Things You Should See in Sydney

Ferryboat from Manly to Circular Quay – It cost about $6 for a 1 hr “cruise” with great views of Sydney’s Harbour.

Opera House – This awesome bit of architecture inspired by an orange being peeled sits right in Sydney Harbour, is artistically lit up at nighttime, and has the coolest bathrooms I have ever seen, with the tap water disappearing into the wall. Note: I did not pay $35 for the one hour indoor tour; I just asked to use the restroom.

Harbour Bridge – I am not a bridge connoisseur, but this is a nice bridge.

Sydney Tower – Optimally, you should go mid to late afternoon, take a book, and hang around to watch the sunset from the top of this otherwise ugly tower. The 360 degree views of Sydney, including the harbour area, are worth the admission ticket.

Stolen Generations Maze, Australian Museum – Aside from my personal academic interest in Indigenous issues, I found this exhibit to be an engaging way of presenting a really controversial issue. For those who are unaware, the Australian government used to remove mixed children from Aboriginal communities and foster them to missions or white families, very similar to Canada’s Indian Residential Schools. The exhibit showed the social impacts of this practice through various media.

Sydney Jazz and Blues Fest – I caught the Dan Sultan concert right on the Darling Harbour waterfront. Not only was this concert excellent, it was also free!

Art Gallery of New South Wales – I am definitely not an art connoisseur, but I really enjoyed this gallery, which means it was interesting even for people who don’t like art.

The Rocks – Sydney neighbourhood that is full of historical buildings and yummy cafes and feels somewhat like a movie set.

Paddy’s Markets, Market City – For the shoppers.

Northern Beaches – Sydney is blessed with a bounty of beautiful beaches.

Things You Should Not See In Sydney

The Domain and Botanic Gardens – Unless you are really into plants, this was unremarkable.

King’s Cross – Sydney neighbourhood with a lot of hype about its trendy cafes and hipster scene. I observed cafes with high prices, inconvenient hours of operation, and a lot of drug addicts.

OzTrek – this VERY dated tourism promotion activity inside the Sydney Tower took cheesy to a whole other level. PLEASE DON’T SEE THIS.

Museum of Contemporary Art – With the exception of some funny postmodern concrete poetry work by Richard Tipping and a lovely painting by Rosemary Laing, I was literally yawning through most of the exhibits. My cell phone also rang in the silent gallery and I got evil glares from all twenty artsy poseurs in my midst.