5 Fun and Free Ways to Spend Your Winter Break in Sydney

The semester is officially over and holidays are here! While it may be snoozing season in Sydney with this weather, we’ve come up with 5 free and fun ways to spend your winter break.

From festivals celebrating the ultimate comfort food, to nature exhibitions for all green thumbs, we’ve clocked the best activities happening across Sydney right now to explore with your friends.

🇫🇷 Bastille Festival
🕙 Thursday 13 July – Sunday 16 July

Curb your Euro-Summer FOMO with Sydney’s iconic Bastille Festival returning to Circular Quay this July!

From Thursday - Sunday 16 July, expect a delicious selection of specialty food, mulled wines and lots of live acts bringing the good vibes.

The best part, entry is free!

For more information, head to their website.


🍜 Sydney Ramen Festival
🕙 June 17- July 29

It’s officially soup season and time to slurp your way around Sydney at Sydney Ramen Festival!

This ongoing event is celebrating all the finest ramen spots that our city has to offer, taking place in existing restaurants scattered across Sydney.

With impressive prizes on offer for participation, this is one fellow foodies won’t want to miss! It also runs through the entire break so there’s plenty of time to check out all the spots. Head to their website for more information.


🌿 Love your Nature Exhibition
🕙 Tuesday 20 June – Friday 30 June

For all plant lovers, explore a kaleidoscope of colour and passion with Love Your Nature!

Playing on the notion that plant-love has been around ‘since the dawn of time’, this immersive exhibition is celebrating everything from prehistoric plants to modern day flowering plants.

Curated by the horticultural team at the Royal Botanic Garden, head down to see over 20,000 plants on display and one of the largest living green walls in the Southern Hemisphere.


🏳️‍🌈 Absolutely Queer
🕙 Now – Sunday 31 December

Join in on the fun for Sydney World Pride 2023 at Absolutely Queer, an exhibition celebrating contemporary queer creativity at the Powerhouse Museum.

This absolutely fabulous and free exhibition will feature everything from installation and performance artists to videogame developers, cartoonists and fashion designers.


🌌 Star-gazing in Royal National Park
🕙 Anytime!

If you missed out on Coldplay tickets, take that special someone to experience the next best thing - your own sky full of stars, in the Royal National Park.

Australia is renowned for its natural beauty and pristine national parks and the low levels of air and light pollution make them among the best star-gazing locations in the country. Winter is also recommended as the best time as the crisp air grants better visibility.

Grab your cameras, your cosiest blanket and some snacks for the drive!