Best of Sydney

As a part of my Best of Australia recommendations, I'll take you through my recommended things to do, places to see and restaurants to visit in Sydney, Australia's biggest city.

Sights

• Opera House – you can walk around it (free) or take a tour (~$80)
• Harbour Bridge – I don’t recommend the bridge climb ($175+). You can climb the pylon for $10, that is a must do.
• Customs House – in Circular Quay… just walk in the lobby to see a small scale model of the city under the glass floor. Only takes 5 minutes and is pretty cool. It gives you a good perspective of the city
• Bondi to Coogee coastal walk – 6 km paved path. My favorite thing to do in the city
• Ferry from Circular Quay to Manly Beach - $12 round trip, awesome views of harbor and back of Opera House
• Botanical Garden – free. Find the trees where all of the bats sleep.
• Hyde Park – free. Middle of the city. Have a picnic or walk around late at night. Check for food, art and music festivals that sometimes come here.
• World of Wildlife or Taronga Zoo – both are cool… WoW has only Aussie animals and is more accessible. You can touch some of the animals. Taronga is massive and you get there on a quick ferry ride. It takes hours to see everything and includes animals from all over. Best zoo I’ve ever been to.
• Bondi Beach – relax in the sun and take some surfing lessons (~$75+) if you have time

Other options if you have time

• Featherdale Wildlife Preserve
• Blue Mountains tour
• Sydney Tower
• Manly to Spit coastal walk
• Chinatown
• Restaurants
• Din Tai Fung (dumplings)
• Madang (Korean)
• Mamak (Malay)
• Pancakes on the Rocks
• Longrain (Thai)

Nightlife

• Opera Bar – awesome location just next to the Opera House. Full view of the bridge as well.
• Sky Bar (top of the casino) – great view of the Sydney skyline at night
• Ivy – upper crust club where everyone dresses to the nines, there are lines to get in, cover charges and high priced drinks. Very popular but if that’s not your scene, stay away
• Surry Hills – my neighborhood to go out. There are lots of bars within walking distance: Clock Hotel, Flinders Street Bar, White Horse, Beresford, Crown
• King’s Cross – crazy nightlife area. Just look for the massive Time Square-esque Coca-Cola sign. If it’s 10 pm or 5 am, there’s always something going on here. Think Bourbon Street meets the big city. I always had a good time going there. Best bars: Goldfish, Sugar Mill, World Bar, Hugo’s, Piano Room
• Coogee Bay Hotel – this place gets a lot of bad press because it used to be a pretty rough place. It was my local pub and it is really big. There is a beer garden, dance club, and sports bar all located within the bar. It’s a great place to relax and get some pub food during the day as well.

Accommodation

• I only stayed at the Circular Quay Marriott, so I can’t offer any other specific recommendations. Staying in the CBD (central business district) is going to be more expensive, but you won’t have to take as many taxis or buses to see the sights. There are a couple of hotels that overlook Hyde Park that looked good, but again, you’re going to pay more for those.
• Staying near the coast is nice as well, but accommodation can be hit or miss. Some places are geared toward backpackers and won’t be as nice. They also can be too close to pubs which can cause noise at night. There are some really nice places with access to and views of the water. If you want, just check with me before you book and I can give you a more specific opinion.