepiece.

First we came to the Darling Quarter Playground where there is currently a major redevelopment project. Construction is taking place to build a 25 storey multi purpose complex called the Ribbon. Nearby is the Chinese Garden of Friendship, which is modelled after the private gardens of the Ming Dynasty and where you can escape, breathe deeply and feel the sun on your face. The garden has beautiful waterfalls, bamboo plants, a teahouse, Dragon wall and pavilion. Continuing a little further we come to Chinatown before arriving at Paddy’s Market. Paddy’s is like a flea market selling souvenirs, imported clothes, toys, fruit, vegetables and seafood. Steve enjoyed a relaxing, authentic Chinese massage and also purchase a few bottles of Kombucha to take back to our hotel.

On the way back after another stroll through Chinatown we came across a huge mural on the Novotel Darling Square. This mural is part of the #inspiringlocals campaign painted by talented street artist Matt Adnate. Jenny Munro is the larger than life inspiring local, who is an Aboriginal housing rights activist and a true leader for her people. Adnate has a strong understanding of the power of his street art, especially with its size and the location. It is 10 storeys high and on the side of a hotel in a prime location. We felt very lucky to stumble across this mural as we had first seen Adnate’s work in Hosier Lane in 2015 and were already a huge fan of his work.

That evening we wandered around Darling Harbour, enjoyed a nice seafood meal, then wandered around some more.

Next morning after a leisurely breakfast we went over to the Maritime Museum and listened to some music being played by a group of students. The Maritime Museum is definitely worth putting on your list of things to do, not only  in winter in Sydney, but at any time of the year. It has one of the largest fleets in any museum in the world and offers Auslan interpreted programs and touch tours for those with a vision impairment. The destroyer HMAS Vampire and submarine HMAS Onslow are moored there. The Welcome Wall is outside honouring those who migrated to Australia. The tallship HMB Endeavour is on display and the Cape Bowling Lighthouse can also be toured.

Haymarket

We took our time strolling around before making our way to the Capital Theatre to have a quick snack at Harry’s Cafe de Wheels. Harry’s is the iconic home of Sydney’s best pie and highly recommended to try when in Sydney. The quintessential Sydney icon has been at the Haymarket location, outisde the Capitol since 2004, the same year Harry’s was included on the National Trust’s register. Inside we meet our friends in time for the matinee session of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The last time we were at the Capitol was 2014 when we saw the smash hit, Lion King. We’d been so looking forward to seeing Priscilla, not only to bring some light and laughs after Steve’s recent health concerns, but because it’s one of our all time favourite movies and has a great music line up. This funny, touching musical is packed with camp disco classics and I don’t think there was anyone in the audience who was sitting still or not singing along. The costumes were outstanding, including everything from green cupcakes to pink paintbrushes and a seemingly endless parade of sequins and feathers. Our group had a little photo session after the show and made our way to Surry Hills.

Surry Hills

A number of us from Australian Travel Bloggers were being hosted for pre-drinks and an exclusive look around a newly opened, Little Albion Guesthouse. It morphs between a homely guest house and five star boutique hotel and would a be a great place to spend a weekend in Sydney. Turns out this place is one of the best local secrets in Surry Hills, part heritage, part new build, uber cool, delightfully intimate and totally bespoke. Styled in an eclectic mix of 1920’s and 1970’s, 35 tastefully decorated rooms are finished to a high standard and set amongst some of the best restaurants Sydney has to offer.

Speaking of restaurants, our group finished the evening with a meal at one of Surry Hills’ hidden gems, Pasta Emilia. This was a lovely Italian osteria with authentic charm and appeared very popular with the locals. It was very busy, but as we had a booking our long table was waiting for us. We had a set menu and the pasta was silky smooth and very enjoyable. I really loved the atmosphere and décor, it was like we were really in Italy. What a great spot for a group of travel bloggers to dine.

Newtown

The following day, we discussed what to do in Sydney over a late breakfast and decided to head to Newtown. Newtown sounded like a good place where we could find some fun things to do. We’d heard there was some good street art to be seen and whenever we travel we always seem to gravitate towards areas with incredible street art. As soon as we arrived we felt the same vibe in the neighbourhood as our local favourite, Fremantle. Newtown has the same colourful, unconventional feel with Victorian buildings, hip bars, diverse eateries, vintage stores and appeals to the same mix of people. Like Fremantle, Newtown is also a coffee and food lovers’ paradise and where Fremantle has its Cappuccino Street, Newtown’s King Street is eat street.

And then of course, there was the street art. We didn’t need a map, we asked some locals for direction and strolled around, headed down towards the railway tracks and found some lovely terrace houses and of course some amazing street art. There were so many great murals and we found some of best streets were Lennox Street, Church Street, Enmore Road, Albermarle Street and Church Street as well as many lanes and alleyways.  We really enjoy capturing photos of the murals that catch our eye, especially because often they can be painted over and gone forever. But it’s not all about street art. The main street also has some interesting shops, great places to stop for a coffee or bite to eat and some contrasting architecture. We found a mix of Victorian, art deco, pastel colours with a very creative, alternative and hip vibe. We came to the famous Black Star Pastry Shop and went to stick our heads in and get a sneaky pic of their most Instagrammed Strawberry Watermelon cake. Unfortunately being a chilly day there was a crowd in most of the coffee shops, but especially the Black Star so we took a photo of the beautiful Victorian styled 1885 courthouse opposite and continued on our way.

This area is grungy, relaxed and has huge character.

Sydney CBD

On the final day of our weekend in Sydney we head across the Pyrmont Bridge and make our way into the city centre. The bridge is one of the world’s oldest electrically operated swingspan bridges, opening to allow the tallships to enter the harbour. More than 5 million pedestrians cross the bridge each year.

We head to the QVB, but first Steve stops at the Sydney Barbers in the arcade opposite for a quick hair cut and tidy of his unruly beard.

Our next stop is the beautiful Queen Victoria Building, best known as QVB. This grand building was built during the recession and designed in elaborate Romanesque style with a dual purpose. Not only to honour the long standing monarch, Queen Victoria, but also to provide work for so many tradesmen like plasterers, stonemasons and stained window artists. It also employed a great number of florists, mercers, hairdressers and tailors when the concert hall, coffee shops, offices and showrooms were completed.

Fortunately today the impressive building stands as testament to the craftsmanship of the original artisans and also of those who rebuilt it to its former glory, after it ran into state which threatened its’ demolition in 1959.

Bound by George, Market, York and Druitt Streets the QVB proudly occupies an entire city block. Arches, pillars, balustrades and the intricate tiled floors have been painstakingly restored along with main feature, the centre dome. The exterior copper dome houses the inner glass dome which along with the brilliant cartwheel stained glass windows and outstanding staircase give true charm to this prominent structure.

We pass the wishing well, the statue of Queen Elizabeth and the equally impressive Town Hall and stop at St Andrew’s church for some photos.

Of course there is so much to do during a weekend in Sydney. You can spend 48 hours in Sydney or see Sydney on a shoestring, but for this visit we wanted to time for Steve to recuperate and relax. We are thinking our next trip there might be time for a cruise from Sydney.

Do you take weekend getaways to relax? What would you include on your weekend away in Sydney?

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