Discovering Australia: Sydney CBD

Our trip to Australia was half over. Having spent time in Melbourne, we flew to Sydney. From the airport there is a very efficient subway system that travels into town or as Australians like to call it, the CBD (Central Business District). Buy an opal card at an airport convenience store and add money to it. It’s a tap on, tap off system. However, we discovered that there is an extra charge for those using the airport stop. The woman who sold us our opal card told us that we could take a bus over to the next subway stop, and it would be a lot cheaper. The bus has the same tap on and off system. We followed the crowd from the bus, got on the subway, and saved about $10 all together.

Our hotel was a block from the next subway stop so we went there, and although we were a little early, they allowed us into our room. With our luggage stashed away in our room, we were free to explore.

Circular Quay was our next stop. It is at the hub of the Sydney tourist area in the CBD. Besides a major subway hub, it is also the center for ferries that you can catch to various parts of the bay so it is a busy place. A cruise ship was also docked there loading up for a cruise, and it is, of course, the location of the iconic Sydney Opera House.

Upon our arrival we just wanted to explore and didn’t really know where we were going. We began to wander along the bank of the harbour. Crossing under the Harbour Bridge, we stayed as close to the water as we could. We eventually came to a walkway and followed it. It was called the Wulugul Walk. Above the walk was the Clyne or Barangaroo Reserve. During our wanderings we saw a number of different locations around the water. The Sydney Luna Park was easily seen on the other side of the harbour. (Check out pictures of Melbourne’s Luna Park here)We could see tall buildings, but we weren’t necessarily sure where they were, but we thought it was part of the Sydney CBD. Both new construction and old historic locations were visible in the skyline. It was a good introduction to Sydney, but eventually we circled back to Circular Quay.

Tired from walking we found some coffee and relaxed. We had struck up a conversation with the barista so, as it was near dinner time, we asked him for a good recommendation for a burger. He recommended a place nearby which we found and went in. It turns out it was definitely not a place we would normally go to. It was more of a bar vibe with pierced and tattooed waiters. The restaurant was small, but there was a table available. The challenging thing was the loud music coming from the speakers. It was tiresome after a while. However, the waiters were gracious to us despite the fact we probably looked like we didn’t fit in. We enjoyed the hamburgers, and feeling revived, we left ready to finish our evening.

It was time to get up close to the Opera House. It is so iconic, and I must admit my first response was a bit disappointing. The construction materials of the lower part didn’t seem very classic for such a building. I also realized that the top part is actually three different sections. One of them is a restaurant. At night there is a short time when they project images onto part of the roof, but we were only able to catch just a part of it.

We missed the show on the roof because we got caught up in the Australian rugby finals. That week was leading up to the finals in Sydney on the weekend. Near the Opera House we stumbled upon a sort of opening ceremony where they were talking about the sport and its players. During that time they were projecting photos of players onto the pilings of the Harbour Bridge and changing the lights on the bridge for the colors of the teams. It made for a bit of a show even though we were unfamiliar with the game and its teams. First it was the Footy Festival in Melbourne and now rugby in Sydney. It was an interesting time to be in Australia.

The following morning we took the subway to the CBD and decided to take the St. James stop to see a different part of the city. It turns out the St. James stop is an older stop and has the feel of a 40s station with an art deco style.

Coming out of the subway we discovered Hyde Park and Archibald Fountain a huge fountain which honors the relationship between France and Australia during World War I. Hyde Park is large, but we were attracted to the large cathedral on the other side of the park thinking this was St. James for which the subway stop was named. We were wrong. It was St. Mary’s Cathedral, a very large and beautiful church which we were able to explore and photograph. (I never did figure out why the stop is called St. James)

Our next stop was the famous Mrs. Macquaries chair. It took us a while to figure out how to get there on the map, but after some false starts we finally found the path. It was a bit of a hike from where we were. The trail was next to the botanical gardens, our next place to visit. Mrs. Macquaries chair is at the tip of a point with an excellent view of the harbour. From the point there are great views of the Harbour Bridge and of course the Opera House as well as the Sydney CBD. The chair itself was actually carved out of rock at her husband’s order. He was governor, and she liked to come out and watch the harbour. Unfortunately the view from the chair is away from the famous sites of Sydney today, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

Walking back from the point we came to the Royal Botanic Garden. This is a large garden with amazing views around it as well as a large variety of plants. It’s an unexpected site so close to the Sydney CBD. As in many gardens, there are various sections where plants from certain environments or types are close together. Since it was spring in Australia, there were many flowers in bloom to enjoy. While many of the plants were familiar, some were not. There was a garden with cactus which was quite interesting as well.

Throughout the park sulpher-crested cockatoos fly around. They are white with a yellowish crest on their heads. They are also very noisy. It seemed they were constantly screaming at each other to the point that it got annoying.

We didn’t tour the whole garden, but decided to move on toward the CBD. There we discovered the Queen Victoria Mall. This is a very large, beautiful, old building several stories tall that is being used as a shopping mall. There are some unique stores there as well as restaurants. It’s fun just to look around at the beautiful architectural details. On the top floor we found a store selling aboriginal art which was quite interesting to explore.

From there we headed to Paddy’s Market. We crossed over part of Cockle Bay on a wide pedestrian bridge and then headed in the direction of the market. When we got there, it was closed. It turns out it is not open on Mondays and Tuesdays. Being now near the Chinatown area, we wandered around there for a bit trying to decide what to do.

Not ready to call it a day, we decided to walk across the Harbour Bridge. There is a high arch as part of the bridge structure, and for a fee you can go up to the top of the bridge. That’s not what we did. We simply walked on the sidewalk of the bridge. We did see a group that was walking up above as we walked below. The bridge was busier than we expected with many people walking across, some for exercise, others for site seeing. From the bridge there are great views of the harbour and of course the Opera House. The bridge is a little over a kilometer long.

Once we got to the other side we didn’t walk back; we took a bus. We did enjoy some ice cream before heading back over the bridge. Back at Circular Quay we grabbed the subway and were ready for a good night’s sleep after a long day of walking. The next day was beach day.

Have you been to Sydney? Do you have a favorite memory or site you visited? Enjoy the conversation below.

Credits: The photo Mrs. Macquaries Chair was taken by Silvette Lee