How to Navigate Vivid Sydney 2018's Bright Lights

Each year, Sydney says a big screw you to its regular programming and turns things up to 11 for Vivid Sydney. That counts for extra gigs at the Opera House, parties at galleries and talks at various institutions, but it also gives the city the opportunity to turn on every bright light it can get its hands on. And the result is always impressive.

This year is no exception, of course — this thing just keeps getting bigger in size. More areas of the city are lit up this year than ever before, with the trail stretching from Kings Cross to Barangaroo and over the Bridge to Luna Park and Chatswood. There's a lot of ground to cover and — as has been noted during the opening weekend — a lot of crowds. So put on your walking shoes and your most patient face, because here's what's happening at each precinct every night until June 16. Lights come on at 6pm (5.30pm at Taronga and Chatswood) and turn off at 11pm.

KINGS CROSS

Yes, the Vivid lights extend to Kings Cross — and it's a pretty ideal place to start your Vivid light walk. After you've had a quick food stop, you can tick off a few of the area's installations before making your way down to the Royal Botanic Garden. The iconic Coke sign will have special programming throughout the festival, and the El Alamein Memorial Fountain and the surrounding Fitzroy Gardens will be lit up in commemoration of Australian soldiers that have fought on behalf of the country. If you wander around the gardens, you'll be able to uncover 14 virtual 'sculptures' with your phone a la Pokemon Go.

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN

The city's oldest green space is has been transformed into a lit-up wonderland, playing host to a bigger Vivid set-up than ever before. This year, it features 16 captivating installations and — for the first time ever — a swirling, illuminated facade for Government House.

Peppered throughout the site is a colourful assortment of characters, from giant plant species and moving forests to exotic birds. And you can expect plenty of food and drink options to fuel your after-dark adventures, including fruity cocktails served in light bulb-shaped glasses from two bars, a series of performance-filled Enlightenment Feasts, and sweet treats a cupcake ATM (yes, a cupcake ATM).

Take a stroll along the swirling, light-up pathways of the interactive Aqueous installation, as it morphs into a variety of shapes. In the background here, you'll cop a glimpse of Government House, lit up with a colourful montage of Aussie animals and iconic destinations that's been created by TAFE NSW students. Meanwhile, artists Adrienn Lord, Richard Neville and Nick Sheen have used over 40,000 individually-controlled RGB pixels to create a forest of spiralling, colour-changing trees.

CIRCULAR QUAY

The centrepiece of Circular Quay this year is Customs House — every night it is being illuminated with a delightful animation of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. The projection celebrates the 100th anniversary of May Gibbs's little gumnuts and it's worth watching in full if you can get an unobstructed view. If you're more into lasers than gumnut babies, you can instead avert your eyes to the 40 lasers shooting out around the Harbour as part of Skylark. The lasers are placed on Bradfield's Beacon on top of the Harbour Bridge, as well as above the Overseas Passenger Terminal and the Bennelong Apartments, and form part of a show every half an hour. You can help create it over on Pier 8, but it's bound to be a jostle to get in the driver's seat.

THE ROCKS

After you've conquered the crowds at Circular Quay, join the flow of people being herded towards the MCA (you may need to be patient — lots of punters complained of bottlenecks during the opening weekend). Gaze up at the MCA's Virtual Vibration projection as you crawl past, then wind your way around the many installations in The Rocks. Seek out the illuminated canopy of 1000 paper cranes, a glowing puffer fish named Fugu and a sneak peek of Bangarra's latest work Dark Emu, which will be projected onto the bridge's southern pylon. Time your visit with the The Rocks' Friday and Saturday night markets to feed your tum and your eyes.

BARANGAROO AND DARLING HARBOUR

Yep, that's a giant puppet, and it'll be moving around on the Barangaroo esplanade every night of Vivid. The six-metre-tall figure is named Marri Dyin and pays tribute to the Indigenous women who once called the Harbour their home (including Barangaroo herself) and is part of The Liminal Hour installation along Wulugul Walk. On the other side of Darling Harbour, the Powerhouse will be lit up with images of Blue Planet II, which coincides with James Cameron's Challenging the Deep. If you need a drink at this point, we recommend popping into Banksii on the esplanade or Barangaroo House for views over everything. 

LUNA PARK

Over the bridge, Luna Park is lit up even more than usual — for the first time ever, the amusement park is a Vivid light precinct. Most notable is the Ferris wheel — it's scored 3000 new LED lights especially for the occasion, and it looks pretty spectacular regardless of what side of the harbour you're looking at it from.

TARONGA ZOO

As the zoo continues its mission to raise awareness and support for endangered species in Australia and Sumatra, this year's Lights Of The Wild gives zoo visitors the opportunity wander the harbourside site after dark, encountering everything from multi-coloured elephants to schools of fish along the way.

This year's event incorporates 19 new installations and three revamped ones, including ten 3D transformations of drawings submitted by local school children. The light show begins from the moment you hit the zoo's entrance, stepping through the mouth of this two-storey-high Port Jackson shark and takes in giant gorillas, bees and crocs. This is the only light show that is ticketed — you can buy tickets to the nightly 5.30pm, 6.30pm, 7.30pm sessions here.

Steve Christo

CHATSWOOD

Even if you don't live on the lower north shore, this year's Vivid installation at Chatswood Interchange is worth a visit. The Light Market is running each night of the festival, bringing some of Sydney's best food to the north, including Mary's burgers, cakes from Black Star Pastry, Agape Organic's hearty dishes, and some scoops of gelato from Enmore's Cow & the Moon. You'll can tuck into these morsels while taking in the Interchange's big floating screen, which is this year taking on the theme of under the sea. There's a big jellyfish, too, and the whole thing is mostly powered by Willoughby Council's solar farm.

Images: Destination NSW.