CITY GUIDE

A criminally good time in Sydney: rocks, roars and genteel rumpus

A list of 12 fun things to do in Sydney with friends, family and kids — avoiding celebrity traps — in this vibrant city where breathtaking sights await at every corner.

by William Mellor

September 2024

SEE ALSO Sydney business hotels | Outback Guide | Bangkok new hotels review | Bangkok sky bars | Bali fun guide | Phuket resorts review | El Nido fun guide | Asian resort weddings | Vietnam resorts | Maldives resorts review | Mergui island guide

The Sydney Bridge Climb may appear daunting to many but people of all ages get up top for a 360-degree view of the harbour and the Opera House/ photo: Sydney Bridge Climb.

ON HER 2024 Australia tour, the planet’s most popular trend-setting songstress decided to spend a day at ‘Sydney Zoo’.  Taylor Swift liked it so much that she returned the next day with her boyfriend, on a Taylor-made tour. The paparazzi shots charmed millions of Swifties. But before you join the swarm, be warned, the five-year-old animal park grandly named Sydney Zoo, is actually in a far-flung western suburb some 30km from downtown. Sure, a visit to the zoo is de rigueur for families. And there is a better alernative. More on that as we dive into the real Sydney with these 12 must-dos.

First, if like me, you aren’t enamoured of red-eye schedules, consider flying into Sydney on Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines from the Lion City, Malaysia Airlines from Kuala Lumpur or Thai Airways from Bangkok. These carriers offer a few daytime departures that arrive at a reasonable hour in the evening, when the airport is less stretched and the so-called smart arrival procedures are easier to navigate. Australia’s national carrier Qantas departs from Asian cities mostly at night, arriving in Sydney at the crack of dawn when the airport is busiest.

Do pick up some Aussie dollars before you leave home as Sydney’s banks and money changers are among the least competitive anywhere. While plastic is handy, quite a few restaurants I visited offered 10 percent discounts for cash.

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Make sure you have the Uber app on your phone. The pickup location is a short, well-signposted walk from arrivals. Destinations close to the airport may be as cheap as A$30 (US$1=A$1.48); with downtown spots closer to A$50, depending on the time. There’s also a metered taxi stand. A cheaper option is to use the efficient 13-minute rail service from directly below the international terminal. Credit cards are fine for most fares but you might fill up a stored value Opal card (similar to an Octopus card in Hong Kong) available free at the station.

On then to beds, bars, beer, boats, beaches, and bears in our big 12 Sydney fun guide.

The Park Hyatt Sydney (left) offers grand within-reach views of Sydney Opera House and the harbour along with within-reach rates, while Crown Tower (centre) offers some vertical perspective; and The Langham Sydney (right) doles out its pastel charm.

1 PLACE TO PARK: A leading Sydney paper gushes that Crown Towers is “arguably one of the city’s two genuine five-star plus international hotels” (the other being the Edwardian baroque Capella Sydney, a gorgeous converted century-old sandstone building that was once a government office). Taylor Swift stayed at Crown Towers, above Sydney’s most famous casino, on the mysterious 88th floor of a 75-storey building where the rate for the Presidential Villa is an astronomical A$38,888 (a lot of lucky eights for US$26,000).

I would recommend instead a harbour view room at the low-rise Park Hyatt Sydney (www.hyatt.com) in the historic Rocks precinct, where, in 1788, the city’s history as a penal colony for British convicts began. Unlike skyscraper hotels in which guests are separated from the view by glass and sheer distance from the ground, the Park Hyatt offers private balconies directly opposite the iconic Sydney Opera House, its white sails glistening from across the cove, seemingly within touching distance. It costs around US$700 a night for a million-dollar view.

I also love the marbled, chandeliered elegance of The Langham, Sydney (www.langhamhotels.com), also in The Rocks and walking distance to everything. I’d give either of these preference ahead of the nearby Shangri-la (formerly an ANA hotel and less spacious than its Asian counterparts) or the Four Seasons despite the impressive views from both.

2 CLIMB EVERY BRIDGE: Climb to the 134m summit of the upper arch of Sydney Harbour Bridge. If it sounds scary, it isn’t — even for borderline vertigo sufferers. Absolutely exhilarating. And, when you get to the top, the 360-degree views are to die for. Indeed the entire three-hour walk up and down is so enthralling that you’ll hardly notice the (mostly) gentle ascent. BridgeClimb Sydney (www.bridgeclimb.com) has been running tours since 1998 and offers a variety of climbs at different times of the day and night. I recommend the dawn climb in which you reach the summit as the sun rises over Sydney Heads, offering a unique gun-barrel view down the harbour past the Opera House towards the sea. As long as you are older than eight, age isn’t a barrier. Centenarians (and this ageing journalist) have done the climb. Expect to pay about A$400.

3 SING OUT SISTER: Having stared across at the Sydney Opera House, you have to actually visit this extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage building. Take a guided tour or, better still, take in an opera, ballet or whatever cultural performance is on offer, not forgetting to grab a pre or post-show drink at the famed waterside Opera Bar. If you’re in Sydney in May or June, time it to see the annual Vivid Sydney light festival when each night the sails are illuminated in vibrant colours.

Manly Beach is one of Sydney's finest and most famous strips of sand. It is a tony neighbourhood a scenic wallet-friendly ferry ride away from Circular Quay.

4 FERRY TALE COMES TRUE: Use the Circular Quay ferry wharf to criss-cross Sydney harbour by public ferry, choosing whatever route takes your fancy. Head west to Cockatoo Island (another great camping option) or Balmain and you will pass directly under the bridge you have just climbed. Head east to Manly to reach one of Sydney’s best and most famous beaches. Forget the expensive private coffee, lunch, dinner and booze cruises. A simple, cheap harbour ferry trip offers the same view at a fraction of the price.

5 ROAR AND SNORE: Visit the accessible and stunning century-old non-profit Taronga Zoo (taronga.org.au/sydney-zoo). Apart from being a great place to look at animals, it occupies a dress circle location on sparkling Sydney Harbour, just a short ferry ride from downtown Circular Quay. The zoo is also a serious accommodation option for visitors. Not only are there luxe rooms on site, you can also sleep overnight in safari-style tents, drifting off to the sort of animal sounds you usually only hear at an African watering hole or an Australian billabong. Taronga calls the experience “Roar and Snore” and it’s just about the closest thing to a safari experience you’ll find this side of  the Serengeti.

Add to the sheer range of wildlife — from lions, giraffes, tigers, elephants and bears to Australian koalas, kangaroos, platypuses and dingoes — a magical location on the shore of one of the world’s most photogenic harbours. You can get to Taronga by car, bus or ferry.

6 SAIL EAST: Still spoking out of Circular Quay, the ferry to Watsons Bay is a must. Why? Sailing east, it hugs the harbour’s southern shore enabling passengers to eyeball some jaw-droppingly expensive properties that line the waterfront. Then enjoy similar views while eating fish and chips at Doyles on the Beach (www.doyles.com.au), which claims to have been in business since 1885, washed down with a beer or glass of chilled rose at the neighbouring Watsons Bay Hotel (watsonsbayhotel.com.au). Touristy, but delightful.

7 THE MUNCH BUNCH: Which brings us to more food and drink options. Sydney has a brand new Metro train line, which is perfect for a pub crawl. The local State Transport Minister recently demonstrated this by bar hopping from Sol Bread & Wine (solbreadandwine.sydney) in North Sydney to Gasoline Pony (gasolinepony.com) Marrickville in Sydney’s inner west, stopping off en route at Henry Deane (hotelpalisade.com.au), a rooftop bar at Millers Point, adjacent to The Rocks.

At Crown Towers, Taylor got it right dining at the fine Japanese restaurant Nobu. She also found her way to a cute trattoria in hip inner city Surry Hills, Pellegrino 2000 (pellegrino2000.com). Can’t disagree with either of those. She did miss out on Speedos Café (speedoscafe.com.au) at Bondi, once said to be the world’s most instagrammable café. Sydney’s numerous small hidden bars are always worth a try. At a great secret rooftop bar called Old Mates Place (oldmates.sydney), I soon discovered that “secret” is relative. “It’s a secret bar that everyone knows about,” I was told helpfully. A good place for a drink, though.

The well stocked and accessible Taronga Zoo (left) is the nearest you can get to a genuine safari experience in town — and with fine harbour views; Circular Quay (centre) is a popular hub for ferries and boat rides spoking out everywhere; Old Mates Place (right) is a secret — but it's all relative.

8 BEACH WITHIN REACH: This brings us to that most iconic of Sydney attractions, the beaches. OK, everyone knows about Bondi and Manly, the two great ocean surf beaches closest to the city.  I would recommend  a swim at less well known Congwong Beach at La Perouse or a snorkel or scuba dive at nearby Bare Island, where parts of Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission Impossible 2’ were filmed. Inside Sydney Harbour, Redleaf Pool at Woollahra is charming. Or head south to Cronulla and catch an ancient ferry across Port Hacking to Bundeena (bundeenainfo.com), a village with a beautiful beach that’s surrounded on the other three sides by the Royal National Park.

Or take in five great beaches by walking the six kilometre coastal track from Bondi to Coogee, passing by Tamarama, Bronte and Clovelly beaches enroute. As a bonus, you’ll also pass historic Waverley Cemetery, where such famous Australians as poet Henry Lawson and cricketer Victor Trumper are buried. A path less travelled is on the other side of the harbour, where a gorgeous 10km trail connects the Spit Bridge to Manly Beach.

9 SAWASDEE SUBURB: For me, though, the true delight of Sydney is its patchwork of suburbs where migrants from every part of the world settled, leaving their cultural and culinary footprints behind even when they moved on. Of course, everyone has heard of Sydney’s sprawling Chinatown between the CBD and Central station. Many people also know about the satellite Chinatowns in suburbs such as Chatswood and Ashfield. Fewer people are aware, though, of the city’s officially designated Thai Town — only the second in the world after Los Angeles (there’s a street sign to prove it). In Thai Town, you’ll find superb and innovative Thai food at Chat Thai (www.chatthai.com.au) and Boon Café, a restaurant and fresh produce chain founded by the late Amy Chanta and continued by her daughter, Palisa Anderson.

You’ll also find the old-style Australian pub C-Bar Chamberlain Hotel (Chamberlain-Hotel).  Here, the management, clientele, food and live music is Thai.

Thai Town is far from unique. Up the road you will find a semi-official Korea Town. Then in suburbia, there’s Marrickville (Greek and Vietnamese), Campsie (also Korean), Italian (Leichhardt), Cabramatta (Vietnamese), Harris Park (Indian) and Lebanese is all over the place. And that’s to name a few. Try Lebanese at The Prophet Restaurant (theprophetrestaurant.com in Surry Hills, or the 70-year-old Bar Italia (baritalia.net.au) in Leichhardt, where management proudly proclaims that cash is still king and when ordering coffee, there is “no skim, no soy, no light milk.” You may find yourself crossing the so-called “latte line” that supposedly divides Sydney’s hipper, wealthier suburbs from the less affluent parts of city. Fear not. The food is often better and cheaper on the other side anyway.

10 WALK THE WALK: Having seen Sydney from the top of the bridge and from the harbour and its beaches, get your bearings at street level by taking a three-hour Sydney Sights Free Walking Tour (imfree.tours/sydney) that starts at Town Hall square and ends at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay. Yes, that’s right, free. At the end, you can simply walk away or, they hope, pay what you think it was worth. From beginning to end, it’s jam packed with fascinating historical anecdotes. My normally parsimonious friends from London happily paid A$20 each — fine testimony indeed.

It is always worthwhile to do a ferry ride to Bundeena (centre left), surrounded by a national park; The C bar Chamberlain Hotel (far left) is an all-Thai pub experience; The Rocks heritage neghbourhood (centre right) is right under Sydney Harbour Bridge; and more spicy food in Thai Town at Chat Thai (far right).

11 ON THE ROCKS: While there are several tours of The Rocks, I would strongly recommend doing this part of Sydney by yourself. Once a slum and now a multi-pronged tourism hub, the convict-hewn stone buildings, narrow passages and stairways reek of history. Attractions range from the acclaimed Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (www.mca.com.au) to some of Sydney’s oldest and most colourful pubs with names like The Fortune of War. When seeking cultural sustenance, I visit to the former, but when in need of food and drink, I find myself drawn to brewery hotel The Lord Nelson (lordnelsonbrewery.com/discover), which has a wide choice of its own ales to help wash down generous plates of meat pie, mashed potato and mushy peas.

12 JUST FISHING: It may be your last chance to visit the Sydney Fish Market (www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au) in its present incarnation. In the next year or so, the old markets will have been replaced by a bigger and better version next door. A vast improvement, no doubt. But regular visitors may miss the frenetic, heart-pumping surge of humanity as Sydneysiders jostle for the catch of the day or for space at a table to enjoy a plate of freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters. Enjoy our 12 must-dos Sydney fun guide.

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