The land down under is best known for sun, sand, and surf. In fact, the blazing heat is what draws many tourists to Australia throughout the year. It provides for all sorts of daytime activities, such as scuba diving, surfing, and even going on walkabouts. And of course, plenty of people like to get out and work on their tans. But once the sun goes down, they might be at a loss as to how to entertain themselves. Luckily, Australians also love the nightlife (they like to boogie) and there are plenty of ways for visitors to have just as much fun after dark as they do in the daylight hours. Here are just a few of the amusements that await those looking for evening activities in Australia.
1. Live performances. Whether you’re heading to the Sydney Opera House for the concert tour of the summer or you simply want to sip a few martinis and listen to some jazz, there are a wide variety of venues to suit your tastes. Bars and lounges with live entertainers dot every major city (and plenty of the smaller ones, as well), and visitors can often take advantage of nightly live performances at the lounge in their hotel. For larger events you’ll want to purchase tickets in advance (although a good concierge may be able to help you out at the last minute).
2. Theater. Although Australia may not be quite as well known for theater as, say, New York City or London’s West End, they do have a passion for performance. You can see a variety of shows (and some fabulous architecture) in Melbourne’s Theater District, catch anything from the experimental to full blown musicals around Sydney, and see one of the many troupes that perform regularly at the Sydney Opera House.
3. Clubs. Anyone who has visited Australia knows that the club scene is off the hook. It seems that the only thing they love more than surfing is dancing the night away to house beats. You can find plenty of reviews online to help you choose a particular club, and you might want to check out a venue just for the DJ (they have plenty of famous names and you can ask the locals who’s the best spinner in town). But you might have more fun club-hopping to sample the best that Australia has to offer when it comes to hot singles, laser lights, and body-thumping club tracks. So grab a Foster’s and get your groove on.
4. Dining/dinner cruises. You might think the sum total of Australian cuisine can be defined by the phrase “throw another shrimp on the barbie”. And while the surf-and-turf style of food preparation is popular, there are actually quite a lot of options when it comes to dining in the outback. One great way to experience Australia’s food culture is from the deck of a ship. Most of the port cities offer spectacular nighttime dinner cruises that provide an excellent meal along with a scenic view of the city, from the sea.
5. Wine tasting. Australia has become world renowned for some of their amazing wines, Syrah and Shiraz varietals in particular (for white, their Rieslings are also great). And luckily, you can find tasting rooms or even vineyards in almost every region. Spend an evening familiarizing yourself with their many fine wines and you’re bound to remember your trip fondly (if you remember it at all)!
Darcy Johansan writes for The Guestlist Club where you can find info on the hottest club in London, China Whites.