Backpacking in Australia: Textbook Top 5 Sights in Sydney

Sometimes when you are backpacking through endless cities and countries, you end up in a totally popular tourist spot and rather than whack out a guidebook or look for off the wall places, you just want to do the obvious. You want to tick off a “textbook top 5 sights” and that’s exactly what I did when my barmy life took me to the land down under. I arrived into Sydney Kingsford Smith airport and took things from there. I found some hotel accommodation in Sydney , based myself in the King’s Cross area and headed out to explore.

Sydney is an awesome city, and as well as my time living in Parramatta, I also spent around 4-5 weeks in Sydney itself as a backpacker and tourist. These are the trademark top 5 that most tourists rave about and love.

1.Bondi Beach
Yes, I made a beeline for the famous Bondi Beach in the hope of pulling an ice hot Australian babe. That never happened of course but I did visit the beach and go for a swim. Later realising that Cronulla and Clontarf beaches were more my thing.

The girls are sexy, the surfers are here, the lads are muscular and then a white skinny Ulsterman turns up!

2.Sydney Opera House
As iconic as it is, the mandarin shreds of Sydney Opera House are hard to ignore. So magnetic that I had to head here on my first ever day in the country just to get a few photos and marvel at how cool this place is.

I also went inside a few times and watched the famous NYE fireworks display from here. It’s a fabulous building, no wonder its world famous.

3.Sydney Harbour Bridge
It’s a famous walk and a famous sight, so get on the bridge and go backpacking. It’s free to cross on foot, and there is a charge to walk across the top of it. Be careful though – it’s a huge drop but what a view! The views are amazing but if you really want to stay somewhere with a great view too, then check out these top 28 Sydney Hotels With Perfect Harbour Views – The Ultimate Guide, listed by HotelsCombined for more of Sydney’s  iconic sights.

4.Maritime Museum
I loved the sheer diversity of the Maritime Museum in Sydney. You can tour submarines, war ships and boats and get a glimpse of war time life as a Australian Navy Officer. The Aussies like to chill out though, so a highlight was actually the boat made out of beer tins!

5.Sydney Cathedral
It’s odd that people don’t think of Australia as a religious country, when it boasts temples and churches in most major cities. The Cathedral is definitely worth a visit.

Once you have had your fix of Sydney, try and get out to tour the Blue Mountains or the Jenolan Caves – well worth a trip. I have so many fond memories of my time in the land down under, it really feels a lifetime ago now.