Darling Harbour
If you feel like some fun in Sydney, Darling Harbour is the place to go. Sitting inside Sydney Harbour, west of Sydney Harbour Bridge, it’s a one-of-a-kind destination packed with restaurants, bars, museums, boat cruises and more. It’s the only place where you can learn about Sydney’s rich maritime history, cruise through a penguin enclosure, eat fresh seafood and dance ‘til dawn at a multi-level nightclub.
Darling Harbour
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
Families can talk to the animals at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, with its resident dugong, sharks, rays and penguins, and WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo, home to koalas, wombats, kangaroos and crocodiles. Meet the celebrities at Madame Tussauds wax figures museum and learn about all things nautical at the Australian National Maritime Museum. Refuel at one of the more than 160 places to eat and drink around Darling Harbour, from casual cafes to fine dining restaurants and everything in between. You can spend a whole day and night here, and never run out of things to do.
Darling Harbour is also one of Sydney’s best places to stay. The waterfront is lined with hotels ranging from ultra-luxe high rises to family friendly digs and historic boutique properties. That means it’s just a short stroll home once the lights of Vivid Sydney go out.
During Vivid Sydney, the water and the buildings around it are brought to life with a kaleidoscope of coloured lights. It’s creativity, innovation and technology writ large, with a backdrop of laughter and excitement.
How to get there: Sitting just on the edge of the city, there are lots of ways to get to Darling Harbour. The light rail has four stops here: Paddy’s Market, Convention, Exhibition and Pyrmont Bay. Catch a bus to Market, Park, Druitt, Bathurst or Liverpool streets and walk down towards the water. It’s just a short stroll from both Town Hall and Wynyard stations and ferries run regularly from Circular Quay.
Light Events
Swarm
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a swarm! Of what, exactly? That's up to you - inspired by the mathematical precision of flocks of birds flying...
Aloft
Taking inspiration from the Exchange Building's timber wrapping around the circular building, this installation brings birds to what locals lovingly refer...
Harbour Life
Dive into the history of Australia's harbours with this stunning projection on the HMAS Vampire. Swim alongside 200-year-old sea turtles; join Eora people...
Elemental
It starts with a spark... Across countless cultures and centuries, the four elements are opposing forces that make up all life, representing the raw...
River Mouth
In an age of lockdowns, climate change and global upheaval, it’s easy to feel increasingly ungrounded or disconnected. River Mouth plays with our innate...
Dance Together
Conceived during COVID lockdowns, Dance Together celebrates the importance of gathering and the magic that can happen when strangers congregate. Meet under...
Aperture
Inspired by NSW's many natural wonders that have been sculpted and shaped by the eroding effects of wind, water and time, this inflatable labyrinth invites...
The Mechanics of Spring
What do hummingbirds, cicadas, bumblebees and helicopter seeds have in common? Watching them whizz through the air is spellbinding. That's thanks to the...
Bloomlight
Standing alone in the dark, these four-metre streetlights keep their lamp shade-like head closed. But as you approach, they come alive. Bending towards...
Ideas Events
REMIX Summit Sydney 2023
Australia's biggest creative industries summit, REMIX Summit Sydney 2023 is your field guide to what's coming next. Across two days of inspirational talks...
Future Art is Vivid
From Ibiza and Art Basel Miami, Future Art arrives to shake up Vivid Sydney with a party celebrating the world's brightest digital and NFT crypto artists...
