Sydney guide

Cosmopolitan and sophisticated, Sydney is the commercial capital of Australia with the sights, culture, dining and nightlife to prove it — all set against a backdrop of majestic beaches and harbour views that give Rio a run for its money.
With the exception of Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock) and the Great Barrier Reef, this antipodean arcadia is where you’ll find most of Australia’s most famous landmarks, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House and Bondi Beach. You’d be red-faced if you returned home without having spied any of those iconic sights, which makes Sydney an essential stop on any Down Under itinerary.
Sydney is a great base to explore the rest of New South Wales too. From here you can take day trips to the world-renowned Hunter Valley wine region, or to the Blue Mountains, draped in tobacco-smoke veils of eucalyptus mist. You can also set off on longer trips to the formerly hippy, but now plain hip Byron Bay, or the striking, wild beaches that surround Jervis Bay, where quizzical kangaroos hang around on the sands right beside you.
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Many of Sydney’s main attractions surround its natural harbour, and there are heaps of ways to explore it. Mingle with the locals and take the slow ferry from Circular Quay to Manly for the most cost-effective scenic tour of the waterfront area, and the opportunity to discover the laid-back beach vibes of one of Sydney’s coolest suburbs. Alternatively, walk the celebrated six-mile Spit Bridge to Manly Beach trail for sea views, secluded coves, and 1,000-year-old Aboriginal rock engravings. Time your walk to finish at Manly Wharf at sunset from July to February, and watch the only mainland breeding colony of little penguins in New South Wales rafting in on the surf to return to their nests, which is just as cute as it sounds.
From May to November, wildlife enthusiasts can also visit Arabanoo Lookout at Dobroyd Head, located within the Sydney Harbour National Park, for the chance to spot migrating whales.
The Opera House is, remarkably, even more impressive up close, covered as it is with a mosaic of more than a million tiles. Similarly, the most exciting way to admire Sydney Harbour Bridge is to physically get to grips with it, by walking across its apex. It’s less terrifying than it sounds — the structure is actually topped by a series of maintenance walkways and the BridgeClimb experience sees visitors don overalls, slip on climbing harnesses and clip themselves to this world-famous “coat hanger” for a walk around the top that — even for many acrophobics — is too serene to be scary.
Also in the central business district (CBD) you’ll find the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which is one of Australia’s most popular museums and includes important collections of Aboriginal, Australian and Asian art, and the Royal Botanic Gardens, which — along with its horticultural delights — is also home to rainbow lorikeets and scores of inquisitive sulphur-crested cockatoos that are sure to take an interest in you.
There’s a bed for all budgets in Sydney. Both the CBD and Circular Quay run the gamut from five-star hotels and serviced apartments to backpacker lodgings and B&Bs. You can even find a youth hostel with views of the Opera House. Oddly, you’re more likely to find complementary wi-fi in the city’s cheaper stays.
The neighbourhood known as The Rocks is one of the best places to hole up if you want everything on your doorstep. A stone’s throw from the harbour, Circular Quay and the city centre, it retains a surprisingly suburban vibe, which means you’ll still get a good night’s sleep. Here you’ll find boutique brownstones, plus luxury waterfront suites that boast close-up views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and glimpses of that iconic Opera House.
Just to the east of the city centre, the leafy neighbourhoods of Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay feel a world away from the bustling CBD, offering boutique hotels and B&Bs in heritage mansions and Victorian terraces, yet you can still snatch views of the Sydney skyline from its art deco cafés.
Kings Cross, glowing neon-red under the neighbourhood’s landmark, gigantic Coca-Cola billboard, is traditionally the most uncouth part of Sydney, and while it’s been gentrified over recent years, it still revels in its vice-city credentials. You’ll find designer hotels jostling for space beside backpacker haunts, diverse nightlife, and no shortage of people watching.
The refined neighbourhoods of Darlinghurst and Surry Hills are brimming with B&Bs, boutique boltholes, bars and brasseries, offering some of the city’s best dining options. Stay here and you’re also conveniently located for train trips out of the city, such as the epic Indian Pacific rail route.
Forget stereotypes of coal-blackened beef washed down with weak lager on Bondi Beach — today’s Australians are zealous about gastronomic excellence and, as a global city, Sydney offers world-class international dining.
The city’s celebrity chefs — from Kylie Kwong to Neil Perry — tend to focus on Asian cuisine, so it’s no surprise that the centre is packed with Asian eats, from Korean kimchi to Malaysian satays.
You’ll find a mix throughout the city, from Modern Australian (Mod Oz) cookery to French, Italian, fusion and vegan options. Surry Hills is the place to go for some of Sydney’s finest dining from up-and-coming chefs and foodie favourites alike.
For pastries and bakeries stroll over to the inner suburbs. Flour & Stone, in the wonderfully named Woolloomooloo neighbourhood, is universally acclaimed as one of Sydney’s best bakeries. Get there early to sample their gourmet take on the national cake: panna cotta lamingtons.
Locals in the know spend their evenings in the city’s endless string of secret speakeasies and unmarked cocktail bars that have become fashionable since subterranean stalwart of the scene, the Baxter Inn — hidden behind an unmarked door down a dark alley — made it cool back in 2011. Look carefully (or, better still, ask a Sydneysider) and you can find blues bars serving local brews, inauspiciously concealed behind butcher’s shop façades, a 1950s Hawaiian tiki bar hidden behind a Thai restaurant shopfront,or a British-inspired gin parlour that’s accessed through a functioning barber shop.
Once you start to really explore Sydney you’ll find that it’s a huge city, sprawling well beyond the downtown area on both sides of the harbour, and there are countless surprises to be found in its suburbs.
When you make the compulsory trip to Bondi Beach in the city’s eastern suburbs, leave enough time to walk the four-mile Bondi to Coogee coastal path, which offers some of Sydney’s most memorable views across cliffs, bays, beaches, and rock pools.
While you’re south of the city centre, check out Newtown too. It’s the undisputed hipster capital of Sydney and its main drag, King Street, is lined with street art, boutique gifts, vintage clothes shops, vinyl record stores, and vegan butcher shops.
You’ll be surprised to find that the North Shore — just over the other side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from downtown — is remarkably quiet and refined, and makes a great place to view one of the world’s most famous skylines in serenity.
At the entrance to Sydney Harbour, on the North Head peninsula of Sydney Harbour National Park, you’ll find the North Head Quarantine Station, which was operational from 1832 right through to 1984. As the first safe anchorage point inside the Heads — but far enough from the city to contain any outbreak — it was here that ship-borne immigrants were screened and quarantined if their vessel was suspected of carrying disease. Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, it now all feels a little closer to home, but the site offers a unique perspective on the harbour and its history, plus bucolic beauty to lighten the mood.
These days the buildings have been transformed into accommodations more reminiscent of a posh Butlin’s than of a medical facility.
From here the Northern Beaches, which offer great surfing spots, secluded bays and family day-trip getaways, stretch for 12 miles from Manly to northernmost Palm Beach, which doubles as Summer Bay in TV soap Home and Away.
Australia’s currency is the Australian dollar and cash machines can be found throughout the city. As an estimate when shopping, halve the price in Aussie dollars to figure out what you’re spending in sterling. Expect London prices.
Much like London’s Oyster, Sydney’s Opal card allows visitors to hop on and off the city’s public transportation, from buses to the light rail, and can be used for trips out of the city too.
Inspired to visit Sydney but yet to book your trip? Here are the best packages from BA Holidays and Expedia. These are the best tours of Sydney from our trusted partners.
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