Travel + Leisure - India & South Asia
Down by the Water
ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST SCENIC CITIES, SYDNEY DEMANDS YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ITS AMENITIES, BOTH NATURAL AND MAN-MADE, ON ANY VISIT.
SOME DESTINATIONS are growers. Others barely even break sweat in stating their case to visitors. And despite sizzling summer temperatures that keep the buffed bodies on Bondi Beach bronzed, Sydney is very much in the latter category.
Draped around one of the world’s finest natural harbors and a string of gilded stretches of golden sand, Australia’s largest city is nothing if not a looker. Indeed, a compelling case could be made for it as one of the world’s most aesthetically appealing places.
WAKE TO A VISUAL FEAST
The Harbour City is full of eye candy. It’s there when you stroll along the coastline on a trail that links its eastern beaches. It’s there when you explore leafy enclaves such as Glebe, Balmain, Vaucluse and Rose Bay. And when you walk north from Hyde Park through the Royal Botanical Gardens to be greeted by the sight of Sydney Opera House (sydneyoperahouse. com) and Sydney Harbour Bridge vying for attention.
There’s plenty of substance to this thoroughbred show-pony though.
Historic neighborhoods thrum with energy, while a generous selection of lush green spaces offer scope for a stroll, a casual kick-about or even an interlude of blissful reflection.
A CITY OF LANDMARKS
Sydney’s modern history though began on the harbor with the arrival of a first fleet of British ships in 1788: the precursor to the establishment of Australia as a far-flung penal colony.
And it is down by the same body of water—just a short walk from the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park—that many visitors choose to start an exploration of Sydney. There are few better places to begin than at the city’s iconic opera house. Now rightly considered a cornerstone of 20th century architecture, the structure—designed by Dane Jorn Utzon to visually represent the sails of a yacht—was beset by delays during its construction. There’s no ambiguity though about the finished structure, which is a soaring presence. It hosts theater, dance, concerts and opera. But if you can’t catch a show, guided tours uncover the stories, history and magic of Australia’s most famous landmark.
TAKE TO THE WATER
The opera house is as much a hit when viewed from the water as it is
from land. In fact, many of Sydney’s chief attributes can be witnessed in a different light observed from the deck of a luxury sailing vessel. Of the companies that offer sailing tours around these waters, Harbour Days (harbourdays.com.au) is one of the most respected. It offers a range of water-bound options from one-day tours to personalised sailing and luxury itineraries. The boats begin and end their odyssey at Darling Harbour with highlights including the chance to observe the city’s exclusive harborside suburbs and their beaches, passing the harbor heads and sailing out onto the open sea, enjoying lunch accompanied by Aussie wines and craft beers.
THE CITY ON FOOT
A brisk stroll away from Darling Harbour, is The Rocks (therocks. com). The strip of land where the first European settlers stepped ashore, this concentration of cobbled laneways and sandstone buildings swiftly established a bawdy reputation that remained in place from the establishment of the colony until as recently as the 1970s. Gentrification and redevelopment as a tourism and commercial area has cleaned up the area. And today the area is one of Sydney’s most tourist friendly enclaves. Markets, museums, galleries, restaurants and heritage buildings all reward exploration by foot. Many visitors come especially for the area’s historic pubs, which include the Glenmore Hotel where patrons can enjoy 180-degree views of the harbor while supping an ice-cold beer.
Another of Sydney’s legendary suburbs is, of course, Bondi. The jewel of Sydney’s laid-back beach culture, the sweeping crescent of sand that fronts the ocean is a great place to bake in the sun or indulge in
some people-watching. For serious swimmers though, the place to make for is Bondi Icebergs (icebergs.com. au). The ocean pool at the southern end of Bondi beach is always crowded with swimmers cramming in the lengths. At A$7 per dip, it’s one of the city’s best bargains.
More genteel pursuits can be enjoyed in the city as well. Afternoon tea, for instance, at the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park, is famous for its combination of refinement and sophistication. Here, guests can enjoy delicious pastries and savoury items served up on luxurious three-tiered Anna Vasily high tea stands. Accompanying the edibles are selections of Vittoria coffee, Dilmah teas and Lindt drinking chocolate.
After an indulgent afternoon tea, there is no better place to work off some calories than across the road from the hotel in Hyde Park. Australia’s oldest park has provided green refuge for more than two centuries. An avenue of majestic
Hill’s Figs that line a pedestrian avenue provides the park’s centerpiece, but just as alluring are the various shady nooks found tucked away beneath over 580 mature, exotic and native trees.