Vivid SydneyAfter dark, the harbour shifts colour

A path along the water

Sydney, Australia — City light festival.

Just walk along the water.

The official site writes the light route as a single line with no backtracking — before the glow of one work leaves your eye, the next is already lit ahead. The harbour is on your left, wind off the water; on your right, old warehouses and sandstone walls, the path widening and narrowing, the crowd drifting the same direction. By the end, your shoes tire before your eyes.

You can enter from either end; the official site says walking it backwards works just as well, with public transport at both. Those giving the evening to this route hesitate over which work to start with; those in a rush just pick the end nearest where they're staying.

First came a light walk

In 2008 a proposal reached the New South Wales government to build a low-energy light walk around Circular Quay, linking the city centre. When it launched the next year it was called Smart Light Sydney; Wikipedia attributes the concept to MaryAnne Kyriakou, Anthony Bastic and others, partly inspired by an earlier light festival in Eindhoven.

British musician Brian Eno agreed to be lead light artist, and the state government expanded the content to add music and ideas. The name changed to Vivid Sydney to hold Light, Music and Ideas. Wikipedia also notes the state's tourism and events body Destination NSW now owns, manages and produces the festival.

That first proposal began with energy saving; the festival later grew to this scale. The music strand invites local and overseas musicians; the ideas strand lays out public talks and debates; the light strand has always stayed in the streets, seen by walking.

Between Circular Quay and Darling Harbour

The official site orders the harbour route: start at Circular Quay, through the Rocks, on to Barangaroo, ending at Darling Harbour. The Opera House sails get a new projection each edition, the pattern calculated along the curve, seen whole only from across the water. The whole route hugs the water with no backtracking; the official site issues a numbered map each edition.

Wikipedia places the timing in May-June, about three weeks. The official site also schedules works that change only in daylight; by day the installations show their metal frames and glass, different from night — those who come by day see how they stand.

Darling Harbour closes late, with lasers sweeping above the water and, on added nights, fireworks. The water repeats the opposite shore's lights; viewed from the bridge versus the shore looks very different — best saved for the last night, walked slowly.

How to finish this route

The Rocks section has stone steps, up and down; the official site offers a flat harbour path from Hickson Road around Walsh Bay, a few minutes longer but skipping the steps. Those with strollers or who move slowly mostly choose the latter.

The official site also issues an accessibility map marking each section's slope, plus directions for arriving by transport. During the festival the harbour-side crowd flows one way; entry and exit points follow the current notice — when crowded, follow the ground guidance rather than cutting shortcuts.

Those giving Sydney two or three nights can walk half one night and pick up the other half from Darling Harbour the next. Projections and installations change each edition, and the official map is redrawn — check the current edition's map before leaving, not last year's list.