As we move into the final month of spring, an action-packed November will fill Sydney with life before we get into the thick of silly season. The city just had a spooky few weeks in the lead up to Halloween, now it’s time to sit back in the sun, sip on some wine (or an Old Fashioned) and maybe shop for a new bargain at one of the city’s biggest annual shopping events.
We’ve rounded up the best things to do this month, from the last few days of Sculpture by the Sea to the heavily anticipated Wine Island. Check out our 14 highlights of Sydney’s November calendar below, including our “restaurant of the month” pick: Delta Rue.
The best things to do in Sydney this November
1. Art: Sculpture by the Sea
Although the majority of Sculpture by the Sea runs through October, you’ve still got a few days of November before the free art Bondi to Tamarama art walk wraps up. The picturesque cliffside trail has been illuminated with various large-format sculptures by the artists from all over the world, representing countries like India, Ukraine and China.
Due to a change in conditions this year, Sculpture by the Sea is slowly evolving so heading along on the last few days of the art program is the better idea anyway. Not only will all these sculptures be up, but you may also see fewer crowds squeezing into that infamous bottleneck.
Where: Marks Park; Fletcher St, Tamarama NSW 2026
When: Until Monday, November 4
Price: Free
2. Drink: Woodford Reserve Month
21 of Sydney’s best bars are offering up complimentary Old Fashioned cocktails for the month of November. It’s all to celebrate Woodford Reserve Month, spurred by the iconic Bourbon as a month-long extension of the traditional Old Fashioned Week that threads through the world’s best bars each year.
You’ll need to register online first before you grab your free Old Fashioned. After that, head along to any one of the participating bars which for Sydney includes Earl’s Juke Joint, Bennelong, Duke of Clarence, Door Knock, Apollonia, Hotel Palisade, NOLA, Tokyo Bird and Bancho Bar.
Where: Various bars in Sydney
When: November 1 – 30, 2024
Price: Free
3. Theatre: SIX The Musical
One of the most popular musicals of the past decade is heading on back to Sydney’s Theatre Royal for 80 minutes of pop-powered hilarity. In case you aren’t yet familiar, SIX The Musical follows the fictional lives of the six wives of Henry VIII as they rewrite history and argue over who had the worst marriage as they try and get a pop band off the ground.
The Tony Award-winning musical has been in high demand ever since it debuted in 2017, following a raucous Melbourne season with a bright, playful cast including Kimberley Hodgson, Deirdre Khoo, Loren Hunter, Zelia Rose Kitoko, Chelsea Dawson and Giorgia Kennedy.
Where: Theatre Royal Sydney; 108 King St, Sydney NSW 2000
When: Until December 28, 2024
Price: $99.50
4. Music: Coldplay
Tickets may be sold out to the biggest concert of the year, but seeing Coldplay live in Sydney will be worth any desperate last-minute scramble.
Whether Live Nation release extra Coldplay tickets in the days leading up to their first Accor Stadium concert on Wednesday, November 6, or you find someone looking to offload some extras, we suggest you do whatever you can to catch one of four sold-out shows from Chris Martin and his merry band of music makers.
Where: Accor Stadium; Edwin Flack Ave, Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127
When: November 6-9, 2024
Tickets: From $105.45
5. Theatre: Jesus Christ Superstar
Strutting back into town is rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. November is clearly a month for those big, toe-tapping musicals so the timing couldn’t be any better for a mesmerising new production based on the classic, which has been playing to audiences for over 50 years now.
Featuring lyrics by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, the newly revived production offers a new spin on the playful biblical tale, which is entirely song-based and runs through the complicated dynamics between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene and his several disciples.
Where: Capitol Theatre Sydney; 13 Campbell St, Haymarket NSW 2000
When: November 13 – December 1, 2024
Price: From $69.90
jesuschristsuperstarmusical.com.au
6. Drink: Sydney Gin Festival
Over 55 distillers will be pouring up over 220 gins at this year’s massive Sydney Gin Festival, which takes over Rosehill Gardens in Randwick for two boozy days in mid-November. Given gin is the quintessential spring and summer sip, the festival should be well-attended with scope for various masterclasses, gourmet foods, and tastings from favourites like Ester Spirits, Nosferatu and newsomers Bimbadgen Estate Distillery and Threefold.
Three-hour tasting sessions will only knock you back $50 per person and masterclasses are set at around $110 each. There’s plenty of ways to get across all aspects to the gin making process (including the drinking bit) so line your stomach, make a day of it, and join the rest of Sydney with some much-needed mid-November day drinking.
Where: Rosehill Gardens; James Ruse Dr, Rosehill NSW 2142
When: November 15-16, 2024
Price: From $50
7. Art: Magritte
The current major exhibition for the Art Gallery of New South Wales is now underway. And it’s a big one. The institution has managed to curate over 100 works in a retrospective for surrealist master René Magritte, tracing the famed artist’s career with both well-known and obscure pieces.
Four decades of the artist’s career are detailed in chronological order, presenting a nice, one-stop-shop for anyone with even a fleeting interesting in Magritte’s timeless paintings.
Where: Art Gallery of NSW; Art Gallery Rd, Sydney NSW 2000
When: Until February 9, 2025
Price: $35
8. Art: Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru
Australian Museum has had a very successful year so far. First, the institution’s Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition set new attendance records for Sydney and now the museum is running another in-depth historical survey.
Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru displays one of the most remarkable gold collections in history, working up as a multi-sensory exhibition completely dedicated to the artefacts and immersive displays that help illustrate the story of Peru.
Where: 1 William St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
When: November 23, 2024 – February 2025
Price: From $37.50 (for adults)
9. Family Fun: Camden Christmas Festival
While most of Sydney’s Christmas-themed fun pops up in the weeks preceding the big day, Greater Western Sydney gets an early start with Camden Christmas Festival. Locked in for Saturday, November 23, the free, all-day festival brings some life to the sleepy suburb with a range of family-friendly activities and live entertainment.
Of course, you can also expect a bunch of Christmas market stalls and food and drink venues, coupled with amusement rides and other Christmas themed activities throughout the day to get people in the mood a month’s out from the jolliest day of the year.
Where: Argyle St, Camden NSW 2570
When: Saturday, November 23; 4pm – 9pm
Price: Free
10. Theatre: Cirque du Soleil – Luzia
Sydney’s latest Cirque du Soleil production kicks off towards the end of November and runs through to the new year at Entertainment Quarter’s The Showring. As the show has been chosen to celebrate 25 years of Cirque du Soleil in Australia, you’re guaranteed to get the very best of the show’s usual high-flying, visually spectacular way of storytelling.
In Luzia, director Daniele Finzi Pasca takes audiences to a vibrant Mexico with scenes including an old movie set and a smoky dance hall, taking the production from the ocean to the arid desert as it touches on various Mexican traditions sketched onto showstopping acrobatic performances. And there should be plenty of rain worked into the scenes, which is apparently a first for a Cirque du Soleil touring production.
Director: Daniele Finzi Pasca
Where: The Showring; 122 Lang Rd, Moore Park NSW 2021
When: November 24, 2024 – February 9, 2025
Price: $90
11. Shop: The Finders Keepers Sydney Design Market
Beloved indie institution The Finders Keepers Market returns to Carriageworks for an entire weekend in mid-November. As always, the large-scale event is the ultimate collection of Australia’s best and brightest designers, including indie labels ready to showcase their latest projects.
The design market is always such a big shopping event for Sydney’s well-dressed that organisers make a full day of it with live local DJs, fresh food stalls, pop-ups bars and more shopping than you could ask for.
Where: Carriageworks; 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh NSW 2015
When: November 15-17, 2024
Price: $6
12. Family Fun: Korean Festival
Head on down to Tumbalong Park on Saturday, November 9 or Sunday, November 10 to witness the biggest Korean cultural celebration in the country. The free communal lifestyle festival is entirely dedicated to exploring and uplifting Korean culture in the city, which means plenty of K-Pop, Korean BBQ stalls and screenings of popular Korean drama films.
The park, which just served as the hub of SXSW Sydney, will be lively with al fresco dining and live entertainment so we recommend taking the whole family down (fingers cross for good weather) and making a day of it. Participate in a few of those Korean art workshops and make sure you’re doing more than loading up on all those Korean BBQ meats.
Where: Tumbalong Park; 11 Harbour St, Sydney NSW 2000
When: November 9-10, 2024
Price: Free
13. Drink: Wine Island
The most “Sydney” of all the year’s many wine festivals. Wine Island returns for another few days in the sun while you sip some of the country’s finest drops in the middle of Sydney Harbour.
The festival’s traditional home of Clark Island is no more. For 2024, Wine Island is making the move to Watsons Bay, taking over the Gap Bluff area that looks over Sydney Harbour National Park. While it hops off an actual island and onto shore, the festival will play out in very much the same way as previous years.
You’ve got top cellar doors popping up from vineyards like Kies Family Wines and DAS Juice, right along with a few craft breweries and distilleries as well to celebrate alcohol in all its many forms. There will be a few specific pockets of the festival catering to niche interests, like the Amalfi Beach Club with—you guessed it—Italian wines and an endless array of food stalls serving up everything from Spanish to American. You can then either head on down to the Silent Disco and dance the day away, or practice some mindfulness with wine-fuelled yoga workshops by the sea.
Where: Sydney Harbour National Park (Gap Bluff); Watsons Bay NSW 2030
When: November 29 – December 1, 2024
Price: From $89
14. Dine: Delta Rue at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth
One of the biggest new restaurant openings of the past few weeks has been Delta Rue at the new-look Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. The retro French-Vietnamese is the upscale signature for the refreshed five-star with a playful menu that includes French and Vietnamese staples as well as fun inclusions like an actual roaming banh mi cart to add a little bit of theatre to it all. Browse the extensive list of hard-to-find French Champagnes and don’t forget to follow dinner up with a nightcap at the jazz-tinged Tilda Bar.
Address: 101 Phillip St, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: (02) 8530 0138
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Looking for more things to do in November? Check out:
- The best concerts to see in November
- The best shows to see in November
- The best Sydney wine month events
