Transit, Seafood & Luxury: Sydney’s best bits, according to The New York Times

  • The New York Times has included Sydney in a list on travel trends in 2025.
  • Sydney was picked for its futuristic Metro system as well as the new Sydney Fish Market.
  • Also on the list are places in Italy, India, Idaho and New York City.
  • READ MORE: The great Australian cabana debate.

The ranking may be questionabledo you honestly know anyone who’d rather visit Greenland than The Dolomites?but The New York Times has just released a very interesting “what’s hot” list regarding 2025 travel trends, the destinations everyone should visit this year, and the experiences they should have.

And coming in as the 10th best place to visit in 2025 is none other than our humble little Harbour City, Sydney.

“There is no living in Sydney without a hefty awe of the sea, where both sustenance and communion are found,” writes The New York Times reporter Isabella Kwai.

The publication apparently chose Sydney as one of the best places to visit in 2025 because of two major changes:

  1. The Sydney Metro
  2. The Sydney Fish Market

The Metro is obvious. Sydney feels infinitely more futuristic when you huddle around one of the highly polished new Sydney Metro stations at places like Crows Nest, Barangaroo and Martin Place. They each have their own ecosystem of commissioned artworks with some featuring multi-coloured LED tunnels and others large-scale communal art pieces. Plus, a few stations are already starting to be populated with shops, restaurants and lifestyle staples to turn each into their own precinct.

But, of course, the biggest talking with the Metro is just how connected Sydney has become. It’s now much easier for international visitors to explore further afield than just the inner-city suburbs like Surry Hills, inner-west favourites like Newtown and ritzy Eastern Suburbs play pens like Double Bay and Bondi.

The New York Times also calls out the reopening of Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, which is both Australia’s oldest five-star hotel, and it’s newest with its own unique dining scene and a pitch-perfect location just a short walk from Overseas Passenger Terminal.

But the most surprising reason Sydney made the cut was its seafood. But we aren’t talking about the global recognition barrelling towards Josh Niland for his three-hatted seafood restaurant, Saint Peter. Instead, the publication references the big new Sydney fish market that’s opening later this year.

“The institution is getting a Danish-masterminded upgrade with the opening of a futuristic, four-story market hall,” writes Kwai.

Indeed once opened the new Sydney Fish Market should be one of the Sydney’s proudest achievements. Not only is it looking like a fish market pulled straight from the future, but it should also bring Sydney some worthwhile new restaurants in addition to those fierce fish auctions each morning.

The listing is a good indication of how Sydney is being perceived from an international standpoint. 2024 was an incredible year of change four the Harbour City and it appears we’re not the only ones excited about our new lease on life.

NYT’s list is a curious one. Coming in at the top spot is Jane Austen’s England. Not England. Jane Austen’s England with the country celebrate the 250th anniversary of the prolific author’s birth through numerous festivals, events and experiences. Also making the “what’s hot” list: New York City’s museums as the city celebrates its 400th anniversary, Assam in India, Idaho’s Sun Valley, Lumbini in Nepal, and Delphi in Greece.


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