You can't experience it until you've been thinking about it for a while. On your big trip Down Under, you will want to experience body-boarding at Bondi beach, catching a show at the Opera House, and zipping under the Harbour Bridge on a ferry.
Once you have tackled those, it is time to look at what else is available in the city. Whether you're visiting for the first time or the tenth, here are the best things to do.
Immerse yourself in the best experiences the world has to offer with our email newsletter delivered weekly into your inbox.The dining scene in Australia's largest city has never been better. Every pocket of the city has a restaurant that serves food from all over the world. If names weren't being dropped, it wouldn't be Sydney. The food scene in Australia is able to balance style with substance.
From the views to the service to the exquisite menu, Quay and Oncore are world-class diners. Nomad, Mr Wong, Cafe Paci, Long Chim, and seafood pioneers Saint Peter are just some of the amazing places to eat and drink in Australia. A cheap noodles night with BYO wine is just as good as a tuk tuk in the city.
The coathanger opened in 1932 and is loved by the people of Sydney. The best way to see this structure is on foot, as stairs and lifts can be climbed up the bridge from both shores. The most amazing thing to do is get on the train and walk back to the city.
On the popular BridgeClimb experience, you can either climb the southeastern pylon to the Pylon Lookout or ascend the arcs. You can now book a trip with an Indigenous storyteller who will share their perspective on the city and country, while you watch the harbor from high up.
The most famous building in Australia is designed by Jrn Utzon of the Danes. It is a commanding presence that has five performance spaces for dance, concerts, opera and theater. The most obvious way to experience the inside is to attend a performance, but you can also take a guided tour. There are tours aimed at kids, as well as backstage tours, a food focused tour, and one where guides will show you how to draw this famous sight.
One of the world's most well-known beaches is Bondi, with good waves and warm sea temperatures. Lets Go Surfing is a well-established surf school in North Bondi that caters to everyone. There are classes for people of all ages, from 7 to 15 years old, and from women only. Private tutoring is cheaper outside of the summer peak.
Australians aren't on the water so don't be a "kook" In the cooler months, you can enjoy a meal and watch the swimmers earn their stripes.
The heritage cottages that pepper the suburb's narrow streets were once a small fishing village. You can take a day trip from Circular Quay to South Head, where you can eat lunch at Doyle's or have a drink at the beach club.
There is a clifftop lookout on the ocean side. The Camp Cove beach is close to the ferry and is a good place to take a dip. Lady Bay Beach is a nudist beach on the west side of the bluff that you can use if you forget to pack your swimsuit.
There are regular ferry services, a campground, rental accommodation and two cafe-bars on Cockatoo Island, which was opened to the public in 2007. The island had a shipyard, a convict prison and a naval base.
There is a tunnel that leads through the middle of the island and you can see the old prison. Most of the original sandstone buildings were stripped of their roofs during WWII. After being forgotten in the 1890s, the solitary confinement cells were found here. There are a variety of tours from the Visitor Centre.
You can either take a tour of the murals or do it yourself with an app. Local Sauce has come up with a self-guided tour that puts the spotlight on female artists who are often overlooked. Recommendations for cafes where you can re-caffeinate along the way are also provided as well as covering the artists behind the works. They offer street art and food tours.
You can take in a drag show in Australia's self-proclaimed LGBTQIA+ capital. A more mainstream audience has discovered the subverting performances of drag queens and kings due to the popularity of the show Drag Race. Popular queens are able to command the queue.
You can enjoy a show, eat out or play a game of bingo in the city. The inner north and west districts of the city are home to many of the city's queer venues.
It may come as a surprise to find an art form that's so old in a modern city, but a giant gallery for Aboriginal art can be found on top of the Opera House. Not much attention was given to such things until recently. With dot paintings from distant deserts being celebrated, Sydneysiders have begun to wake up to the treasure trove in their own backyard. You can find rock art on the headlands around the harbor, on the coast, and in nearby national parks.
The institution is well-loved and plays an important role in the society of the city. There are a lot of international touring exhibitions and special events. While the permanent collection has a strong collection of European and Australian art, the highlights are the contemporary Indigenous gallery in the basement and the collection of 20th-century Australian art.
White Rabbit is located behind the Central Park development in Chippendale. One of the world's largest collections of cutting-edge, contemporary Chinese art has been amassed by a billionaire philanthropist. Only a small portion of the gallery can be viewed at a time. There is art here that is sexy and funny. There is an on-site cafe that serves specialty tea and food.
George Street and Pitt Street are where the bulk of the city shopping takes place. There are several ornate Victorian-era arcades to look at while you browse.
There are nearly 200 shops in the Queen Victoria Building, including well-known international brands, and it is a city block. There is no doubt that the building is the most beautiful shopping center in Australia.
You can check out the balconies, Byzantine copper domes, stained-glass shopfronts, mosaic floors, the replica crown jewels, the ballroom, and the hyperkitsch animated Royal Clock.
The New Year's Eve fireworks display over the harbor is one of the highlights of the night. The lights go up on the biggest party of them all: the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.
In the winter, there are opening nights for fashion, literature, and film festivals, and in May, the town is lit up with projections and lights. Try to get to a night game for the friendly atmosphere and epic crowds during the football finals season.
Store Beach is a hidden gem that is only accessible by water. It will take half an hour to 45 minutes to get to the beach from the kayak centre. The view of North Harbour is bushy and gives the impression that you have left the city completely.
Access is not allowed from dusk to dawn as this is a breeding area for fairy penguins. The visitors are urged to leave the beach in the same condition they found it in. There is plenty of water.
There are two components to this walk, a 10 km western stretch and a 9 km eastern loop around North Head. There is a spectacular section of unspoiled Sydney Harbour National Park to the west. It leaves Clontarf and goes to the Spit Bridge.
The walk takes between 212 and 312 hours. You can go through the bush to the Fairfax Lookout. Head back via Australia's Memorial Walk and WWII gun emplacements to the Bluefish Track after walking from the lookout. You can go back to the beach via the beach. You can get a map from the information center.
The opera house's garden was established in 1816 and features plants from around the world. The Calyx is an exhibition space that features a glasshouse gallery with a wall of greenery and temporary plant-themed exhibitions. You can get a park map at any of the entrances.
The garden contains the site of the colony's first vegetable patch, but its history goes back much further. Before the convicts arrived, this was an initiation ground for the Gadigal people, so book a tour with a First Nations guide to learn about Indigenous bush foods.
The setting for the TV soap Home and Away is located in Palm Beach. The Barrenjoey Lighthouse is located in the northern part of the headland. The suburb of Palm Beach has a magnificent ocean beach and a pleasant strip on Pittwater, which is good for young kids.
You can take ferries to other Pittwater destinations from here. If you want to get to the lighthouse, you can either take shorter stairs or a convict-built track that will take you to the top. It is a great place to watch whales in winter.
In the district known as The Rocks, there was a shanty town on a rocky shore. More than a few of the pubs that are still operating are still operating as pubs. The place is overrun with tacky, overpriced koala soft-toy stores and package tourists, but there is a great museum and art gallery here as well. The Glenmore is a great place to eat or drink because of its rooftop views of the city. The Argyle Cut leads to the rejuvenated port area of Walsh Bay.
In the late 19th century, the largest park in Australia was scratched out of the sand in a Victorian style. Joggers, cyclists, rollerbladers and horse riders can be found at the park. There is an equestrian center that offers trail rides for children and adults. It's not necessary to have prior riding experience, but booking is. Children will love the adventures to be had at the Ian Potter Children's Wild Play Garden.
The 6 km walk from Bondi Beach along the clifftops past the inlets at Tamarama, Bronte and Clovelly has panoramic views, patrolled beaches and waterside parks. If the waves at the beach are ferocious, you can swim in one of the ocean pools at the north end of the beach. There is a lot of water and a swimsuit.
The home of the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is a 2.5 km walk from the central business district of the city. The members-only cafe on the deck overlooks multi-million dollar yachts and serves huge portions of fish and chips. The visitors can sign in.
The article was last updated on August 3, 2022.
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