Hyde Park and St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney
A few weeks ago, I wrote about our quick trip to Sydney and mentioned that I’d make a separate post for the two places which I found quite interesting and worth writing about because of its historical value. So here it is.
Hyde Park and St. Mary’s Cathedral
Let’s start with Hyde Park, which was one of the spots that kept appearing when I did a Google search on places to visit in Sydney.
The Oldest Park in Australia
This 16-hectare park right within the central business district of Sydney is home to plenty of fig trees, flowers, and beautiful gardens. It used to be called the Sydney Common and was a place for many public gatherings. It's like a smaller, greener, and cleaner version of the Philippines' Luneta Park (which spans 58 hectares)- basically a first-world counterpart.
By the looks of it, this is a good place for outdoor-loving social clubs to meet. The park is well-maintained and is within the city’s central business district, so should you need anything after your stroll, it won’t be inconvenient since you’re in the city.
Since it was raining, we couldn’t go around. But we got to see the side where the Archibald fountain was, and I think that was good enough to appreciate the beauty of the place.
The Archibald Memorial Fountain is one of the park’s most iconic landmarks. It commemorates the association of Australia with France during the First World War. It was named after magazine editor and publisher Jules François Archibald.
St. Mary's Cathedral
Close to Hyde Park is another popular spot, St. Mary’s Cathedral. It is one of the places of worship for Sydney's Catholic community, and you can find it along St. Mary's Road.
I was surprised to see only a handful of people in this beautiful church you could tell most were tourists like us). Also, there were only a few candles on the candle racks. In the Philippines, it would be the opposite; many churchgoers light candles when they have something to ask or give thanks for.
The suggested donation for each candle you take is 2 AUD.
Below are more photos of the church.
St. Mary's is a solemn place for prayer. As you can see, they have beautiful interiors too.
How did you find these spots? Would you visit Hyde Park and St. Mary's Cathedral if you go to Sydney?
That's it for today. For more travel blog posts, click here.
