Who has not dreamed of visiting Sydney! This world-famous city where the prisoners from England were sent to be imprisoned 200 years ago. If you are going to Sydney, I hope you get inspired by these 8 iconic viewpoints in Sydney. Because it has more to offer than the Known pictures of the famous Sydney Opera House and the Harbour bridge.
Sydney is one of the largest cities in the country known as the motherland for the Great Barrier Reef, the desert wilderness called the Outback. They also have unique animal species like kangaroos, koala-bears and duck-billed platypuses. So I started my Australien adventure in this awesome city, and I was not disappointed.
Iconic viewpoints in Sydney
Starting our 8 iconic viewpoints in Sydney, let’s start outside the City. to get to the blue mountains I was lucky enough to know someone that wanted to show me around. you see, My grandmother’s brother emigrated to Australia when he found the love of his life. He was working his way around the world in his youth.
So, I was in luck as I was invited by my Australian family, whom I had never met before. Fuelling up on stories about Gran’s brother and the world’s best coffee in a cowboy-movie-like mountain village on the way, our day started. After a great road trip through lovely nature, we arrived at the blue mountains.
The Blue Mountains
The blue mountains’ best lookout is from echo point at Katoomba. From here you can see three sandstone peaks towering more than 900 meters high among the cliffs of Jamison Valley. The site is about two hours drive from Sydney, and buses and trains are departing Sydney for The blue mountains many times every day.
The tree Sisters
We walked down to the three sisters and I definitely recommend it if you like the thrill of heights. from here it is possible to continue all the way down to the valley floor at the base of the three sisters. The valley floor was covered in rainforest. When you are down there a 2,4 kilometers long boardwalk will take you through the rainforest dating back to the time of the Dinosaurs.
I loved the pink gum trees with a beautiful color. And I was amazed by the fique trees that kill trees by strangling them and end up as beautiful hollow sculptures because of the tree rotting away inside.
You can also take a gondola across one of the valleys for a scenic view, and decent from the top down to the rainforest in a vertical train ride. It was a pretty steep ride down to eventually reach the rainforest below. A great day for fantastic views, exploring nature, curing height freight and getting to know each other.
YHA – the Rocks
Getting back from the mountain this afternoon to find out that Vivid was starting – we all met up at the rooftop at YHA in the Rocks. The view overlooking the harbor bridge and the Sydney opera house is priceless.
The rocks are the neighborhood on the south shore of Sydney harbor where the first prisoners were sent from England in 1788. Back then it was the slum area, often frequented by sailors and prostitutes.
Today it is a lively Urban area full of history, chick cafes and excellent restaurants. The original Victorian architecture combined with steel and glass and niche stores makes this area one of the most popular areas of town.
Darling Harbour
After checking out the Sunday morning market at the Rocks, we took the ferry to Darling Harbour for lunch. This harbor is situated adjacent to the city center of Sydney and is a giant playground of fun, food, history, and shopping.
This is where you will meet Crocodile Dundee in wax and the wildlife world where you can meet a Koala. Shopping centers, food courts, museums, and entertainment for all ages.
The layout, fountains, and architecture alone are worth a visit. This is also where you can do all kinds of boat tours in and around the harbors.
Bondi to Coogee Walk and then some
Sydney is so much more than a big city. The coast offers amazing cliffs and beaches, not to mention if you surf, this is the place to try the board. Additionally, if you are like me and love taking pictures, you will love the picturesque walk from Bondi to Coogee.
The walk takes about 1 hour depending on how many times you stop to take pictures. As a matter of fact, there are so many viewpoints, it could take twice that time. When you get close to Bondi beach there is a beautiful restaurant with fantastic views over the pool and sea called “Bondi Icebergs club”. You can’t miss it as you get around the sculptural rocks near the beach in Bondi.
After our lunch with a view at Icebergs, we continued our walk in the same manner. This time we made our way to the ferry at Watsons Bay for equally great views from the sea all the way back to the city center.
Ferry to Manly
Take the ferry to Manly for a day at the beach and get back in the evening as the sun sets in Sydney. The beach offers great surfing as well as relaxing sunbathing. Manly is a cute little city to explore with lots of shops and cafes. The buzzing pedestrian strip called “The Corso” is lined with laid-back pubs to fuel your need for liquids and family-friendly eateries to equally fill your stomach.
If you want to go for a beautiful hike when you are in Manly, I suggest heading for Bush trails. This beautiful strip of land on North Head offers unique sweeping views of the harbor and city skyline.
Get back on the boat before dark to experience the sunset view of Sydney Harbor coming back. It is a similarly beautiful view of the opera house and harbor bridge at night.
Milsons point across the harbor bridge
We stopped here early morning sightseeing. What a view over Sydney harbor. The Neighbourhood is a suburb just across the Harbour Bridge from the Rocks. It is another one of those must-see iconic viewpoints in Sydney.
This is where you can take a stroll in Bradford Park along the waterside with stunning views of the city and the Harbor bridge all the way. There is also an amusement park called Luna Park close by if you are in for an additional need for some roller-coaster excitement.
Food is great coupled with a view. this part of town offers restaurants for all ages and wallets with equally gorgeous views. When you come over the bridge, turn right, and you are in the neighborhood.
The train station at circular quay
I took a picture every time I stopped at Circular quay due to the view. So the station had to be on this list. From the platform on the second floor, you can see both the Opera house and the harbor bridge.
In addition this is a great viewpoint to the bay-walk with all the cafes and restaurants and the ferry terminal with the iconic boats arriving and departing continuously.
Bennelong Lawn
I came over this lesser-known but incredibly beautiful iconic viewpoints in Sydney Harbor. Walking in a new street I passed the lawn on my way past the Opera house going to the Botanical gardens. Both of these also were great viewpoints of Sydney. If you are at the opera house, you need to go up the stairs to the park for this view.
The park also makes for a pleasant stroll and is connected to the botanical gardens. In fact, they are both picturesque and worth a visit.
Shangri-La Blu Bar on 36
A nice glass of wine with amazing people is always the perfect ending to a fabulous day. I met Lyndy, my lovely relative from down under here. We had champagne with a view followed by stories about life in Australia. There are several places I could recommend for meetups. This one is on top of my list due to the view.
Afterword
I absolutely love the street signs in Australia. Moreover, I love the live versions of the animals they display. Searching for places to meet kangaroos and Koala bears I found one of them here in Sydney. But I had a more exciting meet up with them on the other side of the country. I will come to that in a blog post about the south coast.
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