THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME. 30 THINGS YOU MUST DO IN SYDNEY & PROBABLY HAVEN’T…
Sydney is the kind of city that you can’t wait to show-off to visitors – Bondi beach lifeguards! The Opera house! Getting a ferry! But living here is about digging in, beyond the flashiness – you know, to the soul and character of the city and not just its (very good) looks. And this is fun to do because Sydney is a city of contradictions and contrast – while we exercise vigorously we also hunt down artisanal doughnuts with a ruthless intent.
Sometimes, in the drudgery of the every day it’s easy to forget just how glorious your own city can be. So here are the things you definitely should have experienced if you live in Sydney – some of them the show-offy bits, and others the more quiet, slightly-smugly-in-the-know things. And yes, one of them is definitely thinking on a regular basis, “I really must go to the beach more often.”
- 1. Take a stretch or dance class at the Sydney Dance Company at Walsh Bay. It doesn’t matter if, like me, you’re very uncoordinated (but very enthusiastic!), you’ll totally feel like you’re in a Centre Stage movie as you limber up at the barre.
- 2. Play barefoot bowls at the Clovelly Bowling club (or the Petersham Bowling club which pretty much doubles as a creche). The view at Clovelly is spectacular and the beer at every bowls club is cheap. What more could you need?
- 3. Sydney is a city that exercises. And it’s OK to join the beautiful people on the Bondi to Bronte walk, so long as you then double back and undo it all by having lunch at the Icebergs club – it’s the same Bondi view that everybody in the entire world has Instagrammed at some point, but at a much more wallet-friendly price.
- 4. Trawl the Kirribilli market for vintage and designer clothes (and sell your own, but be prepared to haggle intensely). It’s where all the fashion magazine girls sell their (so-last season) clothes. But get in early for the good stuff, the crowd here is very aesthetically astute.
- 5. Swim laps at the Boy Charlton pool and then sun yourself luxuriously in a manner reminiscent of a character in an Evelyn Waugh novel, all youthful beauty and vigour.
- 6. Eat, drink and dance at a venue owned by Justin Hemmes. Look, it’s totally unavoidable and you might as well enjoy yourself. Special mention to the meat sweats-inducing Papi Chulo at Manly.
- 7. Eat a Harry’s Cafe de Wheels pie with mushy peas in a very unflattering and entirely satisfying manner on your walk home from a night out.
- 8. Go stand-up paddle boarding in Manly. Basically do any kind of activity on the harbour, because that is Sydney’s happy place. Though, really, has anybody ever paused to wonder what the point of stand-up paddle boarding is? Like, it’s not really that fun?
- 9. See a cult classic movie at the very cute Golden Age Cinema and Bar. Snack on some cinnamon doughnut popcorn (!) and try to remember some smart-sounding quotes from that film studies subject you did in your first year of uni to impress your date.
- 10. Drive out to Palm Beach. Then try and get the Home and Away song out of your head. “You know we belong together …”
- 11. Line up for ages at Gelato Messina, during which you will change your mind at least 87 times before settling on salted caramel and white chocolate. Because you always get salted caramel and white chocolate and you should never change.
- 2. Battle it out with crowds on the day before Easter or Christmas Eve to buy fish at the Pyrmont fish markets and swear that you will never, ever do that again.
- 13. Eat some of Kylie Kwong’s pork dumplings at the Eveleigh market and pick up some organic produce. Because if you live in Sydney and you didn’t go to a farmer’s market on the weekend, did your weekend even happen?
- 14. BARANGAROO. It’s the new Sydney precinct. And it has a great park for strolling and sitting and wondering about city renewal.
- 15. Do a pub crawl in the Rocks and argue jovially about which pub is actually the oldest pub in Sydney.
- 16. Gently make fun of tourists doing the bridge club (even though you’d kind of like to do it if only you didn’t have to wear that unflattering onesie), but also feel quite smug that you get about the same view simply walking across the bridge.
- 17. Karaoke with all of your most drunken, competitive and unrelentingly extroverted friends at Ding Dong Dang is a must. This is a very important Sydney Experience.
- 18. Pick up a ricotta cheesecake from Pasticceria Papa for a dinner party, and guiltily end up eating the whole thing yourself out of the fridge, Nigella Lawson style.
- 19. Dance wildly, joyfully at The Palms in Oxford Street.
- 20. Go snorkelling at Gordon’s Bay and also take the time to admire Sydney’s hipsters in their natural habitat as if you are David Attenborough.
- 21. Ride a ferry all day, with nowhere to go. Every Sydney-sider should do this at least once in their lives.
- 22. Hire a bike in Centennial park and idly cycle the entire perimeter, take a picnic and stay for the day.
- 23. Spend an afternoon wandering around the MCA and The Sydney Art Gallery (and not just when there’s a blockbuster exhibition on), don’t forget to tilt your head thoughtfully and walk with your hands behind your back.
- 24. Sport! You need to see some sport in Sydney. The New Year’s Test is a pleasant way to while away a few days, or jump on the Sydney Swans bandwagon at the crucial moment like every other non-dedicated AFL fan
- 25. Train for a fun run. You’ll definitely need to do the City To Surf at some point – being able to groan about heartbreak hill is basically the pre-resquisite to being a Sydney-sider.
- 26. Go to the beach or one of Sydney’s beautiful harbour bays Because you should definitely go to the beach more.
- 27. Sport! You need to see some sport in Sydney. The New Year’s Test is a pleasant way to while away a few days, or jump on the Sydney Swans bandwagon at the crucial moment like every other non-dedicated AFL fan
28. Rent a tinnie at Pittwater beach and spend the day tootling about the water with friends, a six-pack of beer and plenty of swimming stops.
29. Train for a fun run. You’ll definitely need to do the City To Surf at some point – being able to groan about heartbreak hill is basically the pre-resquisite to being a Sydney-sider.
30. Go to the beach or one of Sydney’s beautiful harbour bays Because you should definitely go to the beach more.