One of those Sydney yearly festivals is Vivid! Over the last three weeks, this spectacular festival of light, music and design lit up Sydney Harbour and the CBD every evening from 6 pm to 11 pm.
There are a few things in life – or maybe everything – you just want to experience once, and Vivid Sydney was one of those experiences.
So… off we went to experience Vivid while staying in the Sydney Hills District to experience the 11th year anniversary of this spectacular event.
And Vivid Sydney didn’t disappoint! The only bad thing was that we forgot our camera! Typical husband and wife thing… I thought Lion put it in the car, and Lion thought I put it in the car… So our pictures turned out not as good as we hoped, but as they say; ‘We still have the memories and the story’
So what is Vivid Sydney all about?
During vivid, hundreds of light displays are placed throughout the city and Sydney harbour with large crowds experiencing this unique event every year over a period of three weeks.
The busiest times are during the weekends, and of course, we picked the Sunday during the Queens Birthday’s Long weekend and that happened to be the busiest evening of all! It wasn’t as busy as the Sydney New Years Eve I experienced in 2010/2011, but it came close!
So if you want to avoid the crowds and you are flexible, try to visit Vivid on a weeknight.
Where is the best place to see Vivid Sydney?
There are several amazing places to see Vivid, depending on if you want to stay in one place or if you want to move around the city and see different Vivid installations.
For a great view of the light show at the Sydney Opera House in combination with sipping your beverage and enjoying dinner, head to one of the riverfront restaurants at the Rocks.
Circular Quay will spoil you with great views of the Sydney Harbour and Sydney Opera House but will be very crowded, especially during weekends.
Darling Harbour is less crowded, but the Vivid installations are also less impressive. If you only have one night, head to Sydney Harbour, Opera House and Royal Botanic Garden.
Vivid in the Royal Botanic Garden was also amazing with many little light displays, which were great for children. A great thing was that the walk through the Botanic Garden was all one way, so you wouldn’t miss anything and they had a cozy little food square in the middle to fuel up.
Vivid Sydney also lit up Sydney’s Taronga Zoo ( also great for families with kids ) and Chatswood’s CBD
Vivid Sydney Lightwalk
We did a part of the 3 km Vivid Sydney Lightwalk, which was perfect as we could just follow the route ( or follow the crowds 😉 ) which led us to all the main attractions like the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Rocks and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.
We started at the Rocks, where we first enjoyed some food at the Nightmarket, then we went to the Museum of Contemporary Arts and had a look inside and all the way up to the rooftop terrace where we had an amazing view of the Sydney Harbour.
Just before the lights turned on at 6 pm, we walked around Circular Quay to the Sydney Opera House and continued our Vivid Light Walk through the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, which was also beautifully illuminated by colourful light creations.
Make sure when you visit Vivid, you download a copy of the Vivid Sydney Light Walk Map here
Vivid Harbour Cruises
If you want to beat the crowds and see Vivid from a different perspective, you can go on a Vivid evening cruise, which is a great way to just sit down and relax and take in the spectacular light shows.
There are many different Vivid Cruise companies, where some include dinner, others only a drink, so it can be hard to choose the one that is right for you.
Make sure you choose a boat that is comfortable, has proper references for this and have a look at their route as well. Most Vivid Cruises will cover the same route, but we heard that there are some boats that don’t even come near the best Vivid Lights like the ones at the Botanic Gardens, Opera House and Circular Quay.
We also looked for Vivid Harbour Cruises, but as we decided last minute that we wanted to visit Vivid Sydney during the long weekend, they were all booked out.
The best deals we found on Groupon
Getting to Vivid Sydney
Road closures and parking restrictions will be in place throughout the Sydney CBD, each night during Vivid.
But there are many extra public transport services running, so the best way to visit Vivid is with public transport or if you want to experience Vivid over a couple of nights, book a place to say in Sydney
Parking in Sydney
As we were located in the Sydney Hills during Vivid Sydney we decided to just take our own car and found a pretty good parking deal via Wilsons Parking.
We only paid $18 for a whole day of parking in the middle of the City at an underground secured carpark at Pitt-street. They have many locations all over the city, but the closest to the Vivid festival were already booked out, but this was only a 10-minute walk from the Sydney Harbour.
Best Accommodation to experience Vivid Sydney
As there are hundreds of light installations located throughout Sydney during Vivid, you probably won’t get to see them all in one night, so if you have time, we definitely recommend staying at least a night or two.
For a local home experience where you often get more space for a smaller price, go for an Airbnb. If you haven’t stayed at an Airbnb before, we can give you a discount of $55 / 35 Euro when you book via our discount link right here
Sydney also offers many budget- and luxury hotel rooms in various locations all over the city. For the best hotel deals in Sydney look here or here
