Sydney's natural beauty will astonish you at any time of the year, but come springtime the harbour city really puts on a special show. From the lilac hues of jacaranda trees flowering all across town to the spectacle of a million paper daisies blooming in unison, and from a cherry blossom festival to the last chances to spot whales for the year, here's how to immerse in nature during Sydney's stunning spring awakening.

Be tickled pink by cherry blossoms

Go all-in on a Japanese-style celebration of spring at the Cherry Blossom Festival, from 16–24 August 2025 at Auburn Botanic Gardens, in the multicultural Western Sydney suburb of Auburn. Be mesmerised by the delicate pinks of the 200-plus flowering cherry trees as you follow the Cherry Blossom Trail through the botanic gardens' Japanese precinct, stepping under a vivid-red torii gate and passing over a traditional arched bridge.

Once you've snapped selfies and group portraits under an impossibly pretty canopy of cherry blossoms beside the Japanese Garden's pond, try the art of origami, learn how to draw manga and discover the craft of tsumami-zaiku (folding fabric into petals) at the Takumi Pavilion. Then head over to the Sakura Stage to be transported by the serenity of a Japanese tea ceremony or enjoy musical performances from taiko drumming to an ensemble playing the koto, a traditional string instrument, while feasting on Japanese street food.

Venture a little further west to Parramatta to see cherry blossoms in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Parramatta Park's Wistaria Gardens. You may well be inspired to return to these extensive riverside gardens to surround yourself with the bloomings of Japanese and Chinese wisteria (and enjoy live music and browse community stalls) at the Weekend in Wistaria spring festival from 20–21 September 2025.

Find yourself wowed by wildflowers

Not long after the last cherry blossoms drop from their branches in the west, southwest Sydney erupts in a riot of bluish-pink and yellow flowers as more than a million paper daisies bloom at The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan. Be astounded by this colourful wildflower display at the sprawling botanic gardens, a 50-minute drive from the city centre, through September and early October. Wander among the paper daisies at your own pace, take one of the weekly guided walking tours, or join the seven-hour Mount Annan Paper Daisies Tour on 3 September 2025, which includes a visit to the gardens' award-winning Australian PlantBank seed conservation facility and a light lunch.

Bringing the kids along to see the paper daises during the school holidays? Help them understand why native bees are so important to the ecosystem by booking them in to the engrossing workshop Friends of the Flowers: Celebrating Native Bees at Mount Annan, from 1–9 October 2025. The workshops are also held at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney from 30 September–9 October 2025, and on 30 September and 7 October 2025 at Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah.

In the northern Sydney suburb of St Ives, you can learn how to identify native wildflowers as you wander through Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden's Wildflower Nursery. Try out your newfound knowledge as you follow the garden's 2km-long Solander Trail – this paved path through a dry sclerophyll forest is dotted with blooming wildflowers and spotted with flashes of red from crimson bottle brushes and waratahs. Take your time to stop and smell the fragrant flowers of the pink boronia wildflower and admire the soft delicate petals of the lesser flannel flower along the way.

Take joy in jacarandas

Hot on the heels of the paper daises, Sydney's famous jacaranda trees step into the spotlight as they bloom with lovely lilac-hued flowers from mid-October through to late November. You can follow the jacaranda trail from Circular Quay and The Rocks in the city centre through the Royal Botanic Garden to Paddington, Woollahra and Double Bay in the city's east, and across Newtown and Glebe to the west of central Sydney.

You can also seek out jacaranda trees bursting with colour amid a sea of green all across North Sydney suburbs like Lavender Bay before making your way to Kirribilli's McDougall Street. This pretty avenue, a short stroll from Milsons Point train station or a scenic walk from the city centre via the Sydney Harbour Bridge pedestrian pathway, is transformed each spring as its twin rows of jacarandas merge overhead to form a magical purple canopy (just be mindful that the street is a public road in a residential area).

Make the most of the warm weather

Revel in the extra burst of colour that flannel flowers put on in springtime while stretching your legs on a glorious hike through a history-soaked section of Sydney Harbour National Park. Breathe in the salty air and watch sailboats tack offshore as you follow the 3km Middle Head – Gubbuh Gubbuh to Georges Head walking track from one abandoned harbourside fort to another.

Explore the Inner Middle Head Fort, with its two heavy gun emplacements and tunnel network, before wandering around fortifications dating as far back as the 1800s at Outer Middle Head.

As you continue on the track to Georges Head you'll find your gaze torn between the deep blue of the harbour and the delicate colours of wildflowers among the muted colours of the foreshore scrub. Then look up at the observation tower at Georges Head and imagine the tension in the air as observers scanned the harbour for Japanese submarines and torpedo boats during World War II, all while gunners manned the twin 6-pounder guns in the emplacement directly below.

Wave the whales farewell

As Sydney bursts into flower in anticipation of long summer days, humpback whales and their calves begin their epic journey back to Antarctica. Join a whale-watching expedition with Sydney Princess Cruises from September through to the second week of November for one last look at these magnificent creatures during their annual migration.

Savour a buffet lunch as your boat sails out of the harbour and into open waters. Then thrill to the first sighting of the giant whales and their young, who've been fattening up all winter in the Coral Sea ahead of their first trip to the chilly waters down south for summer – you'll still be buzzing as the boat docks back at Circular Quay.