We came to Sydney for a little ‘vacation’ to celebrate a friend’s 70th birthday. David and Di live a few hours south of Sydney and when we knew our Australia dates I messaged them to arrange getting together. We had hoped to spend a few days with them but they were leaving on a two month travel adventure. Fortunately we were able to meet for dinner in Sydney before they left.
The last time we were in Sydney was November 2023 when we stayed almost a month. Sydney is one of our favorite cities so we decided to spend three nights here. We booked ourselves into the same hotel as our friends, the Shangri-La Hotel right near Circular Quay in the city center. Our room had the most spectacular view of the Sydney Opera House and Circular Quay, it was awesome and a splurge we don’t often make.
We had 2 days to wander around the city center and re-visit a few of our favorite places. First and foremost is the Sydney Opera house, its my favorite spot. The Opera House is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most recognizable architectural masterpieces of the 20th century. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and opened in 1973, it serves as a multi-venue performing arts center that hosts more than 2,000 events annually. The building is famously known for its soaring white shells that resemble sails or waves. The roof is covered in 1,056,006 “chevron” tiles made from Swedish clay, designed to be self-cleaning and to glisten under the sun.
Next to the Opera House is the Sydney Botanical Gardens, a 72-acre oasis to escape the city crowds. Established in 1816 on the site of the colony’s first European farm, it has evolved into a world-class botanical sanctuary featuring over 7,500 plant species and stunning views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. We enjoyed seeing the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos during our walk.
The Shangri-La Hotel is right beside The Rocks district, the oldest colonial neighborhood in the city, at the foot of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Once a settlement of convicts and sailors, it has transformed into a trendy historic area with cobblestone laneways and 19th-century sandstone warehouses.
The Queen Victoria Building (QVB) was a short tram ride up George Road and is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. Completed in 1898 it was originally intended as a municipal market and a grand monument to Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. After facing the threat of demolition in the late 1950s, the QVB underwent a massive restoration in the 1980s to return it to its original 19th-century glory, preserving details like the intricate tiled floors and original grand staircases. The Royal Clock, suspended from the ceiling, is a massive mechanical clock featuring animated tableaux of British royalty that move every hour on the hour. The Great Australian clock is a 10-meter-tall clock depicting scenes from Australian history, both from European and Aboriginal perspectives, and is one of the largest hanging clocks in the world. There are over 120 stained glass windows throughout the building. Although we have been here many times before, I still love to look around inside.
Sydney is home to the largest Lego store in the world, and we have not been here before. There are some amazing pieces that have been built and are on display throughout the store, they take hundreds of hours to create. You can spend a lot of money on some of these kits!
Our final day in Sydney was the planned get together with our friends. We first met David and Di in the UK over 8 years ago! They were full time nomads at that time and following their blog we realized we were close enough to meet. Since that first meeting in 2018 we have visited them in Australia in 2020, 2023 and now 2026. We met at 4pm in Blu Bar, on the 32nd floor of our hotel to begin the evenings festivities. David & Di brought along their son Jesse and their friends Mick & Terrie, the seven of us had a wonderful time enjoying the views over a couple of drinks. Eventually we all meandered down to Circular Quay and found a casual restaurant for dinner. We thorougly enjoyed meeting everyone and spending time with our friends before they are off on their adventure, beginning with a cruise from Sydney to Hawaii. Bon Voyage, our visit was too short but we will see you next time we are down under 🥰
We loved our city break in Sydney and now we are off to the Hunter Valley for 10 days of wine tastings…..
TRIP TIPS
Something that has come as a big surprise here in Australia is the 15% added on to restaurants and hotel billings, called a ‘holiday surcharge’. While tipping is not customary or expected here we don’t recall this surcharge from our previous visits to Australia. That meant that every time we went out over the Easter holidays in Sydney, 15% was tacked on, on top of 10% GST and 1.5% credit card surcharge. At our next location in the Hunter Valley it was added on to our Sunday lunch bill, as a ‘Sunday surcharge’ 😕 When did this become standard practice??