.jpg)
.jpg)
36 hours in Sydney
New York Times
- +
- -
In Sydney, the intersection of city and
nature is magic. A sunrise ocean swim is wholly possible before drying off and
heading to the office. A stroll to a neighborhood cafe reveals a kaleidoscopic
floral display: bobbing grevillea and flowering gum. اضافة اعلان
But there are greater rewards beyond the obvious. Sydney is fantastically diverse, with a mighty migrant population (more than 40 percent of residents were born overseas). Independent arts and music punch above their weight against the odds of funding cuts and pandemic setbacks. Sydney, along with the rest of Australia, was closed to tourists for nearly two years.
It is time to get properly reacquainted. Here is how to do it in 36 hours.
Friday
8pm: Start with spice. Australia’s proximity to Asia makes Sydney a playground for lovers of Southeast Asian cuisine. Get a curry laksa, a loaded noodle soup with a spicy coconut broth (from 20 Australian dollars, or $12.60), at Ho Jiak, a Malaysian restaurant in bustling Haymarket. In nearby leafy Darlinghurst, Joe’s Table is a small operation where Joe does it all: answers the phone, cooks and serves juicy Thai fish cakes or caramelized beef rib on mismatched floral plates (17.50 to 39.50 dollars per dish). Or take a party bus through Southeast Asia: The 200-seater MuMu on central George Street is a blast of spectacle and flavor, with yuzu slushies and spicy cocktails (19 to 98 dollars for large share plates).
A view of Parsley Bay in Sydney.
10pm: Have a margarita. The reason you do not come to Cantina OK! in Sydney’s business district before dinner is because you risk forgetting your reservation entirely. You can lose hours chatting to new friends in this small standing-room-only mezcal bar exuding a big, extroverted energy that makes you feel like you have walked into the party’s peak, and you are the guest of honor. Bottles of unbranded mezcal with handwritten labels stack the walls: products of backyard operations in Mexico brought back from the owners’ frequent buying trips. It is equal parts boisterous party and genuine education. You will wake up with a hangover and, inexplicably, a thorough working knowledge of agave harvesting and distillation methods (cocktails 22 dollars, banter is free).
The Hermitage Foreshore track takes visitors past secluded beaches, rocky outlooks, and homes with back doors that open almost right onto the sand.
Saturday
8am: Grab breakfast. For many locals in inner Sydney, visiting the Carriageworks Farmers Market is a popular Saturday ritual. Housed in a breezy 1800s rail yard in Eveleigh, the market is a place to meet small producers, ask for recipe tips and fill up a bag with high-quality goods. Stall holders rotate, but there are always ready-to-eat goods like pho, savory pies (this is the default in Australia, not sweet), and crumpets with local butter and honey. Take your plate, grab a coffee and find a spot in the sun with a good view. The next-best attraction here is the dog-watching, as many shoppers bring their furry friends along.
Products for sale at the Carriageworks Farmers Market in Sydney.
10:30am: Hear new voices. The Indigenous Australians from the land that the European colonizers named Sydney are of the Eora Nation, which is made up of dozens of clans. One way to connect with Aboriginal knowledge and culture is by taking a guided tour. Try the Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming Tour, 90 minutes of strolling and storytelling along the harbor (59 dollars per adult), or the Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour, which introduces visitors to native plants in the Royal Botanic Garden (30 dollars per adult). Explore contemporary Indigenous culture on your own, too: Spotify’s Blak Australia playlist is a good start for music, or tune into Koori Radio, which broadcasts from the suburb of Redfern, a historical center for the Aboriginal civil rights movement in the 1960s and ’70s.
2pm: Watch Aussie football. Catch a game at the Sydney Cricket Ground, be it cricket, rugby, or Australian rules football. Australian rules football, which dominates attention in the neighboring state of Victoria, is growing in popularity in New South Wales and now has two teams representing the state. Some have linked the sport to Aboriginal origins, and today Indigenous players represent about a tenth of the national league. Australians seem to rarely acknowledge how special the musical element of the sport is: Every game starts and ends with the teams’ theme songs, and all the players and supporters sing along (in key is optional). See the Sydney Swans and its superstar forward, Lance Franklin, who goes by Buddy, in action. It is electric when he kicks a goal. (Tickets from 27 dollars per adult, runs March to September).
A swimmer in Maccallum Pool in Cremorne Point, Sydney.
6pm: Taste Italian. Sydney’s love affair with Italian food runs deep. Ten William Street in Paddington is a well-loved pasta and wine bar with neighborhood charm. Hop up to the bar, or slide onto the banquette by the big window (32 to 47 dollars per main). A newcomer is Pellegrino 2000, a Rome- and Florence-inspired trattoria that meanders effortlessly from tradition; try the silky crumbed tripe or buttery prawn ravioli in wonton wrappers (32 to 46 dollars per main). Sit in the buzzing upstairs dining room, or eat in the wine cellar, where Italian bottles are dangerously within reach. Desserts are pure fun. A crème caramel comes with a small mountain of whipped banana cream, and a “limongello” is like a deliciously tart Jell-O shot, set inside real quarters of lemon rind to suck on.
8pm: Get tickets. Six years of lockout laws, a largely unpopular curfew designed to curb alcohol-related violence, followed by two years of pandemic restrictions hurt many of Sydney’s small bars and performance venues, which are still recovering. So support the arts. The Oxford Art Factory in Darlinghurst is a great place to catch established and emerging Australian musicians, while the Art Deco-ish Enmore Theater in Newtown, southwest of the city center, has that plus comedy. The Bearded Tit is a welcoming queer space in Redfern for all forms of experimental expression. For local theater, see what’s on at Belvoir St Theater in Surry Hills, whose stage has hosted the likes of Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush.
Pastries at A.P. Bakery in Sydney.
Sunday
9am: Start with a swim. Take a dip in one of Sydney’s many ocean pools, where the seawater (and sometimes sea life) washes into the pool. Wylie’s Baths in Coogee (six dollars per adult) is a tidal pool cut majestically into a natural rock shelf, while Double Bay’s Redleaf Pool, an enclosed beach with two floating pontoons, is a great place to take kids or just lounge in the sun (free). In the north, the seawater Maccallum Pool in Cremorne Point is free and has one of the best views of the city skyline, while North Sydney Olympic Pool in Milsons Point is a shimmering knockout smack under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (It will reopen after renovations in 2023.)
10:30am: Explore nature. While the famous Bondi to Coogee walk is an undeniable showstopper, the Hermitage Foreshore track in Sydney’s eastern suburbs is as close to a bush walk in the city as you can get. It is a 1.6km, shaded amble past secluded beaches, rocky outlooks, and homes with back doors that open almost right onto the sand. The route goes from Bayview Hill Road to Nielsen Park, but you can extend the adventure by following the coastline to Parsley Bay, a hidden paradise of park, bush land, and gentle water with a kiosk selling coffee and snacks.
A variety of dishes served at Joe’s Table in Sydney.
12:30pm: Enjoy baked goods. Famished? Atop Paramount House in Surry Hills is a rooftop oasis that happens to have one of the city’s best bakeries. A.P. Bakery might evoke California with its midcentury sunshades and cactuses, but the flavors are Australia. The lineup of pastries is ever-changing, but you might find a macadamia, honey, and thyme croissant, a wallaby meat pie, and if the season is right, sticky-glazed hot cross buns (six to 13 dollars). There is also an all-day breakfast menu (14 to 22 dollars), or you can build your own plate of eggs, cheeses, breads, sliced meats, and pickles. From there, walk toward Oxford Street and follow it southeast to Paddington, popping into boutiques.
2pm: View Chinese art. The four-story White Rabbit Gallery (free), in a back street of Chippendale, is home to one of the world’s most significant collections of 21st-century Chinese art. Judith Neilson, the gallery’s founder, has accumulated more than 3,000 pieces, of which only a fraction is displayed at a time. The works, which span digital art, video, painting, ceramics, and other installations, show a gamut of feeling. There will be plenty to talk about afterward. Do it over dumplings in the gallery’s light-filled tearoom.
Read more Travel
Jordan News
But there are greater rewards beyond the obvious. Sydney is fantastically diverse, with a mighty migrant population (more than 40 percent of residents were born overseas). Independent arts and music punch above their weight against the odds of funding cuts and pandemic setbacks. Sydney, along with the rest of Australia, was closed to tourists for nearly two years.
It is time to get properly reacquainted. Here is how to do it in 36 hours.
Friday
8pm: Start with spice. Australia’s proximity to Asia makes Sydney a playground for lovers of Southeast Asian cuisine. Get a curry laksa, a loaded noodle soup with a spicy coconut broth (from 20 Australian dollars, or $12.60), at Ho Jiak, a Malaysian restaurant in bustling Haymarket. In nearby leafy Darlinghurst, Joe’s Table is a small operation where Joe does it all: answers the phone, cooks and serves juicy Thai fish cakes or caramelized beef rib on mismatched floral plates (17.50 to 39.50 dollars per dish). Or take a party bus through Southeast Asia: The 200-seater MuMu on central George Street is a blast of spectacle and flavor, with yuzu slushies and spicy cocktails (19 to 98 dollars for large share plates).
A view of Parsley Bay in Sydney.
10pm: Have a margarita. The reason you do not come to Cantina OK! in Sydney’s business district before dinner is because you risk forgetting your reservation entirely. You can lose hours chatting to new friends in this small standing-room-only mezcal bar exuding a big, extroverted energy that makes you feel like you have walked into the party’s peak, and you are the guest of honor. Bottles of unbranded mezcal with handwritten labels stack the walls: products of backyard operations in Mexico brought back from the owners’ frequent buying trips. It is equal parts boisterous party and genuine education. You will wake up with a hangover and, inexplicably, a thorough working knowledge of agave harvesting and distillation methods (cocktails 22 dollars, banter is free).
The Hermitage Foreshore track takes visitors past secluded beaches, rocky outlooks, and homes with back doors that open almost right onto the sand.
Saturday
8am: Grab breakfast. For many locals in inner Sydney, visiting the Carriageworks Farmers Market is a popular Saturday ritual. Housed in a breezy 1800s rail yard in Eveleigh, the market is a place to meet small producers, ask for recipe tips and fill up a bag with high-quality goods. Stall holders rotate, but there are always ready-to-eat goods like pho, savory pies (this is the default in Australia, not sweet), and crumpets with local butter and honey. Take your plate, grab a coffee and find a spot in the sun with a good view. The next-best attraction here is the dog-watching, as many shoppers bring their furry friends along.
Products for sale at the Carriageworks Farmers Market in Sydney.
10:30am: Hear new voices. The Indigenous Australians from the land that the European colonizers named Sydney are of the Eora Nation, which is made up of dozens of clans. One way to connect with Aboriginal knowledge and culture is by taking a guided tour. Try the Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming Tour, 90 minutes of strolling and storytelling along the harbor (59 dollars per adult), or the Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour, which introduces visitors to native plants in the Royal Botanic Garden (30 dollars per adult). Explore contemporary Indigenous culture on your own, too: Spotify’s Blak Australia playlist is a good start for music, or tune into Koori Radio, which broadcasts from the suburb of Redfern, a historical center for the Aboriginal civil rights movement in the 1960s and ’70s.
2pm: Watch Aussie football. Catch a game at the Sydney Cricket Ground, be it cricket, rugby, or Australian rules football. Australian rules football, which dominates attention in the neighboring state of Victoria, is growing in popularity in New South Wales and now has two teams representing the state. Some have linked the sport to Aboriginal origins, and today Indigenous players represent about a tenth of the national league. Australians seem to rarely acknowledge how special the musical element of the sport is: Every game starts and ends with the teams’ theme songs, and all the players and supporters sing along (in key is optional). See the Sydney Swans and its superstar forward, Lance Franklin, who goes by Buddy, in action. It is electric when he kicks a goal. (Tickets from 27 dollars per adult, runs March to September).
A swimmer in Maccallum Pool in Cremorne Point, Sydney.
6pm: Taste Italian. Sydney’s love affair with Italian food runs deep. Ten William Street in Paddington is a well-loved pasta and wine bar with neighborhood charm. Hop up to the bar, or slide onto the banquette by the big window (32 to 47 dollars per main). A newcomer is Pellegrino 2000, a Rome- and Florence-inspired trattoria that meanders effortlessly from tradition; try the silky crumbed tripe or buttery prawn ravioli in wonton wrappers (32 to 46 dollars per main). Sit in the buzzing upstairs dining room, or eat in the wine cellar, where Italian bottles are dangerously within reach. Desserts are pure fun. A crème caramel comes with a small mountain of whipped banana cream, and a “limongello” is like a deliciously tart Jell-O shot, set inside real quarters of lemon rind to suck on.
8pm: Get tickets. Six years of lockout laws, a largely unpopular curfew designed to curb alcohol-related violence, followed by two years of pandemic restrictions hurt many of Sydney’s small bars and performance venues, which are still recovering. So support the arts. The Oxford Art Factory in Darlinghurst is a great place to catch established and emerging Australian musicians, while the Art Deco-ish Enmore Theater in Newtown, southwest of the city center, has that plus comedy. The Bearded Tit is a welcoming queer space in Redfern for all forms of experimental expression. For local theater, see what’s on at Belvoir St Theater in Surry Hills, whose stage has hosted the likes of Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush.
Pastries at A.P. Bakery in Sydney.
Sunday
9am: Start with a swim. Take a dip in one of Sydney’s many ocean pools, where the seawater (and sometimes sea life) washes into the pool. Wylie’s Baths in Coogee (six dollars per adult) is a tidal pool cut majestically into a natural rock shelf, while Double Bay’s Redleaf Pool, an enclosed beach with two floating pontoons, is a great place to take kids or just lounge in the sun (free). In the north, the seawater Maccallum Pool in Cremorne Point is free and has one of the best views of the city skyline, while North Sydney Olympic Pool in Milsons Point is a shimmering knockout smack under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (It will reopen after renovations in 2023.)
10:30am: Explore nature. While the famous Bondi to Coogee walk is an undeniable showstopper, the Hermitage Foreshore track in Sydney’s eastern suburbs is as close to a bush walk in the city as you can get. It is a 1.6km, shaded amble past secluded beaches, rocky outlooks, and homes with back doors that open almost right onto the sand. The route goes from Bayview Hill Road to Nielsen Park, but you can extend the adventure by following the coastline to Parsley Bay, a hidden paradise of park, bush land, and gentle water with a kiosk selling coffee and snacks.
A variety of dishes served at Joe’s Table in Sydney.
12:30pm: Enjoy baked goods. Famished? Atop Paramount House in Surry Hills is a rooftop oasis that happens to have one of the city’s best bakeries. A.P. Bakery might evoke California with its midcentury sunshades and cactuses, but the flavors are Australia. The lineup of pastries is ever-changing, but you might find a macadamia, honey, and thyme croissant, a wallaby meat pie, and if the season is right, sticky-glazed hot cross buns (six to 13 dollars). There is also an all-day breakfast menu (14 to 22 dollars), or you can build your own plate of eggs, cheeses, breads, sliced meats, and pickles. From there, walk toward Oxford Street and follow it southeast to Paddington, popping into boutiques.
2pm: View Chinese art. The four-story White Rabbit Gallery (free), in a back street of Chippendale, is home to one of the world’s most significant collections of 21st-century Chinese art. Judith Neilson, the gallery’s founder, has accumulated more than 3,000 pieces, of which only a fraction is displayed at a time. The works, which span digital art, video, painting, ceramics, and other installations, show a gamut of feeling. There will be plenty to talk about afterward. Do it over dumplings in the gallery’s light-filled tearoom.
Read more Travel
Jordan News
