Summer’s over and you’re not sure what to do in Sydney now the beach might be off the cards. Fear not, if you’re looking for the best things to do in Autumn in Sydney, here’s some highlights to keep you busy.
Autumn in Sydney is actually a beautiful time to get yourself outdoors and go to some of the best events of the year. It’s also a great time for hiking and of course to visit the Autumn leaves. And we’ve got a couple of public holidays and of course Easter to consider too!
So without further ado, here’s our favourite things to do in Autumn in Sydney.
1. Check Out The Japanese Bath House
If there’s one place which would be perfect to go to in Autumn, it’s the Japanese Bath House in Blue Mountains called Sparadise.
We were absolutely blown away by this awesome hidden gem in Blue Mountains. Sit in the hot pools whilst looking out to the Lake Lyell and enjoy a day in complete relaxation. You’ll be shocked that’s it’s just $70 to spend a couple of hours here!
Watch our Japanese Bathhouse in Blue Mountains video below!
2. Visit Vivid Festival In Sydney
Apart from New Years Eve in Sydney, Vivid Festival is Sydney’ biggest event in the calendar. Millions of people flock to Circular Quay to see the world’s biggest light festival take place. There’s also a series of live music at Sydney Opera House as well as plenty of light installations all over the city.
Vivid Festival is worth coming to Sydney for an Autumn and Winter holiday alone.
Book tickets on a Vivid Cruise now before they sell out!
3. Visit The Blue Mountains
We always venture up to the Blue Mountains in Autumn which is the best time of the year to visit. The leaves have all changed colour and there’s something extremely comforting about being in the Blue Mountains during Autumn.
With the recent bush fires, if it’s completely safe to visit when you’re reading this, please go and visit to support the local community. Blue Mountains relies on Sydney tourists to visit this exceptional part of Australia, so we all need to make the effort and visit.
There’s plenty of amazing hikes to explore, things to do and of course loads of romantic things to do in Blue Mountains as well. Go for a weekend so you can get up early to see the sun rise over the mountains – it’s truely spectacular.
If you’re wondering what are the best hikes in Blue Mountains, fear not, we’ve written loads of posts to keep you entertained about the best places to visit.
Check out these tours to Blue Mountains
4. Visit The Beautiful Breenhold Gardens
We absolutely love Breenhold Gardens which is based just outside of Blue Mountains in Mount Wilson. It’s only open twice a year in Autumn and in Spring so you can walk around and take in the beautiful landscaped gardens and flowers.
In Autumn, the gardens open up around Good Friday for a couple of weeks. Find out more about the Breenhold Gardens opening hours here.
5. Explore Hidden Gems In Sydney With Adventure Clues
If The Amazing Race sounds like your idea of fun, then check out Adventure Clues. This awesome game will take you to loads of hidden gems around Sydney whilst stopping off for a quick bevvie along the way.
At just $20pp you can’t go wrong with spending the day running around Sydney. Did we mention there’s a leaderboard? Yep, bring our your competitive side and get yourself to the top of the board!
6. School Holidays Activities In Sydney
If you’ve got kids and you’re wondering what to do during the school holidays, we’ve got just the right post for you.
From hula hoop classes, to super hero classes and even learning how to make your own natural skincare for teens, there’s much more to do in Sydney with kids than you think!
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7. Visit The Stunning Kangaroo Valley
Another one of our favourite things to do in Autumn is to visit Kangaroo Valley. Located just 1h30m from Sydney, Kangaroo Valley is a beautiful part of the countryside which if you blink twice, you might think you’re back in England!
Speaking of, check out these Hollywood movies which used Kangaroo Valley as a backdrop for the English countryside.
There’s loads of waterfalls to visit like Belmore Falls, Fitzroy Falls and Carrington Falls in the area.
If you’re going for the weekend or even just for the day, go to Bowral which is a beautiful town in the middle of Kangaroo Valley. Here you should go for lunch and walk around the beautiful shops.
8. Make The Most Of Sydney Beaches Before Winter Kicks In
Autumn is a great time to go swimming in Sydney because the water has finally warmed up! Whilst the weather can still be warm enough to enjoy beach time until even May, make the most of it by visiting some of Sydney’s secluded beaches.
9. Run A Half Marathon
Get yourself training in time to run The Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon on 17 May 2020. The race starts from St Mary’s Cathedral and takes you all over the city and even onto the Cahill Express Way! I’ve ran this three times now and love this route.
10. What To Do On A Rainy Day In Sydney
And if it’s raining during the school holidays or on a weekend in Autumn and you’re not sure what to do, check out one of our most popular posts, which includes awesome things to do indoors in Sydney.
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11. Sydney Royal Easter Show
Sydney Royal Easter Show is an institution, complete with rides, farm animals and of course SHOW BAGS! It’s a fantastic opportunity to get the family together to celebrate everything Australian which also includes livestock races and woodchopping competitions!
12. Riverboat Postman Cruise
Go and explore the beautiful Hawkesbury River in the Riverboat Postman Cruise. It’s an excellent cheap thing to do in Sydney which easily accessible by public transport. Just jump on the train to Brooklyn which should take an hour and the ticket office to jump n the cruise is located opposite the train station.
This three hour cruise will take you around the Hawkesbury river and includes lunch for just $50 pp.
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13. Find The Best Hikes In Sydney
Hiking season is in full swing in Autumn and it’s the best time to put on your hiking boots as it’s the perfect temperature to go exploring. Find out where our favourite hiking spots are and how to get to them!
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14. Spend A Day Exploring The Northern Beaches In Sydney
There’s much more to the Northern Beaches than Palm Beach! When we lived there for a couple of months, we discovered many hidden beaches, swimming spots and beautiful village style shops and cafes.
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15. And Eat At One Of These Amazing Places In Avalon
Spend the day in Avalon Beach checking out the beautiful clothing and homewares shops and the many awesome places to eat. After spending a couple of months living in the area, we fell head over heels for this beautiful part of Sydney.
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16. Go To The Enlighten Festival In Canberra
Image via: lostfourwords.com
When you think of Canberra, most people just think of Floriade. Did you know Canberra has its very own version to Vivid Festival called Enlighten Festival?
Canberra’s incredible art, culture and creativity scene comes together to put on a display of various events. Not only does the city come alive at night with a spectacular light display, check out the Canberra Night Noodle Markets, the Canberra Balloon Spectacular which sees many hot air balloons rise over the city, and the Symphony in the Park.
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17. Go Camping At Seal Rocks
Seal Rocks must be one of the most amazing hidden gems in NSW. Located 3 hours north of Sydney, you’ll find an incredible campsite right on the beach as well as plenty of secluded beaches to choose from. I’ve heard people say this is what Byron Bay used to be like 30 years ago.
If you’re looking to stay somewhere with a few places to eat at and slightly more going on, check out Bluey’s Beach 20 minutes down the road. We lived here for a month and it’s absolutely amazing.
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18. Get Ready For Mardi Gras Parade
Image via starobserver.com.au
The world’s biggest Mardi Gras event takes place right in the heart of Sydney at the beginning of March.
Basically most of Sydney gathers on Oxford St to take part in a huge parade, lots of drinking and of course a lot of glitter.
Regardless of your sexuality all people come together in this event. You’ll even see a lot of ATM’s around Sydney glammed up as well!
19. Tick Off These 50 Things To Do In Manly
We’ve all been to Manly Beach but have you completed our ultimate list of the best things to do yet? From underwater scooters to gin yoga classes, there’s much more to Manly than you ever thought!
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20. Then Find The Best Places To Eat In Manly
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21. Saint Patrick’s Day Parade
Even though Saint Paddy’s Day is on 17 March, Sydney will be celebrating the St Patricks Day parade in The Rocks. The historical suburb will transform into an Irish village for the day complete with drumming, bagpipes and costumes. Get ready to drink a lot of Guinness and paint yourself green at one of our favourite things to do in Autumn in Sydney.
22. Discover The Best Waterfalls In Sydney
If you love a bit of adventure on the weekend in Sydney, get in your car and head out of the city to find some of the most amazing waterfalls. You’ll be just as shocked as we were to think places like this exist near Sydney.
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23. Head up to the Hunter Valley
There’s more to The Hunter Valley than drinking wine. Expect excellent restaurants (we found some budget friendly restaurants too!), balloon safaris, car racing and much more!
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24. Go To A Dawn Service On Anzac Day
Although it’s an early start, go to a dawn service on Anzac Day to pay your respects to the Australian soldiers who fort in the war. Popular places include the Bondi dawn service as well as the service at Martin’s Place.
Then go for a beer afterwards and if you last the entire day of drinking and win a few games of 2Up, count yourself lucky!
25. Go On A Scenic Drive To Wollongong
Take a drive down to Wollongong because there’s some amazing places to visit like Kelly’s Falls, Nan Tien Temple, Sea Cliff Bridge and so much more! Don’t forget to stop by The Scarborough Hotel for lunch – they have a beautiful beer garden overlooking the ocean.
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26. Check out Sydney Writers Festival
Australia’s largest literary festival returns in 2020 with over 300 events celebrating some of the best authors in the world.
At the time of writing, the program hadn’t been announced yet so you can check out the Sydney Writers Festival website here.
27. Take A Day Trip Out Of Sydney
If you’re looking to take a day trip out of Sydney on the weekend, then there’s so many places to choose from. Just check out our favourite 30 day trips from Sydney to give you some inspiration!
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27 Things To Do In Sydney In Autumn
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