In Sydney, the intersection of city and nature is amazing.
Countributed by Jens Hoffmann
We travelled by Qamtas and landed at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport
Kingsford Smith Airport is Located south of the Sydney central business district, in the suburb of Mascot.
It is the main hub for Qantas, the flagship airline of Australia.
Wow, a sunrise ocean swim is possible before drying off and doing some business.
A stroll to a neighborhood cafe reveals a kaleidoscopic floral display: bobbing grevillea, flowering gum.
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.
Outdoor activities and sports
Sydney Cricket Ground is where you can fall in love with Aussie rules football.
Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming Tour offers insightful Indigenous history and storytelling during a stroll around the Rocks.
Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour introduces visitors to native plants in the Royal Botanic Garden.Wylie’s Baths is a public tidal pool cut majestically into a natural rock shelf.
Redleaf Pool is a kid-friendly enclosed swimming beach, with two floating pontoons to lounge on.
Maccallum Pool, on the north shore, is a seawater pool with fantastic city views.Parsley Bay is a hidden paradise of park, bushland and gentle water.
Restaurants and bars
Joe’s Table is a one-man operation serving comforting Asian dishes.
MuMu is a blast of spectacle and Southeast Asian flavors, with yuzu slushies and spicy cocktails.
10 William Street is a well-loved Italian pasta and wine bar.
Pellegrino 2000, a Rome- and Florence-inspired trattoria, has a dine-in wine cellar and fun desserts.
A.P Bakery has a rotating lineup of pitch-perfect pastries with creative Australian flavors, to be enjoyed at its rooftop oasis.
Theaters and live venues
Oxford Art Factory is a popular venue to catch established and emerging Australian musicians.
Enmore Theater is an Art Deco icon and home to live music and comedy in Sydney’s inner west.
Belvoir St Theater is a long-running company showing the brightest talents in Australian drama.
The Bearded Tit, a welcoming queer bar, hosts a variety of eccentric performances.
Shopping and markets
Carriageworks Farmers Market offers local produce and excellent dog-watching in a former rail yard on Saturdays.
P.A.M. is where to find maximalist streetwear and creative collaborations from the label Perks and Mini.
In Bed is a showroom for homewares and earthy bed linens.
Utopia Goods has printed textiles, including tablecloths and linen napkins, featuring native flora and fauna designs in rich colors.
Where to stay
Park Hyatt unveils the postcard-perfect, uninterrupted Sydney vista, where it feels the Opera House is singing just for you (rooms with Opera House view from around 1,182 Australian dollars, or $744).
The reason you don’t 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 teeny standing-room-only mezcal bar exuding a big, extroverted energy that makes you feel like you’ve walked into the party’s peak, and you’re 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’s 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.
Bucket list:
Have breakfast at a market
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.
Wylie’s Baths – 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.
Come on Aussie, come on.
