Lee's Travel Blog

In this article I will tell you about my impressions of Sydney. I’ll tell you what I liked most and what I didn’t like, and I’ll finish by saying my own conclusions.

You may wonder why I am writing two articles about Sydney now. I am writing this article because I want to try a new format for my trip to Australia. For each stage I write a big article in the travel diary format and afterwards a small article with my personal feedback about the stage. The small articles should help you if you plan to go to Sydney, for example, and you don’t know what is worth visiting and what not.

But first I want to say something about the flight. I advise you to reserve a seat at the emergency exit for long-haul flights, as you have much more legroom there. The only small disadvantage: the monitor to watch movies is either further away or smaller and sometimes you pay a small surcharge. But I personally don’t think it’s that bad. So, now back to Sydney.

First I’ll tell you what I liked most about Sydney. There’s the Botanical Garden, for example. The flora was not the best, but the meadow where we rested was very impressive: on the one side was the sea and on the other side you could see the park and in the background the skyline of Sydney. I think it is really amazing to see how close to nature Sydney was. But as you might have read in the article Journey to Down Under – 1. stage Sydney, I liked the Hyde Park even more because it was busier. Everywhere you saw children playing or teenagers skating or adults enjoying the weather and the dolce far niente feeling in the park. It was also teeming with birds and as you may have noticed, I love the flora and fauna.

If you are interested in the history of Australia, I would visit the Rocks during the week. Especially worth seeing, even if I only saw it on my first trip: The Fortune of Wars Pub, the oldest pub in Sydney; the Rocks Market, a kind of flea market, and Cadmann’s Cottage, the oldest house in Sydney. There is also a quiet and cozy atmosphere. If the stress of the big city gets too much for you, you can really relax there. After the Rocks I would suggest you to cross the Harbour Bridge as you can still see the Rocks from above. I also found the Fish Market exciting. Never before in my life had I seen so many different and colourful fish. I love Sushi and the Fish Market is the Mecca for every sushi lover!

Now I come to the disappointments of Sydney: first and foremost the Sydney Aquarium. It offers far too little for the price. Maybe my expectations were too high, because I got to know the Sydney Aquarium before the renovation. I also found that you had to queue far too long and it was not worth it to queue for 30 minutes. A little tip if you still want to visit it: On the homepage of the aquarium you can also buy the tickets online and thus save yourself the long wait. Despite all the negative descriptions, I have to admit that I still had fun.

What you can save yourself is the Surry Hills. Highly praised in the Lonely Planet, but really nothing special in my eyes. It’s just a long street with lots of pubs and restaurants. I really don’t understand the hype about the Surry Hills. You can use the time you waste there more sensibly.

The “must visits” in Sydney are for me: The Sydney Opera House, if you didn’t see it, you weren’t in Sydney at all; then Spicey Alley, a small alley near the train station, which is full of Asian restaurants from all over Asia. There is something for every taste. Sureya and I were so thrilled that we even went there twice; the bar Gin Lane, which simply serves the best cocktails and the drinks are extremely sophisticated. For example, my cocktail had a cinnamon stick in the glass that had been lit. So when I was drinking, I had a light note of cinnamon in my nose the whole time; the Queen Victoria Building is the shopping centre par excellence for me. Although you can’t afford the things there as a student, you should have seen it anyway. The architecture of the building is simply breathtaking. We had a coffee there and let the whole atmosphere have an effect on us. The last “must visit” is Watsons Bay. I know I didn’t write about Watsons Bay in the Sydney article because I took it to the next stage. But strictly speaking it still belongs to Sydney. But you will find out in the next article why I took it to the next stage. Watsons Bay is a “must visit” because you can eat the best fish & chips there, it’s a change from the city and the view of Sydney is an A with starlets. See for yourself!

My feedback about Sydney is: It’s a “must visit place” in Australia. There are so many things you can do there that we couldn’t do due to the limited time. For example, I found it a pity that we didn’t visit the Sydney Tower. I already knew it from my first trip to Australia, but not Sureya. I would have liked to go with her to the viewing platform of the Sydney Tower in order to see Sydney from above. We also would have liked to go to the famous Bondi Beach in order to have a walk along the coast from Bondi to Coogee. We only spent four days in Sydney, which was much too little in my eyes. I advise you to take five to six days for Sydney and you will be able to do anything you like.

I’m looking forward to a Like and a comment from you on how you like the new format. I’d also like to hear your opinion about Sydney, if you’ve ever been there. So Stay tuned and follow my blog!