Central Sydney and Manly Beach

Published On February 11, 2013 | By This World Rocks | Australia, Recent, South Pacific, Travel Journal

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For our last 2 nights here in Sydney, we decided to stay in the heart of the city, and spend some time sightseeing. We walked a lot, through central Sydney, Hyde Park, Botanical Gardens, Sydney Opera House, and Chinatown. We visited Mrs. MacQuaries Chair, a seat carved in stone for the wife of an early governor of New South wales, on a point in the harbor full of busloads of tourists.

To stick to our budget, we didn’t do many tours, but we did visit the Hyde Park Barracks Museum (half price entry with student IDs, never throw those away), and took a ferry to Manly Beach for an afternoon, which gave a great views of the harbor and the Opera House. Manly Beach is popular for locals and tourists. It has a wide, sprawling beach with volleyball courts, great waves for surfing, and nice bathroom and water facilities. A long boardwalk next to the beach turns into the Corso, a few pedestrian streets with bars, cafes, and shops.

Central Sydney was a great time, and, as we noticed on our way home after a late night at a Tottenham bar for a soccer game, has a great nightlife. But the touristy areas were too touristy for us, probably partly because we were there at the start of the Chinese New Year.