KSM Guide to Sydney + Melbourne, Australia
This travel guide is for the two most populous metropolitan cities of Australia—Sydney & Melbourne. With both located on the west coast, it’ll take less than a two-hour flight to get to or from either destination.
SYDNEY
Throughout the city, you can spend a lot of time walking around admiring the beautiful architecture, and the shopping scene is unreal. Below are the destinations you should check out:
Sydney Opera House: I recommend seeing a performance here as the structure inside is unique and the experience will make for a special memory. The premises house restaurants as well, both inside and out, but I suggest grabbing a bite to eat at the Opera Kitchen so you can have a seat outside overlooking the Harbour.
Royal Botanic Gardens: A lovely place to take a stroll or go for a walk.
Westfield Shopping Center: For the vibes alone you must visit this mall. Plus, it’s food court trumps any here in the states so grab a bite to eat while you’re at it.
The Rocks: A cool neighborhood to explore with plenty of restaurants.
The Glenmore Hotel: Its rooftop bar overlooks the Harbour, making it the perfect place to grab drinks or even celebrate NYE.
There also is a lot to explore outside of the city.
Bondi Beach
Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk: Pack your cutest outfit and a comfy pair of shoes because you will spend 3.5 miles walking the coast to all of the different beach spots in between these two iconic beaches, and the views will be so worth it.
Speedos Cafe: Iconic breakfast spot that won the award for being the most Instagrammable spot, not for its design but for its artsy food. Worth every penny.
Icebergs Club: A swimming pool on the edge of the world, literally. A boujee spot to spend the day.
Coogee Pavilion: Restaurant & Bar with a cool vibe and yummy oysters.
Manly Beach
The best way to get to and from here is to take a ferry, which will take 20 minutes and provides one of the best ways to see the city and the coastline from the water.
The Pantry: A breakfast with a view; located right on the beach.
Manly Surf School: You can’t come to Australia and not take a surf lesson. Call ahead to reserve a spot.
MELBOURNE
A world-class city with amazing mix of cuisine, thriving arts scenes, and great connectivity (you can literally walk everywhere). It’s also known for coffee, so if you see a spot that looks nice, then it will serve great drinks.
Shrine of Remembrance: A beautiful WWI memorial with old-school architecture and amazing views of the city.
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria: Simply beautiful to explore. You can even take a gondola ride.
State Library of Victoria: Iconic and a must-see. A very picturesque building.
Queen Victoria Market: A great place to buy souvenirs. Also a great spot to buy award-winning Australian cheese, (kangaroo) meats and prosecco to enjoy for lunch.
Flinders Street Station: Cool to look at and will make for a lovely Instagram post.
Hosier Lane: With street art being popular, this is a great “laneway” to view artists at work and admire recent works.
Food & Drink: Try Tipo 00 for an incredible Italian meal, followed by drinks (and cigars) at Siglo for incredible rooftop views.
Yarra Valley Wine Tours: Something we didn’t do but was highly recommended.
I hope this guide will serve as a great starting point for planning your trip to down under. Leave a comment if you think I missed anything and be sure to @karolinastateofmind on Instagram if you end up using one of these suggestions.
Enjoy, mate!