TWO SIDES OF THE CITY
For the first leg of our Sydney stay, the Hilton Sydney (hiltonsydney.com.au) became home, and it was easy to see why this busy hotel is so wildly popular – located opposite the regal Queen Victoria Building (popular for its Romanesque design and high-end stores) and a stone’s throw from romantic Hyde Park. You are literally in the very centre of the city, but thanks to Sydney’s wealth of stunning green spaces on your doorstep, it doesn’t feel overwhelmingly urban.
From leafy Hyde Park, you can wander past the imposing gothic grandeur of Saint Mary’s Cathedral and into The Domain, which hosted WorldPride’s opening and closing concerts and houses the Art Gallery of New South Wales (artgallery.nsw.gov.au). NSW’s epic art gallery alone is worth a trip across the pond, now that the new North Building has been built, separating the gallery into two parts.
Known as the Sydney Modern Project, the $344 million building is considered to be the most significant cultural development in the city since the opening of the Sydney Opera House. The new building’s modern, light and airy design takes full advantage of its view over the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and Sydney’s harbour. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects SANAA, it has been praised for sustainability and is a striking juxtaposition to the original South Building’s classical design and stately sandstone pillars. Free tours of the collections housed in both buildings are available to join multiple times every day.
From there, a saunter through the pristine Royal Botanic Garden Sydney will take you face to face with the Sydney Opera House (a building that is as breathtaking inside as it is out) and tourist hotspot Circular Quay. Aim to hit Circular Quay late afternoon, and once you’ve loaded up on obligatory selfies, have a cocktail sitting outside at Opera Bar, which has excellent live musicians playing every evening. When you’re ready for dinner, we recommend sliding over to Whalebridge (whalebridge.com.au), a French bistro so close to the water that you feel like you’re floating, to enjoy a glass of champagne as the sun sets.
It’s a great idea to break up a Sydney stay by taking a few days out to experience some of the other scenic locations in New South Wales. While we kicked back in Ulladulla, friends of ours checked out Byron Bay, The Hunter Valley and the Blue Mountains – all easy trips to enjoy for a relaxing few days (visitnsw.com).
Returning for our second leg in Sydney, we opt to embrace everything rainbow and stay on Oxford Street itself, in the heart of Paddington, at Oxford House (oxfordhouse.com.au). Inspired by another gay village (West Hollywood), Oxford House is an ultra-cool, boutique hotel offering balmy indoor/outdoor flow, enormous suites adorned with modern European furniture, piles of coffee table books, and pool-side cocktails with pumping beats. If you are coming to Sydney to party, it’s hard to imagine a better place to stay.
Stepping out onto Oxford Street feels timeless. Just a few doors down is the Darlinghurst Bookshop, looking as popular as ever. Members of our party pop in to browse, and all of them make an arty and explicitly queer purchase. A block beyond stands queer family-owned restaurant Thai Nesia, which I first went to 22 years ago. The food is still just as good, if not better, and every table is packed. As we get to the bars, all the old favourites are pumping. Arq is back, bringing delight to younger members of our party, and eye-watering flashbacks to those a little older. Ageless Stonewall, The Oxford, and Palms are all still standing. The drag queens have changed, but these crowd-pleasing bars and their sticky floors have not.
While many of us Kiwis gather on Karangahape Road and Cuba Street, there is something warm and comforting about a city with a truly queer street you can call your own. That’s why it was so important to see the Mardi Gras Parade return to Oxford Street this year in such spectacular fashion, with Pride Villages dotted along the strip to add further diversity. Oxford Street has survived pandemic restrictions and inner-city lockout laws to remain the beating heart of Sydney’s queer community – long may she live!
BEST OF THE BURBS
The gay village may be a wonderful home, but we all need to get out of the house sometimes, so we went to check out some of Sydney’s most fabulous suburbs. You are doing yourself a disservice to visit this stunning harbour city and not get out on the water. An easy and inexpensive way to do this is by taking a ferry, or more-glamorous water taxi, to Manly. This cute beach suburb has a great swimming beach and lots of lunch options, like Queen Chow, which offers excellent Cantonese comfort food.
While Oxford Street may stay the same, Bondi is an ever-evolving suburb. We headed there for WorldPride’s magnificent Bondi Beach Party and returned to enjoy all tacos and bottomless margaritas over brunch at top Mexican restaurant Carbon (carbonmexican.com.au) before walking it off and sobering up on the beautiful Bondi to Coogee walk, around the undulating coastline.
If you would rather take your recommendations from locals, most Sydneysiders will tell you not to miss the hipster suburb of Newtown. Known for having the best gelato, craft beer bars, live music venues like the Enmore Theatre, and trendy restaurants like the laidback Continental Deli.
SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS
Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb (bridgeclimb.com) is what’s known in the travel and tourism trade as a ‘star product’! In unflattering but safety-conscious jumpsuits, you climb to the summit of the world’s largest steel arch bridge, giving you the most spectacular 360-degree views of Sydney Harbour and beyond. You take in the impressive architecture, bond with your peers, physically exert yourself a little but not enough to strain anything, get spectacular photos and enjoy the height from a very secure perch. The perfect formula for an unforgettable adventure.
If you prefer to ditch the jumpsuit and take in your spectacular views with a glass of Cristal in hand, then O Bar & Dining (obardining.com.au) is the place for you. Forty-seven stories high, this fine-dining restaurant has premium prices befitting a very special occasion, and this is the menu to splash out on. Cristal is sold by the glass(!), Black River Oscietra Caviar whets the appetite before your three-course spectacular from Chef Michael Moore indulges you with the likes of Skull Island Prawns, Sirloin Wagyu and Hot Raspberry Soufflé.
Finally, if you are looking to party, the chic Pool Club at Sydney’s Ivy (merivale.com) offered just the right balance of elegance and revelry when it housed WorldPride’s wild Kaftan Pool Party. Check out what event this venue is housing when you book your next trip to Sydney.
The express team were guests of Destination NSW. For more information, visit sydney.com/nz.
