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All Australia Sydney

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Sydney

35 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Sydney, Australia

Updated July 1, 2024
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Unusual Attractions in Sydney

Wendy’s Secret Garden.

Sydney, Australia

Wendy's Secret Garden

Built over an abandoned train yard, this hidden gem is full of winding paths and offers gorgeous views of Sydney Harbour.
Installation by artist Michael Thomas Hill and research scientist Dr. Richard Major.

Sydney, Australia

'Forgotten Songs' Sound Sculpture

A collaboration of art and ornithology mourns the calls of Sydney's lost birds.
Stack of reading materials from Gould’s Book Arcade. (Wikimedia Commons)

Sydney, Australia

Gould's Book Arcade

One of Australia's largest secondhand bookstores.
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Sydney, Australia

Museum of Human Disease

Australian museum dedicated to human health and lack thereof.
Royal Botanic Gardens

Sydney, Australia

Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney

Come for the flowers, stay for the bats!
View from the other side of the mezzanine.

Sydney, Australia

Purikura Photoland

People can't get enough of these adorable Japanese photobooths.
The Lex and Ruby Graham Gardens

Sydney, Australia

The Lex and Ruby Graham Gardens

This secret Australian garden was built on love after a man planted a random bulb he found in the ocean.
See All 35 Things To Do in Sydney

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Sydney

Sydney, Australia

Midden

In the shadow of the Sydney Opera House, Indigenous ingredients shine.

Marrickville, Australia

Wildflower Brewery

Inventive brewers use NSW ingredients to dream up flavorful beers made with local honey, native raspberries, and Mariposa plums.
Permanently Closed

Sydney, Australia

The Lillipad Cafe

An indigenous ethnobotanist runs this brunch spot celebrating Australia’s native flavors.

Discover your next hidden gem with the Gastro Obscura
Newsletter—your guide to extraordinary food and drink.

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See all 4 Places to Eat in Sydney
In partnership with GetYourGuide

Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Explore Sydney, Australia

Animals 7
Gardens 5
Plants 5
History & Culture 5
Statues 4
Monuments 3
Nature 3
Art 3
Museums 3
Urban Planning 2
Water 2
Geology 2
Indigenous 2
Restaurants 2

Sydney Leaderboard

Places Added

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    2
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    2
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    2
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    2
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    2
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Add an unusual place to Sydney.

Places Edited

  1. Collector of Experiences
    8
  2. joerubin
    4
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    4
  4. Rachel
    3
  5. Kara Davis
    3
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Places Visited

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    28
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    26
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    22
  4. katehawes
    22
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    22
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Recent Sydney Activity

  • cellochickie

    wants to go to Water Dragons of the Chinese Garden of Friendship

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    wants to go to Purikura Photoland

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Stories About Sydney

Malaysian and Australian influences combine in Ho Jiak Town Hall’s Vegemite-braised pork ribs.

A Gastro Obscura Guide to Sydney

Wattleseed pudding, Vegemite-braised ribs, and more freewheeling fusion in the harbor city.
by Lee Tran Lam
July 1, 2024

Podcast: Introducing Sound Detectives from LeVar Burton

Would you recognize what can only be heard but not seen?
by The Podcast Team
March 13, 2024

Podcast: The 'Forgotten Songs' Sound Sculpture

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
November 15, 2021
Tracking the small spiders involves quick, careful work.

The Fiddly Business of Tracking Australia's Most Venomous Spider

To study the Sydney funnel web spider, one researcher tags along from a distance with the help of tags the size of a grain of rice.
by Hannah Thomasy
June 2, 2021
The Suella, an egg-and-bacon breakfast plate with a sour Davidson plum drizzle.

In Sydney, a Cafe Serving Aboriginal Food Brings Comfort and Challenges

Nyoka Hrabinsky, an Aboriginal ethnobotanist, is turning “bush tucker” into brunch.
by Reina Gattuso
November 19, 2020
Laborers cluster around an accident at the quarry.

In Sydney, Intricate New Models Depict Australia’s Brutal Colonial Era

A redesigned museum hopes to grapple with the thorny legacy of the “convict period.”
by Sabrina Imbler
February 7, 2020
A group of fish loitering around the discharge of the Sydney Desalination Plant.

Fish Flock to the Super-Salty Wastewater of the Sydney Desalination Plant

Sydney's technological solution for drought is having unexpected effects on marine life.
by Sabrina Imbler
January 2, 2020
A mated pair of seahorses researchers have named Dusk and Dawn.

A Chain of Seahorse Hotels Is Coming Soon to Sydney Harbour

"If you build it, they will come."
by Sabrina Imbler
December 13, 2019

Lists Featuring Sydney

Justice and Police Museum
Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair In Sydney Botanic Garden

The 10 Best Places to Visit Near the Sydney Opera House for Curious Travelers

10

Including 'Memory Is Creation Without End', Justice and Police Museum, and Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
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