5 Days in Sydney, Australia
Things To Do, See & Eat
Sydney is the most popular destination in Australia; but it’s actually not the capital of Ozzieland, contrary to popular belief (it’s actually Canberra).
Sydney is home to some of the world’s most famous landmarks, including the Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach and the Queen Victoria Building.
In this blog post, let’s take a look at things to do and see in Sydney, Australia, as well as best spots to eat and other tips and recommendation for a perfect, 5 day trip to Australia’s most famous city!
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Things To Do & See
Sydney Opera House
Let’s start with the most obvious one: the Sydney Opera House. This impressive building was opened in 1973 and is perhaps the most famous landmark of Sydney, if not all of Australia. It is where you can watch theatre, music and dance shows. You can even do a guided tour in the Opera House, which is especially fun for architecture nerds.
Take a stroll in the Sydney Botanical Garden
Just next to the Opera House you find the Botanical Gardens of Sydney. It’s a big park with loads of different plants, flowers and trees, as well as ponds and there’s even a cafe and a restaurant.
The Botanical Gardens are also right next to the water, allowing you to take a stroll in the gardens while taking in the gorgeous views of the Sydney water front.
Check out Surry Hills and eat at some of the best restaurants in town
Surry Hills is a upscale and hipster part of town that is known for it’s fantastic restaurants, cafes and hip bars. It’s quaint neighbourhood that’s lovely for a little stroll, grabbing a coffee here and there, checking out the boutique stores and then hitting a restaurant and a (wine) bar. Check out some of my favourite restaurants in this area below.
Go Surfin’ at Bondi Beach
Obviously, you can’t miss a visit to the famous Bondi Beach and checking out all the surfers ridin’ the waves! And give it a go if you’re up for some surf too, mate 😉.
If you’re up for a beautiful hike along the coast, make your way up from Bondi beach to Bronte beach on the Bondi to Bronte Coastal walk, where you’ll end up at Bronte beach, which is another famous beach in the area.
Take a Ferry to Manly Beach
Manly beach is a neighbourhood and beach just across the water from Sydney Harbour. You can take the ferry from Sydney Harbour and ride across the water in 20 minutes to the other side, also giving your a glorious view on the Sydney skyline and Opera House.
Once you arrive at Manly, you can make your way to Manly beach to chill or surf at the beach there. It’s more of a surf area so the waves are usually quite rough. If you’d rather sit somewhere with calmer water, check out the other side where you’ll find Cabbage Tree Beach.
China town and the Garden of Friendship
China town is a famous neighbourhood in Sydney where you can find all sorts of Chinese and Asian shops, restaurants and businesses.
The Chinese Garden of Friendship is a little garden that is a serene place to visit if you’d like to get away from the city hustle and bustle for a bit. The entrance fee is around 8 euros.
Take a hike out in the Blue Mountains
If you’re more of an adventurous type and love hiking, then visiting the Blue Mountains is a must. Hiking in the blue mountain range you’ll come across stunning waterfalls, breathtaking viewpoints, eucalyptus tree forests and much more. The Blue Mountains are located outside Sydney, about 2 hours by train.
You can join a tour that takes you to the main sights in the Blue mountains, and includes transportation and a tourguide. Check out this tour on GetYourGuide for instance:
Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Climbing the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge will give you the best views on Sydney. I didn’t have time to do this climb, but I definitely want to try it next time in Sydney!
You can book the climb for different times of the day, and the most popular are the sunset and the night climb. The duration of the climb depends a bit on the ‘package’ you book, but it’s usually between 2 and 3 hours.
Do some shopping at the Queen Victoria Building
The Queen Victoria Building is a historic building in the city centre of Sydney, built in the late nineteenth century, and features many shops, cafes and restaurants. Even if you don’t want to shop, it’s still a beautiful building the check out.
Where To Eat
Breakfast and Specialty Coffee
Sydney knows what’s up when it comes to coffee and brunch places and even though Melbourne has a better specialty coffee scene, Sydney is not running far behind!
Check out some of the best coffee and breakfast spots that we tried in Sydney:
Paramount Coffee Project, Specialty Coffee, Located close to Surry Hills, this place serves fantastic coffee as well as delicious breakfast.
Diggy Doo’s Coffee, Specialty Coffee, If you’re into specialty coffee then you need to try this coffee place, that is kind of hidden in a random underground location. They serve excellent filter and espresso drinks.
Mecca Coffee, Specialty Coffee and Breakfast, an cool coffee spot where they make great coffee as well as some delicious breakfast dishes. There are two locations in Sydney.
Single O, Specialty Coffee and Breakfast, Another amazing specialty coffee and breakfast spot in Surry hills
Sample, Specialty Coffee, A tiny espresso bar located in Surry hills.
Stitch Coffee QVB, Specialty Coffee - This cafe is located within the famous Queen Victoria Building. Their coffee is excellent as are their pastries. Definitely one of my favourite cafes in Sydney that I tried.
Chinatown Country Club, Specialty Coffee - Kind of an unassuming place for a coffee shop as it’s a clothing store but if you walk past the clothing section you’ll find a cool cafe at the back that serves amazing coffee and Matcha drinks.
Lunch and Dinner
There are a lot of amazing restaurants in Sydney, offering many different cuisines from all over the world.
Al Taglio, Pizza - If you feel like great pizza then visit this little pizza spot in Surry Hills. It’s a bit more of a high end pizza experience, so if you’re looking for more traditional pizza, then check out the restaurant below.
Vacanza Pizzeria Surry Hills, Pizza - For amazing artisanal pizzas, check out this restaurant.
Yulli’s, Vegan restaurant - Even if you’re not a vegan, this restaurant makes such amazingly delicious food out of veggies, it’s insane! Definitely recommend it.
Chinatown Noodle restaurant, Dumplings and Noodles - This unassuming little restaurant is quite famous since the food Youtuber Mark Wiens went here. I tried it and I can say it’s definitely worth the hype. The dumplings are all amazing as are the hand-made pulled noodles.
Lilong by Taste of Shanghai (Darling Square), Dim Sum- For authentic dim sum, head to this restaurant located in China town.
Ito Restaurant, Japanese - An upscale Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant located in Surry Hills
Desserts and Sweets
Yo-Chi, Frozen Yoghurt - This frozen yoghurt chain is the BEST thing that Australia has to offer in my opinion! 😂 Kidding! But the frozen yoghurt is really amazing and it’s such a fun experience. It’s a self serve frozen yoghurt place, where you get to choose the type of frozen yoghurt you want, and then add any toppings you like, from their toppings bar!
Messina Gelato, Ice cream - Another Australian chain but this time for gelato. I specifically love their Pandan sorbet, it is literally the best sorbet I’ve ever tasted.
Peanut Butter Bar, Peanut butter desserts - If you love peanut butter then this is the place for you. They even have a peanut butter fountain.
ToyaTento, Asian desserts - For amazing Asian desserts, like shaved ice and soybean desserts, check out this little spot.
Where To Stay
There are quite a few nice areas in Sydney to stay in, and here are some that were recommended to us by people who live or have lived in Sydney:
Darlinghurst - An area more north east of the city, this neighbourhood is characterised by edgy shops, cafes and a vibrant scene. A lot of younger working professionals live here.
Surry Hills - This is the hipster neighbourhood of Sydney, where you can find tons of restaurants, cafes and bars and the vibe is just really cool and chill. It’s also pretty close to the city centre of Sydney, so in terms of location it’s great as well.
Wynyrd / The City Centre - If you want to stay closer to the city centre and the Sydney harbour, then staying in Wynyrd, which is the business area, and the city centre is probably the way to go for you. You’ll be close to many of the main attractions, shops and restaurants in the centre.
Bondi Beach - for a true beach bum, staying near Bondi beach is the way to go, especially if you want to hit the beach every day. Even though there is not as much as near the city centre in terms of restaurants and cafes, there’s still enough to get by.
Accommodation
Sydney is not the most budget friendly place but you can definitely find decent hotels for a good price.
We stayed a Veriu Green Square, which is slightly out of the city, but it’s quite easy to get to the city centre by train, as there is the station pretty much next to the hotel. It’s also super close to the airport which was just a 10 minute train ride!
Even though the hotel lies a little outside the city centre, there are still plenty of restaurants and cafes around as well.
This hotel is mid-range and pretty decent for the price. If you want a slightly more boutique stay, check out the hotels below.
🛌 You can book your stay at Veriu Green Square here on Booking.com
Some other notable hotels that I found during my research on where to stay in Sydney:
Ovolo Woolloomooloo - A more luxury hotel experience near the botanic gardens of Sydney and within walking distance of the city centre.
Crystalbrook Albion - a gorgeous boutique hotel close to Surry Hills.
Aiden by Best Western Darling Harbour - an upscale boutique hotel close to the Sydney Harbour.
When To Go
Sydney has great weather pretty much all year round, because of it’s subtropical climate. It never gets really cold; the coldest month is July with a low of 8C.
The best months to visit Sydney are September to November and February to May, when weather is pleasant and there are not too many tourists. June to August are the cheapest months, as it’s winter time (although Sydney has a moderate temperature even in the winter).
Fun fact: Whale season is from May to November, so if you want to spot some whales, then you should definitely visit Sydney around this time 🐋.
How To Get There
For most people in the Northern Hemisphere, Sydney is pretty dang far. But, it is very well connected as it has a major airport called Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport.
Check out all the flights from your city to Sydney here on Kiwi.com:
Other Tips
Currency
In Australia they have the Australian dollar (AUD). Personally, I found Australia to be a very cashless society, so basically everything can be paid by card.
At the time of writing:
1 AUD = 0.62 EUR
1 AUD = 0.67 USD
Travel Insurance
When booking any trip, including to Australia, don’t forget to get a travel insurance. Your trip is way more relaxed if you know that you are covered in case something happens!
I usually get one from SafetyWing, which for me is the best value for money and is really easy to use. Everything can be done online and I like the user interface.
🌴 You can check out the SafetyWing Travel insurance here.
Language
Obviously, you’ll need to learn some Aussie slang!
Here are a few words and phrases to get your started:
“G’day mate!” - Can be used as a greeting literally everywhere
“Do you want to do a barbie?” - asking if you want to do a barbeque
“Brekky” - Breakfast
“Fair Dinkum” - An affirmation or response to good news.
“Dunny” - Toilet
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