Trying to condense the best of Sydney, a giant, sprawling and historic city into three sites alone is near impossible. So what I’m going do in this post is give you my top three sites of Sydney and fulfill my childhood dream as an unpaid internet tour guide.

Spice Alley

As I write this blog post I’m counting down the minutes until my weekly 5:00 PM Spice Alley run. Spice Alley is a collection of Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Malaysian restaurants in an alleyway off of Kensington Street in Ultimo. Compared to other more mainline restaurants in Ultimo (looking at you KFC) Spice Alley, and specifically Alex Lee’s kitchen offers tastes that are both authentic and consistently delicious. Spice Alley is also the perfect place to sit down and take in the atmosphere of the multi-cultural landscape of Sydney. While it’s definitely smart in terms of money and general well being to cook for yourself every now and again you should treat yourself and try to challenge your taste buds and widen a palate that was primarily composed of O fries and Sorrento’s Pizza before your semester abroad.

Manly Beach

Before coming to Sydney I was a little skeptical about how “beautiful” these beaches are. I mean water is water right? How blue could blue really get? Let me tell you that words[and pictures] do not describe the natural beauty of Sydney’s beaches. Specifically the shores of Manly and the coastal walk that you can take across it offer offers breathtaking sea-side views that stay with you. Manly also offers you the opportunity to go snorkeling and experience some of Australia’s aquatic-based wildlife. 

Taronga Zoo

Let’s be honest with one another, there’s a certain level of expectation that comes when you study abroad. Do you think you can really come home without having at least twenty pictures of kangaroos,quokkas and the other range of marsupials & wildlife that are famed in Australia? No you cant, people expect these kinds of experiences to be relayed to them. Taronga Zoo offers you these experiences and more as it brings an amazing composite of Australia’s fauna to one location. It also offers beautiful sights of Sydney’s skyline. It’s worth noting that Taronga Zoo is also a location that is dedicated to conservation attempts and respectful care of it’s residents.

These three sites are just a small view of the amazing experiences that Sydney has to offer. Whether you love nature or thrive in city streets you will be hard pressed to not find something to do every single day that you are in Sydney. The only thing I can really recommend in terms of advice is keep an open mind and know that the Black Pepper Beef special at Spice Alley runs only from Monday-Friday and not on the weekends.