Night One: Darling Harbour - Arrive Late!
Now, I would not recommend arrive just in time for the show. Usually, the lights are on from 6 pm to Midnight. The first night we enjoyed the lights was from Darling Harbour and while we arrived around 5:30 pm and walked around to find a good spot (it is crowded!), we found the first light show to be quite dull and not up to the par of what we had seen online. After the first show, we went for ice cream and found a place to sit and watch the rest of the shows. As the shows progressed they became much livelier and something to really marvel at.
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Now, this may not surprise you to know that there will be crowds. Oh yes, a ton of other individuals who are trying to get the perfect photo, enjoy the lights, and navigate through a packed displays. So, how do you avoid the crowds and enjoy the lights? From our experience, you have to get away from the iconic parts of Sydney. We found Circular Quay to be quite busy. The crowds around the Museum of Contemporary Art, Customs House and Opera House were the largest. Granted, if you can find a good vantage point (which you can if you walk far enough and do not try to get center with the building), it is worth seeing the show at the locations.
Night Two: Circular Quay - The Most Crowded!
For night two we took our prior night's experience and did not arrive at the lights in Circular Quay until 7:30 pm. Granted, there were still crowds and as I alluded to earlier, they are the most congested in this area. I do not recommend avoiding Circular Quay just because of the crowds, just be mindful of it and prepare to weave in and out of cameras. Also, we never went right up to the Opera House. We found the best point of view to be right across the harbour. Many individuals seemed to place themselves too close to the Opera House or not go far enough down to get away from the masses. The following video was shot just across the way and I recall having enough space to do a few cartwheels if I dared.
Night Two: Walsh Bay - The Least Crowded!
A large majority of the photos I saw online of Vivid Sydney were like this:
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Credit: http://onthreelegs.com/2014/05/26/vivid-sydney-2014/ |
My second piece of advice: Venture off to the displays farther from the Sydney Harbour. It will be less crowded and more interactive.
Night Two: The Rocks - My Favorite Display!
As we ventured back from Walsh Bay we walked through The Rocks. A little more crowded than Walsh Bay, but not as crowded as Circular Quay. It was here I found my favorite and most memorable display, "The Dresses". It was down a narrow alleyway and there were more people walking around it, but I had to see it. It was haunting, beautiful and alluring. "The Dresses", designed by Tae Gon Kim was made from hundreds of fiber-optic strands with the goal of appearing as apparitions. Each dress slowly change color, and this change was meant to represent the changing story of each dress and how we "become the people we love."
My third piece of advice: If there's a display you really want to see, see it!
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