Sydney, The Ultimate City Guide
Hello everybody, my name is Tripcompany And here is the Opera bar in from of the Opera house of Sydney This video is a Sydney travel guide Precisely a general city guide I will tell you about What is Sydney, Where is Sydney Its background, features, districts like that Yes, it is the time to discover this charming marine Australian city, let’s go And one more, simple subscribe and like button Gonna make this video more interesting Sydney is a mega city located in the southeast of Australia It is the capital of New South Wales, one of the six main regions that make up the Australian continent. It is also the city that symbolizes the country of Australia itself How could you imagine Australia without the Sydney Opera House It's been a fierce rivalry with Melbourne to the south since the birth of the country. Melbourne recently took over the title of largest city from Sydney. but Sydney still holds the other title of Australia's iconic city. Many people can't imagine what Melbourne, Adelaide or Brisbane look like. But everybody knows what Sydney looks like.
Again, the Opera House, Harbor bridge, game over. By the way, people in Sydney are called Sydneysiders. New Yorkers in New York, Londoners in London, Parisians in Paris, And Sydneysiders in Sydney. The city's influence is also strong in this country CBD of Sydney is Australia's number one financial center. Two of Australia's eight most prestigious universities are in Sydney.
the Group of Eight Normally there's one per region, but only Sydney and Melbourne have two. It's really the leading city in Australia. So about 20% of Australia's population lives in Sydney.
The definition of Sydney as a city is a bit complicated. If you simply Google Sydney. It has a population of 5.2 million and a land area of 12,368km2
It is almost 8 times the size of London. That doesn't make sense, so let's break it down. First of all, Sydney in the narrowest definition is the City of Sydney in the center of this map.
It is quite small like City of Westminster in London It's about 230,000 people like a normal city Most of the major tourist destinations are within this area And then there are 32 local government areas from east to west, south to north This is the Sydney metropolitan area. This is the regular Sydney. It's about 1700km2, so it's a little bit bigger, but it's like a normal city now. And this area is similar to London The 33 local government areas are at the extremes of size. The smallest, Burwood LGA,is 7km2, 15% of Manhatten, New York The largest, Hornsby, is 450km2, 60% of whole New York Except for the city of Sydney, of course you don't hear people calling the local government areas by name.
For example, the famous beach, Bondi Beach is part of Waverley Council. but it's just referred to as the Bondi area. And in the street address, it's just Bondi Beach after New South Wales. Then you have a few sprawling suburbs around Sydney metropolis This is Greater Sydney which is what we started with. Of course, the suburbs are really sparsely populated.
So, that's the definition of Sydney With its British identity, Sydney is arguably the most fundamental city in the country of Australia. The colonization of Sydney in 1788 by British convicts was the first step in the colonization of whole Australia. The large colony of New South Wales was formed around Sydney. All of the states in eastern Australia were carved out of New South Wales.
Of course, there were Aboriginal people living here before that. It wasn't empty land. So a lot of Sydney's place names come from those aboriginal names Not just in Sydney but in Australia in general But despite its background as the first British colonial city.
Sydney has surprisingly never been the capital of Australia. The Australian Territory was formed in 1901 from the six colonies of Australia. It was the forerunner of the current country of Australia.
Sydney and Melbourne were fought over for who would be the capital Then Canberra, in the middle, finally became the capital. Melbourne was the interim capital while Canberra was being built. In many ways, Sydney is ambiguous, complicated and fun. Australia's first colonial city and recently its largest.
but lost the title to Melbourne and has never been the capital. But Sydney will always be Australia's the most iconic city. So, let's take a look at some of the city's features. You can see Port Jackson Bay just in the middle of Sydney City of Sydney was founded on a section of this bay.
Today, the Sydney metropolis borders not only Port Jackson Bay but also the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean to the east. So the ocean is a huge part of any trip to Sydney. The harbor bridge is literally built on a harbor, so it's a harbor bridge. If it was built over a river, it would have a different name, right? And the Opera house is built as close to the sea as you can get in the bay. The shape of the building itself reminds people of the ocean. Sail or wave, whatever Darling Harbour, another famous tourist attraction, is also a harbor area.
You go up to the observatory hill, you will see the bay with the Harbor bridge. You go to the zoo, you see the giraffes with bay There's a whole series of white sandy beaches on the east side. More than half of your destinations would be ocean-related.
It is a bit rare in this level of Metropolis Australia has been steadily welcoming foreign immigrants and workers. Sydney is one of the popular destinations of these newcomers. Because It's a big city with a lot of opportunities. Also Australia, in particular, attracts mostly Asians because of its location.
East Asian, Southeast Asian. So while Australia as a whole is still predominantly white. but Sydney has lots of Asians It's over 20% and there are numerous Working Holiday Visa Holders too So when you're traveling around Sydney, you will think there are so many Asians here. It's not just one country. Korean, Chinese, Japanese…… Actually Japanese are not as many as the Korean and Chinese. There's a lot of Thai people in Haymarket and some of the bed towns are Vietnamese.
And that's where it compares to other Anglo-American and Western European metropolises. In major Western European cities like London and Paris. there's a lot more Indian, Middle Eastern, black people than East or Southeast Asian.
And in the United States, Hispanics and blacks outnumber Asians. It's definitely an Anglo-American city where Asians are a secondary ethnic group. In the second feature, I mentioned that there are many Asians. More than 20%, or to put it another way, close to 70% are white.
Especially in the east coastal hills It's close to the beach, it's recreational. It's hilly, so it's got good views, it's close to the city center either Naturally, land and house prices are expensive. So most of Asian immigrants as newcomers live at the west inland It's predominantly white people who have been wealthy for generations and have had the advantage of building big businesses. So they live at the East Some parts of Sydney feel very Asian. but most of people are white on the beaches and parks on east side where you can enjoy these leisure activities.
We've talked a bit about the Definition of Sydney. This area is tiny but it is the heart of Sydney and travel to Sydney both The northernmost harbor, this is Circular Quay. Sydney's ferry, tram and metro hub The Opera House and the Harbor Bridge are on the left and right of this Circular quay The Three Musketeers, huh, This side definitely has a touristy feel to it.
You can find a lot of bars around here Next to the Opera House, Under the Harbor Bridge…. Also there's a lot of place names in here, like The Rocks, Dawes Point… If you're just traveling, it's probably best to think of them as landmarks. "Near the harbor bridge, near the opera house." It's intuitive.
High-rise offices and hotels spread south of Circular Quay. This is the financial center of Australia I talked about earlier It's where all of Sydney's elite work. Now the real CBD of Sydney begins The main station of this area is Wynyard and Martin Place Also Martin place is the center of the CBD either The streets are mostly office buildings, so there's not much to see. But it's fun to people-watch on weekdays. Australia's elite And the food courts are surprisingly good value for money.
Office workers want to eat cheaply. However there are some expensive restaurants either South of King Street, you'll find Sydney's premier downtown commonly referred to as Town Hall. There's an Apple store, there's a Westfield mall. there's a theater, there's a lot of people. The landmarks here are Town Hall itself and the Queen Victoria Building on north of it Its heritage is unique in a modern city of Sydney South of Town Hall, Asian shops are much more common than in the north.
And below Goulburn Street, the neighborhood is totally Asian. It is called Haymarket. It's a big mix of Chinese, Korean, Japanese. but the most prominent ethnic group is Thai in here In other neighborhoods in Sydney, you don't see a lot of Thai people.
but here, it's a very distinctive Thai neighborhood. Of course, there's also a big Chinatown. Chinese are in everywhere It's the one of the most Asian neighborhoods in the city.
And Central Station here is the center of Sydney's rail transportation. Not just the city rail, but the rail to Melbourne and Brisbane. Although Australia is better traveled by plane. From Circular Quay to Haymarket there's a series of streets that run north to south. George Street is the one that the tram goes through.
It goes right through all the city centers I described It's a interesting street. Even the office-oriented Wynyard has a lot of pubs and other shops on the George Street side. Now let's look at the neighborhoods around the core of the city The harbor to the west of that is known as Darling Harbour. Unfortunately, you can't see the harbor bridge or the Opera house from here so it's a little less famous than the Circular Quay side. But it's a bustling area with lots of hotels, beach restaurants.
And a lot of cruises leave from here. It's just that you can't see the landmarks but Darling Harbour itself is pretty enough so there's always plenty of people. Beyond Darling Harbour, Pyrmont has a 50/50 vibe, quiet residential neighborhoods, fish market and casino. Not very touristy There are parks just to the east. Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens. Hyde Park is just a nice, normal city park.
The Royal Botanic Gardens is a kind of unique You can find Mrs. Macquarie Point on the northeast corner. The view from here is one of the best views in Sydney. If you've been to the Opera House, you can just walk over there.
Let's move a little bit closer to the border. Obviously, the further out you go, the less touristy it is. but they're all charming neighborhoods. Southwest of Haymarket and Central Station is the University of Sydney.
The campus is very classic like Hogwarts in Harry Potter series The other big universities in Sydney are kind of modern. And there are a couple of weekend markets around the area And Newtown used to be Newtown long time ago but now it's a fun neighborhood with a old vibe. It's a hip street with a diverse mix of cultures in these days On the opposite side, there are King’s Cross, Darlinghurst and Surrey Hills King's Cross used to be a bit of a bad neighborhood. but it's gotten better Darlinghurst and Surrey Hills are hip neighborhoods in their own way. Overall, it's a quiet residential neighborhood.
but there are a few cool pubs and restaurants that Sydneysiders come to hang out. Crown Street has the highest concentration of them. but there are some gems elsewhere.
Darlinghurst is the most LGBT friendly neighborhood in Sydney So you're going to find a lot of rainbows. Beyond that, to the east is Paddington, which is more boutique-oriented. If Surry Hills and Darlinghurst are for the evening, this is the place to be in the morning or during the day. And lastly, Moorpark, down the Paddington.
which is tied in with Centennial Park next door. It's the largest parkland area in Sydney. And it's got football stadium and cricket fields. It's more of a picnic atmosphere than Hyde Park or the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Of course, many people skip here on short trips. The area along the bay beyond the east side of Kingscross It's part of the larger local government area of Woollahra. Neighborhoods like Darling Point and Points Piper below it. It's considered one of the richest suburbs in Australia, beyond Sydney. It's not too far from the city, the center of Sydney.
It's hilly, it's got great views, it's got great access to yacht marinas You know rich people love yachts. So you can definitely catch the wealth in the landscape when you visit here It's mostly luxury housing, so it's not really touristy. but Double Bay is the only one that's a little bit of a town center, so it's worth a stop. Sydney's east side is a long stretch of waterfront We'll talk about the north side of the harbor later but for now we'll stick to the south. The terrain here is really varied There's rocky cliffs, there's sandy beaches, there's just rocky ground. so there's nothing monotonous about a walk on the waterfront.
First up, Watsons Bay, the northernmost. where the terrain is the most rugged, and here at Gap Park. you can see some pretty spectacular rock formations and waves. Dudley Page, a little bit south of here, is also on higher ground.
Some people visit here for the harbor view And then there's Bondi, the long-awaited waterfront of Sydney. It's a big beach with big waves, full of surfers. and there's a little swimming area on one side of the beach that's full of people just lounging around. Other than that, it's just a beach. There's not much to it.
The reason it's famous is because it's so accessible and it's so big. I'll get to that in a second, but if you put all the beaches in the south together, they're only as big as Bondi. And Bondi Junction is the only urban rail station in the area. So Bondi is the most convenient place to get to from Bedtowns in the west.
From Bondi to south, there's a lot of beautiful places The twin beaches of Tamarama and Bronte, Waverley Cemetery with its spectacular view Clovelly Beach, with its intimate charm, and Coogee Beach, less crowded but just as charming. The walkway from Bondi leads all the way to Coogee. It's a great walk if you have time. It takes about two hours.
Further south is another popular beach, Maroubra. This east coast is also marine like the harbor and the city. But it has its relaxing and yet fascinating atmosphere. This is literally the area northeast of Port Jackson Bay. It's a bit large, so there are several neighborhoods, but it's not very touristy. Mosman is another wealthy area It's not as wealthy as Woollahra but it's still laid-back and affluent.
To the east of Mosman is a quiet beach called Balmoral. To the south is Sydney's iconic zoo, Taronga Zoo. And further northeast of here is Manly. Manly beach is full of beach volleyballers and surfers, just like Bondi. and the streets are lined with charming restaurants, cafes and hotels.
You can also go snorkeling at Shelley Beach a little further away. And Manly's other big draw is the North Head on the lower peninsula Manly may not seem close to the city at first glance. but it's very accessible, with just 20-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay. I would definitely recommend visit this neighborhood This neighborhood is just north of Circular Quay.
Downtown North Sydney itself is actually not much to see. but there are a few good points near the harbor. There's Luna Park, which has a nice harbor view and a nice amusement park. And then there's Blues point across the water which is almost symmetrical to Mrs. Macquarie Point. Obviously, the views are fantastic.
For more details, check out my Sydney content guide The other LGA doesn't really get much more touristy than North Sydney. They are inland and pretty much bedtowns But I will describe them shortly in case you're wondering about the real Sydney Chatswood, beyond North Sydney, is Sydney's quintessential bedtown. It's one of the few neighborhoods outside the city with a lot of skyscrapers. and it's ethnically diverse, with Chinese, Japanese, Korean and South East Asian residents. It's a neighborhood that represents the cosmopolitan city of Sydney. Eastwood and Epping, a little bit further out.
Especially in Eastwood it's interesting because it's divided into Korea town and China town by the railroad station. Similar things happen in Strathfield and Burwood to the south. Strathfield is one of Sydney's leading Korean communities. and Burwood has a colorful Chinatown. Auburn is a very Turkish neighborhood. There's even a mosque.
Fairfield, a little further away, is a Turkish’s neighborhood, Middle Eastern. And down the street, Cabramatta is Vietnamese. Welcome to Vietnam. Xin Chao But there are not just Bedtowns.
There's also some places like Featherdale Zoo which is my favorite And then there's Sydney Zoo too You can find Blue Mountains at the west of Greater Sydney It is one of the most famous tourist destination About that, again, check my Sydney content guide. So, let's summarize what we've learned today. The quick summary of Sydney itself Yes this is it. Now you know about the city of Sydney itself I believe that there is a clear difference between Just wandering the city and travel after understand the city I just hope you travel this city very well Thank you for watching this long video and Thank you again
2024-06-11 14:23
