Orientation
Itineraries
If you've only got a day or three to make Sydney's acquaintance, try the following itineraries. Most of Sydney's signature attractions make the grade here, along with some rewarding local hangouts. Alternatively, beat a retreat from the crowds, escape the city on a day trip, or hunt down some free entertainment.
Three days in Sydney
Day one: Ramble down through The Rocks to Sydney Cove, then out past the Sydney Opera House to the Royal Botanic Gardens. Grab a cab to Bondi Beach and dunk yourself in the Pacific. Suitably salted, swill a pre-dinner drink at the Opera Bar, then catch an evening show at the Sydney Opera House. Afterwards, some fresh seafood, divine Australian wine and harbour hubbub at a Circular Quay restaurant is hard to beat.
Day two: Kick-start your day/heart with a Bridge Climb over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Hang with the masters at the Art Gallery of NSW or ship yourself out onto the harbour: ride the ferry to Taronga Zoo, or to Manly for a surf or a few hours of beachy emptyheadedness. Chug a cold beer at Manly Wharf Hotel, chow-down in Chinatown then hit some Darlinghurst bars for a jazzy nightcap.
Day three: Sleep late, caffeinate at Campos, then splash some cash in Paddington's Oxford St boutiques. In the afternoon, make some fishy friends at the Sydney Aquarium or soar up Sydney Tower for eye-popping 360-degree views. Head to Darling Harbour for dinner, cool your boots in Cargo Bar, then heat your heels at one of Sydney's hellishly good clubs.
Off the beaten track
Beat the heat at Balmoral Beach on the North Shore with some top-notch restaurants and super swimming. At the end of Glebe Point Rd is Jubilee Park: snooze in the sun, throw a Frisbee or consume your airport novel under a gargantuan Moreton Bay fig.
South of Coogee, oversized Maroubra Beach has underrated waves and a suburban tempo. West of the madding Rocks is Millers Point where you'll find photogenic terraces, unpretentious pubs and picnic perfection at Sydney Observatory Park. Not far from Kings Cross, Rushcutters Bay Park offers uncrowded lawns where the pontoons bump and sway.
Free stuff
The Art Galley of NSW is artfully free, while free summer entertainment proliferates with regular musical performances in Sydney's parks. January's Sydney Festival offers dozens of outdoor events; October's Manly International Jazz Festival and June's Darling Harbour International Jazz Festival have free outdoor gigs too. The Tropfest short-film festival in February has free screenings in The Domain and Darlinghurst.
Catch some street theatre and a few buskers at Sydney's weekend markets, or around Circular Quay, Martin Place or Darling Harbour. The mad, the erudite and the madly erudite vent spleen at Speakers' Corner on Sunday afternoons. When all else fails, you can't beat a beach and a book.
Day trips
Free day up your sleeve? The Sydney Visitor Centre provides day-trip information, but here are some of our favourites:
The Blue Mountains, 110km west of Sydney, offer jaw-dropping scenery, bushwalks, gorges, gums and gourmet restaurants galore.
Tracking 30km north from Manly, Sydney's sublime Northern Beaches feature laid-back ‘burbs, gnarly breaks, craggy headlands and fish-and-chip shops.
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, 24km north of Sydney, has that classic Sydney cocktail of bushland, sandstone and water.
Royal National Park, 30km south of the city, features vertiginous cliffs, secluded beaches, coastal scrub, seaside communities and cockatoos.
Parramatta, 24km west of Sydney, was Australia's second European settlement. The town has been subsumed by suburbia, but retains a small-town vibe and a clutch of colonial buildings.
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