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2 Danks Street
If the wonderful Danks Street Depot café isn't enough to tempt you off the beaten track to Waterloo, the nine commercial galleries that inhabit this warehouse conversion should push you over the edge. They encompass a broad range of contemporary art, including Aboriginal and Pacific art, photography, sculpture, painting and jewellery.
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Aboriginal Fine Art Prints
Lustrous screen prints, rare limited editions and quality lithographs, etchings and linocuts make this gallery a standout. It houses Sydney's most expansive collection of prints by Australia's leading indigenous artists; look for works by Dennis Nona, Rover Thomas and Rosella Namok.
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Aboriginal Rock Engravings
On the golf course a short walk north (and uphill) from Bondi Beach, you'll find some interesting Aboriginal rock engravings. Look for the fenced areas about 20m southeast of the enormous chimney. The original carvings had to be regrooved by Waverley Council in the 1960s in order to preserve them. Some of the figures are a little hard to distinguish, though you should be able to make out the marine life and the figure of a man. There's also a great lookout at the end of Ramsgate Ave with stunning views back over Bondi Beach.
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Acer Arena
This is Australia's largest indoor entertainment and sporting venue (21,000 seats). Everything from concerts to Disney On Ice to off-road-vehicle shows are hosted here. Disabled access is excellent.
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Anzac Bridge
Completed in 1996, Sydney's other eye-catching bridge spans Johnstons Bay, connecting Pyrmont and Rozelle. At 345m in length it's the longest cable bridge in Australia, offering great views as you stroll into the city from the west. The two main towers are shaped like the eye of a needle, with the road as the thread. The Anzac theme is reinforced by an Australian flag atop the eastern tower, a New Zealand flag on the western, and a bronze statue of a soldier.
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Anzac Memorial
This beautiful Art Deco memorial (1934) commemorates the soldiers of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs) who served in WWI. The centrepiece is Sacrifice , a bronze statue of a naked dead soldier draped over a shield, supported by four women standing on a golden sun. In the marble ceiling are 120,000 tiny stars, one for each person from NSW who served. An eternal flame burns nearby, and there's a small military museum attached.
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Argyle Cut
Convict labourers excavated this canal-like roadway connecting Sydney Cove and Millers Point on the other side of the peninsula. The work began in 1843 with hand tools, and was completed (with the aid of dynamite) in 1867. The cut sandstone frames scenery and greenery in a dramatic fashion and makes for a very atmospheric stroll.
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Argyle Place
A quiet, English-style village green in a district of early colonial homes, Argyle Place offers the sacred appeal of the Garrison Church and the more secular delights of the Lord Nelson Brewery hotel. Both the Lord Nelson and the Hero of Waterloo hotel, a block north, lay claim to being Sydney's oldest pub.
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Art Gallery of NSW
With its elegant Classical Greek frontage and modern rear end, the state's main gallery has an outstanding permanent display of Australian art (including a substantial Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collection), a well-regarded Asian gallery, a Western collection starting from the 16th century, and some inspired temporary exhibits (prices vary).
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Arthouse Hotel
Once the School of Arts (1836), this beautifully restored, heritage-listed building houses a combination of the artistic and the alcoholic. There are regular exhibitions by emerging Australian artists in the Gallery bar, free life drawing in the Dome restaurant (Mondays from , bring your own media) and Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School 'where cabaret meets art' in the Attic Bar (around A$15 , Tuesdays from ). The main bar once housed a chapel.
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Artspace
This cutting-edge 'centre for experimentation' has changing contemporary avant-garde exhibitions that focus on modern Australian life and culture. It's an admirable attempt to liven things up in Sydney's art scene, with sometimes disturbing ideas stretching across the borders that stifle expression. Interdisciplinary works are a speciality; disabled access is excellent.
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Aurora Place
Renzo Piano designed this complex of offices (purported to be Australia's most expensive), apartments and shops, and its bold lines and graceful mass still look pretty impressive from a distance. Comparing Aurora Place with the simple timelessness of Australia Square makes for an interesting architectural study.
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Australia Square
Generally acknowledged as Sydney's first major office block, Australia Square was designed by local phenomenon Harry Seidler in the early 1960s. His 50-storey design has a distinctive circular form and airy open plaza at the base with shops below. Head up to Orbit in the 47th-floor revolving restaurant for breathtaking views that will only cost the price of a drink.
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Australian Centre for Photography
The not-for-profit ACP has wonderful regular exhibitions, plus its Project Wall , which highlights the work of up-and-coming artists. It's a good place to catch sight of Sydney's photographic talent, and you can pick up a copy of the centre's magazine, Photofile , while you're there. There's also a library and a stylish French bistro.
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Australian Galleries
Contemporary Australian painting and sculpture for cashed-up collectors; A-list artists have been jostling to hang their wares here for 50 years. Works on paper feature at the Glenmore Rd branch (24 Glenmore Rd).
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Australian Museum
This natural-history museum, established only 40 years after the First Fleet dropped anchor, has an excellent Australian wildlife collection (including some cool skeletons) and a gallery tracing Aboriginal history and the Dreamtime. There's a half-hour indigenous performance at noon and every Sunday, and a whole heap of fun programmes for kids. It's also wheelchair accessible.
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Australian National Maritime Museum
This museum is the place to learn about Australia's ongoing relationship with the sea. Inside, guided tours take place several times a day; or you can make your own way through the numerous displays, videos and installations, including a navy helicopter, a sailboat made of beer cans and the jet-propelled holder of the world speed record on water. Occasionally a replica ofJames Cook's Endeavour also drops anchor.
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Balls Head Reserve
Balls Head Reserve not only has great views of the harbour and skyline, but also wonderful waterline and inland paths, ancient Aboriginal rock paintings and carvings (although they're not easily discernible) and barbecue facilities. It gives a great idea of how pre-European Sydney once was. From Waverton train station turn left and follow Bay Rd, which becomes Balls Head Rd (just before the harbour, turn right). It's a ten-minute walk.
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Balmain Historic Buildings
Balmain's pretty streets are home to dozens of significant buildings, most of which are privately owned. The most notable is Hampton Villa (12b Grafton St), a marine villa in the Georgian style (1847). From 1888 to 1892 it was the home of NSW Premier Sir Henry Parkes. Nearby is Clontarf (1844, 4 Wallace St), an impressively restored house saved by local protests. At 179 Darling St is Sydney's oldest surviving lockup, the Watch House (1854)
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Barrenjoey Lighthouse
Located at the tip of the northern beaches peninsula (and in an annexe of Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park) is this historic lighthouse (1881). You'll need sturdy shoes for the steep 40-minute hike (no toilets!), but superb views across Pittwater await. On Sundays short tours (adult/child around A$3 /around A$2 ) start every half hour from - ; no need to book ahead.
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Bellevue Park
This quiet suburban park has brilliant views over Bondi and all the heads - North, South and Middle. When the early Irish convicts named it Vinegar Hill, after a battle in the 1798 Irish Rebellion, Governor Macquarie renamed it Bellevue Hill, after the beautiful views. The surrounding neighbourhood is home to a large Jewish community and some of Sydney's richest and most famous - including the Packer media clan and actress Toni Collette.
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Bondi Beach
Sydney's (indeed, Australia's) most famous beach, Bondi lures people from around the world with its promise of sun, sand, surf and exposed skin, and all just 8km from the CBD. The average water temperature is a pleasant 21°C. If you don't like it rough, there are saltwater swimming pools at either end. You can also see Aboriginal rock engravings a short walk north.
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Bondi Pavilion
'The Pav', just off the esplanade, is a 1929 Mediterranean Georgian Revival-style edifice. It has changing rooms, lockers and showers, as well as a theatre and gallery hosting cultural and community events, holiday entertainment for kids and a plethora of classes. Between 19th Dec and 2nd Jan, the Pavilion is taken over by a production company, so there are no community events during this time.
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Botany Bay National Park
This 456-hectare national park lies at the entrance of Botany Bay, 15km south of the Harbour. Here Captain Cook landed in 1770 and it was almost the site of Sydney on recommendation by naturalist Joseph Banks. When the First Fleet arrived in the height of summer 18 years later, the scorched vegetation and limited water supplies were a far cry from the paradise he had visited in winter.
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Brett Whiteley Studio
Down a small lane in a quiet part of the suburb hides the former studio of this renowned modern Australian artist. You'll be able to identify it by the two oversized matches (one burnt, one intact) at the door - a miniature version of his famous sculpture in The Domain . The studio houses a selection of Whiteley's work and has been preserved to show how the artist operated before his untimely death in 1992.
