114 Travel | Sydney
© Destination NSW
The New Year ’ s fireworks in Sydney might be world famous : the mother of all parties , an epic night of nights during which a million people cram the foreshore to see US $ 15-million worth of fireworks go pop over the city ’ s spectacular harbour backdrop at midnight .
For Sydneysiders , however , New Year ’ s Eve is really just the opening salvo that announces summer has well and truly arrived . This is the season of brilliant blue sunshine , late brunches by the beach and long evenings in the restaurant-dense inner-city suburbs of Surry Hills , Darlinghurst and Paddington . Surf lifesavers plant their fluttering safety flags in the sand of the city ’ s beaches , open-air concert music drifts from parks , chattering latte-sippers sit at pavement tables and the iconic green Manly ferry echoes with the yelps of children freed from school .
A holiday feeling is in the air , and January sees Sydney at its warmest and finest . This is a city that shows its best side outdoors , and should be admired from a pavement café table , a towel on the beach , or the deck of a yacht in the harbour . To see how beautiful the city ’ s summer setting can be , take to water-hugging walking paths too . Just 20 minutes from the city centre , you can be strolling in Bondi , squinting at the blue Pacific Ocean , dodging joggers on the promenade and admiring surfers as they pirouette on the waves . With its surf-wear boutiques , fish-and-chip shops and string of ice-cream parlours , Bondi has the atmosphere of a small seaside town and coastal scenery to match .
Alternatively , take the half-hour ferry ride from downtown to Manly , another of Sydney ’ s laid-back seaside suburbs , this time spectacularly wedged on a peninsula between harbour and ocean . As you chug past the Opera House and mansion-dotted harbour suburbs through a jostle of colourful racing yachts , it ’ s easy to see why Sydney lays claim to being one of the world ’ s most beautiful cities .
Once you get your bearings and see the sights , prepare to be entertained . Sydneysiders scarcely have time to recover from their New Year ’ s shenanigans when they ’ re gearing up for the exuberant Sydney Festival , which runs throughout most of January ( January 7 – 29 this year ). It ’ s a city-wide extravaganza of performing and visual arts from both established names and up-and-coming artists . You can expect everything from circus acts and classical concerts to cabaret shows and comedies . Events are held all over town , from the town hall to the city ’ s parks and , of course , at the jewel in the crown of arts venues , Sydney Opera House .
Every visitor ought to admire the Opera House from both inside and out : walk around into the adjacent Royal Botanic Gardens for perhaps the best outlook onto this iconic architectural masterpiece and the surrounding harbour . Walk around the foreshore in the other direction too , however , and into The Rocks , the oldest part of Sydney , established in 1799 . This area under the shadow of the humpbacked Sydney Harbour Bridge really comes into its own in the lazy days of January .