This urban park, which spans just over sixteen hectares, is nestled among historic landmarks like St. James Church, St. Mary’s Cathedral and the Australian Museum in the heart of central Sydney. Some of the city’s other prominent buildings are also located nearby: Sydney Town Hall, Sydney Tower Eye, Oaks Hyde Park Plaza and Queen Victoria building, to name a few.
Sydney welcomes millions of visitors each year. Whether you are in the city for work or pleasure, look for a nearby hotel, Sydney CBD has just as much to offer the leisure traveller. Hyde Park is the oldest park in the country and certainly warrants a visit. The train brings you right to your destination if you disembark at Museum Station or St. James Station, both are located beneath the park. It is popular with the locals who come here in groups to sunbathe, picnic or get away from the office to spend their lunch hour on a workday. Take a walk down a walkway lined with large shady trees, the park is home to hundreds of them, and benches if you want to stop and watch the world go by.
Park Street runs through the middle of the park and divides the two sections into ‘Hyde Park North’ and ‘Hyde Park South’. Hide Park North is home to several significant works of art namely the Archibald Memorial Fountain, which was commissioned according to the will of J. F. Archibald, founding editor of ‘The Bulletin’ and known for Sydney’s ‘Archibald Prize for Portraits’. It features a bronze sculpture of Apollo who is surrounded by the mythical figures of Diana, Pan and the Minotaur along with horses’ heads tortoises and dolphins. Hyde Park South’s most noteworthy features include the Anzac Memorial and the Pool of Reflection. Hyde Park regularly plays hosts to large city events like the Sydney Food and Wine Fair and parts of Sydney Festival.
Thanuja Silva is a travel writer who writes under the pen name Auburn Silver. She has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.