Be tickled pink by cherry blossoms

Go all-in on a Japanese-style celebration of spring at the Cherry Blossom Festival, from 16–24 August 2025 at Auburn Botanic Gardens, in the multicultural Western Sydney suburb of Auburn. Be mesmerized by the delicate pinks of the 200-plus flowering cherry trees as you follow the Cherry Blossom Trail through the botanic gardens’ Japanese precinct, stepping under a vivid-red torii gate and passing over a traditional arched bridge.

Once you’ve snapped selfies and group portraits under an impossibly pretty canopy of cherry blossoms beside the Japanese Garden’s pond, try the art of origami, learn how to draw manga and discover the craft of tsumami-zaiku (folding fabric into petals) at the Takumi Pavilion. Then head over to the Sakura Stage to be transported by the serenity of a Japanese tea ceremony or enjoy musical performances from taiko drumming to an ensemble playing the koto, a traditional string instrument, while feasting on Japanese street food.

Venture a little further west to Parramatta to see cherry blossoms in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Parramatta Park‘s Wistaria Gardens. You may well be inspired to return to these extensive riverside gardens to surround yourself with the bloomings of Japanese and Chinese wisteria (and enjoy live music and browse community stalls) at the Weekend in Wistaria spring festival from 20–21 September 2025.

Find yourself wowed by wildflowers

Not long after the last cherry blossoms drop from their branches in the west, southwest Sydney erupts in a riot of bluish-pink and yellow flowers as more than a million paper daisies bloom at The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan. Be astounded by this colorful wildflower display at the sprawling botanic gardens, a 50-minute drive from the city center, through September and early October. Wander among the paper daisies at your own pace, take one of the weekly guided walking tours, or join the seven-hour Mount Annan Paper Daisies Tour on 3 September 2025, which includes a visit to the gardens’ award-winning Australian PlantBank seed conservation facility and a light lunch.

Bringing the kids along to see the paper daises during the school holidays? Help them understand why native bees are so important to the ecosystem by booking them in to the engrossing workshop Friends of the Flowers: Celebrating Native Bees at Mount Annan, from 1–9 October 2025. The workshops are also held at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney from 30 September–9 October 2025, and on 30 September and 7 October 2025 at Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah.

In the northern Sydney suburb of St Ives, you can learn how to identify native wildflowers as you wander through Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden‘s Wildflower Nursery. Try out your newfound knowledge as you follow the garden’s 2km-long Solander Trail – this paved path through a dry sclerophyll forest is dotted with blooming wildflowers and spotted with flashes of red from crimson bottle brushes and waratahs. Take your time to stop and smell the fragrant flowers of the pink boronia wildflower and admire the soft delicate petals of the lesser flannel flower along the way.

Take joy in jacarandas

Hot on the heels of the paper daises, Sydney’s famous jacaranda trees step into the spotlight as they bloom with lovely lilac-hued flowers from mid-October through to late November. You can follow the jacaranda trail from Circular Quay and The Rocks in the city center through the Royal Botanic Garden to Paddington, Woollahra and Double Bay in the city’s east, and across Newtown and Glebe to the west of central Sydney.

You can also seek out jacaranda trees bursting with color amid a sea of green all across North Sydney suburbs like Lavender Bay before making your way to Kirribilli’s McDougall Street. This pretty avenue, a short stroll from Milsons Point train station or a scenic walk from the city center via the Sydney Harbour Bridge pedestrian pathway, is transformed each spring as its twin rows of jacarandas merge overhead to form a magical purple canopy (just be mindful that the street is a public road in a residential area).

Make the most of the warm weather

Revel in the extra burst of color that flannel flowers put on in springtime while stretching your legs on a glorious hike through a history-soaked section of Sydney Harbour National Park. Breathe in the salty air and watch sailboats tack offshore as you follow the 3km Middle Head – Gubbuh Gubbuh to Georges Head walking track from one abandoned harborside fort to another.

Explore the Inner Middle Head Fort, with its two heavy gun emplacements and tunnel network, before wandering around fortifications dating as far back as the 1800s at Outer Middle Head.

As you continue on the track to Georges Head you’ll find your gaze torn between the deep blue of the harbor and the delicate colours of wildflowers among the muted colours of the foreshore scrub. Then look up at the observation tower at Georges Head and imagine the tension in the air as observers scanned the harbour for Japanese submarines and torpedo boats during World War II, all while gunners manned the twin 6-pounder guns in the emplacement directly below.

Wave the whales farewell

As Sydney bursts into flower in anticipation of long summer days, humpback whales and their calves begin their epic journey back to Antarctica. Join a whale-watching expedition with Sydney Princess Cruises from September through to the second week of November for one last look at these magnificent creatures during their annual migration.

Savor a buffet lunch as your boat sails out of the harbor and into open waters. Then thrill to the first sighting of the giant whales and their young, who’ve been fattening up all winter in the Coral Sea ahead of their first trip to the chilly waters down south for summer – you’ll still be buzzing as the boat docks back at Circular Quay.

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Commune with nature in the mountains

Embrace the subterranean at Jenolan Caves, a 70-minute drive from Katoomba, as you navigate a labyrinth of stalactite-lined limestone chasms carved by underground rivers. Look up in awe in the Lucas Cave at the spectacular limestone formation known as Broken Column and the Cathedral, a 54m-high chamber that is sometimes used for musical concerts.

Lace up your bushwalking boots and recharge with an invigorating hike in rugged bushland — there are great walks throughout the Blue Mountains, from easy strolls leading to remarkable lookouts to longer hikes such as the spectacular Grand Canyon Track, a 6.3km loop past waterfalls and sheer sandstone cliffs starting from Evans Lookout in Blackheath.

Challenge yourself on the three-day Six Foot Track walk along the old coach road between Katoomba and Jenolan Caves — or make things a little easier on your legs by joining a guided tour with Life’s An Adventure, which will transport your backpack so you can focus wholeheartedly on your surrounds. Sign up with Tread Lightly Eco Tours for a guided bushwalk or 4WD tour where you can immerse in local history as you visit some of the oldest rainforests, tallest waterfalls and deepest canyons in the area.

In Katoomba, take a thrilling ride on the Scenic Railway, the world’s steepest passenger railway, at Scenic World, or steady yourself as you gaze down at ancient sandstone ravines 270m below you in the glass-bottomed Scenic Skyway cable car. Thrill to cockatoos screeching as they fly beneath you and let the serene sound of the wind in the trees far below wash over you on a Beyond Skyway experience, climbing onto the roof of the cable car as it hangs in the middle of Jamison Valley (safely harnessed, of course).

For a gentler natural high, surround yourself in flowers and bushes at formal and informal gardens across the mountains. During spring, revel in the sight of magnificent private gardens in the villages of Leura and Blackheath blooming with bluebells, azaleas, magnolias, camelias and cherry blossoms, ready for the annual Leura Gardens Festival in October and the Blackheath Rhododendron Festival in November.

Lose yourself in reverie as you wander around the five hectares of beautiful European-style gardens at Everglades House & Gardens, designed by famed Danish-born landscape gardener Paul Sorensen, in Leura. Or take the scenic drive along Bells Line of Road to The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden at Mount Tomah to be spellbound by majestic cool-climate gardens framed by panoramic views.

Discover an elevated dining scene

You’ll work up an appetite in the bracing air of the Blue Mountains. In Katoomba, ease into the evening with a cocktail (or an ale by Katoomba Brewing Company) at Champagne Charlie’s Cocktail Bar in the heritage-listed Carrington Hotel, or venture to the Echo Point lookout and enjoy a glass of fine wine as you take in the iconic Three Sisters from BAR NSW.

Linger in Katoomba for a hearty dinner at Avalon Restaurant, housed in the former Savoy picture theatre opposite the Carrington Hotel, or settle in for a memorable meal of modern Australian fare at Darley’s Restaurant at Lilianfels Resort & Spa, facing the escarpment at the far end of Katoomba Street.

At the iconic Hydro Majestic Hotel in Medlow Bath, around a five-minute drive from Katoomba, soak up spectacular valley views over lunch at Boiler House Restaurant or afternoon high tea at The Wintergarden.

Savour a seasonal menu that’s as creative as the industrial car art at Leura Garage, an award-winning bar and restaurant housed within a former auto-mechanic workshop near Leura’s train station. After lunch in Leura, indulge your sweet tooth by popping in to Josophan’s Fine Chocolates and picking up exquisite handmade chocolates.

Rest and recharge in luxury

Bed down in art deco splendour at the magnificent Carrington Hotel, steps away from the train station in the heart of Katoomba, or head down to the other end of Katoomba Street to immerse in the timeless charm of Echoes Boutique Hotel and its sister property Lilianfels Resort and Spa, a historic mansion surrounded by lush manicured gardens. Keep the kids engrossed with a games arcade, heated pool, cinema and pony rides at Fairmont Resort & Spa Blue Mountains while you take in the serene views of the dramatic escarpment in nearby Leura.

Steep in romance and nostalgia while luxuriating in modern-day opulence at the circa-1904 Hydro Majestic in Medlow Bath, from the group behind Lilianfels and Echoes. Step back a few decades into the recent past when you check in to Kyah Boutique Hotel, a reimagined and recently renovated 1970s motel in the village of Blackheath, or venture off the highway to soak up a sense of seclusion in a freestanding luxe studio set in bushland at Chalets at Blackheath.

Treat yourself and contribute to the health of a magnificent bushland valley at the same time when you stay at Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley conservation resort, a 70-minute drive from Katoomba. Sink into a heritage-style villa with your own private plunge pool and gaze at the magical escarpment views, revitalise in the resort’s stunning wellness sanctuary and take part in bush regeneration efforts for the ultimate feelgood escape.

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