Must-see attractions in Sydney

  • Balls Head Reserve

    Sydney

    Scruffy, bushy Balls Head Reserve not only has great views of the harbour, the city skyline and the industrial relics on Goat Island, it also has a wiggly…

  • Mary MacKillop Place

    Sydney

    Sydney has produced many famous sinners but this museum tells the life story of St Mary of the Cross (aka Mary MacKillop), Australia’s only Catholic saint…

  • Entertainment Quarter

    Sydney

    If we were feeling cynical, we might say that the purpose-built Entertainment Quarter is a vacuous, self-perpetuating specimen of lightweight global…

  • Elkington Park

    Sydney

    If Balmain’s historic cuteness doesn’t float your boat, head to Elkington Park, named in 1883 after a local politician. It slopes down towards the water,…

  • Shark Island

    Sydney

    Little Shark Island, off Rose Bay, makes a great picnic getaway. There's not a lot here except for toilets and drinking water – and at 250m by 100m, you…

  • Rainbow Crossing

    Surry Hills & Darlinghurst

    Unveiled just in time to celebrate 2019's Mardi Gras, Sydney’s proud arching rainbow crossing is the result of a six-year global campaign to reinstate the…

  • St Patrick’s College

    Manly

    Southeast of Manly’s centre, this enormous Gothic Revival college (1889) lords over the rooftops from its hillside position. It used to be a seminary but…

  • Queen Street

    Sydney

    Despite its status as the premier antique-shopping strip in Australia (the first shop opened in 1957), tree-lined Queen St retains a village vibe, with…

  • Taylor Square

    Surry Hills & Darlinghurst

    You know it’s been a rough night if you wake up in Taylor Sq – a vaguely defined paved area straddling the gay hub of Oxford St. The rainbow flag flies…

  • Corso

    Manly

    The quickest route from the Manly ferry terminal to Manly’s ocean beach is along the Corso, a part-pedestrian mall lined with surf shops, pubs and sushi…

  • Aboriginal Rock Engravings

    Sydney

    On the clifftop fairways of Bondi Golf & Diggers Club, a short walk north from Bondi Beach, lies a flat patch of rock carved by the Eora Aboriginal people…

  • Federation Pavilion

    Sydney

    Among the wide formal avenues of Centennial Park is the domed Federation Pavilion – the spot where Australia was officially proclaimed a nation (on 1…

  • Double Bay

    Sydney

    Manicured Double Bay, an emblem of Sydney's wealthy Eastern Suburbs, is a bastion of blue-rinse ladies and flashy, nouveau-riche types. There's a lively…

  • Strickland House

    Sydney

    There are wonderful harbour views from the grounds of Strickland House (1856), which are now a public park. It sits above sweet little Milk Beach. Built…

  • Bellevue Park

    Sydney

    This quiet suburban park has killer views over Bondi and all the heads: North, South and Middle. Early Irish convicts named it Vinegar Hill, after a…

  • Jubilee & Bicentennial Parks

    Newtown & the Inner West

    These two rolling, grassy parks merge together to offer some tasty views across Rozelle Bay, and of both the Anzac and Harbour Bridges. Massive fig and…

  • Cremorne Point

    Sydney

    Cremorne Point (technically Robertsons Point; Woolwarra-jurng to the Eora people) is a beaut spot for a picnic on grassy Cremorne Reserve, or for a swim…

  • St John’s Church

    Surry Hills & Darlinghurst

    This lovely neo-Gothic sandstone church (1858) makes for a hushed escape from the urban jangle of Darlinghurst Rd. There's some fine stained glass; the…

  • Fairy Bower Beach

    Manly

    Indulge your mermaid fantasies (the more seemly ones at least) in the pretty, triangular ocean pool set into the rocky shoreline here. The life-size sea…

  • Mortuary Station

    Newtown & the Inner West

    This ornate disused Victorian sandstone station used to be the departure point for funeral trains out to the Rookwood cemetery in Sydney's west. It's a…

  • Watch House

    Sydney

    One of Balmain's many notable historic buildings, the Watch House, is Sydney’s oldest surviving lockup (1854). It now operates on Saturdays (combine it…

  • Lindesay

    Sydney

    Lindesay is rarely open, but, aside from Nicole Kidman inviting you in for tea, this is probably your best chance to look inside an actual Darling Point…

  • Hambledon Cottage

    Sydney

    Surrounded by 200-year-old camphor laurels and English oaks, this historic cottage was built in 1824 for the Macarthurs’ daughter’s governess and was…

  • Goat Island

    Sydney

    Goat Island, west of the Harbour Bridge, has been a shipyard, a quarantine station and a gunpowder depot in its previous lives. Heritage tours are offered…

  • Dr Chau Chak Wing Building

    Newtown & the Inner West

    Opened in 2015, this university business school was donated by the father of an alumnus and designed by Frank Gehry. It's a striking sight, all windows…

  • Ben Buckler Point

    Sydney

    Forming the northern tip of the Bondi horseshoe, this point offers wonderful views of the entire beach. The 235-tonne, car-sized rock near the beach’s…

  • Rushcutters Bay Park

    Sydney

    Surrounded by enormous Moreton Bay fig trees, luxury yachts and pampered pooches, this unpretentious waterfront park is a beaut spot for a quiet stroll,…

  • Middle Head

    Sydney

    Offering super harbour views and a look straight out to sea between North and South Head, this bushy headland is riddled with fortifications, some dating…

  • Chowder Bay Beach

    Sydney

    A beautiful place to enjoy scenic harbour beach swims with views of Fort Denison, Chowder Bay is also a convenient rest point on the coastal walk between…

  • Yurulbin Point

    Sydney

    On the northern tip of the Balmain peninsula by the Birchgrove ferry slip, this narrow point stretches to within 300m of the North Shore. Once called Long…

  • Camperdown Cemetery

    Newtown & the Inner West

    Take a self-guided tour beyond the monstrous 1848 fig tree into this dark, eerily unkempt cemetery next to St Stephens Church. Famous Australians buried…

  • Kirribilli House

    Sydney

    The official Sydney residence of the Australian prime minister, this Gothic Revival–style mansion is next to the Governor General's residence, Admiralty…

  • Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation

    Sydney

    After 21 years as a cutting-edge commercial gallery, Sherman celebrated its coming-of-age by reopening as a not-for-profit gallery. The focus is on…

  • Manly Art Gallery & Museum

    Manly

    A short stroll from Manly Wharf, this passionately managed community gallery maintains a local focus, with changing, locally relevant exhibitions and a…

  • Verge Gallery

    Newtown & the Inner West

    Part of the University of Sydney, this gallery has two exhibition spaces that show challenging, often avant-garde exhibitions by contemporary artists…

  • Lady Bay

    Sydney

    Also known as Lady Jane, this diminutive gay nudist beach sits at the bottom of a cliff, on top of which (somewhat ironically) is a Royal Australian Navy…

  • Five Ways

    Sydney

    While Oxford St is the main drag, this five-way intersection is in many ways the centre of Paddington life. Smartly dressed locals do coffee and shopping…

  • Washaway Beach

    Manly

    Rugged and beautiful, Washaway is a secluded little spot within Sydney Harbour National Park, near Grotto Point on the Manly Scenic Walkway. As its name…

  • Admiralty House

    Sydney

    Australia's governor-general, the local representative of the monarchy, officially resides in this waterside mansion (1846), best admired from the water…

  • Obelisk Beach

    Sydney

    An isolated gay and nudist beach surrounded by bushland in the Middle Head section of Sydney Harbour National Park. It loses the sun quickly in the…

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