Sydney

Sydney was my home for 33 years and I loved living there. These days I love to visit.

Without the harbour, I reckon it would be just another city - yes, the beaches are terrific, the food wonderful and the atmosphere is both vibrant and laid back, but its heart is the glorious harbour.

I guess that's why four of my top five attractions are on or around the harbour.

Top Five

1. BridgeClimb
2. Manly (by ferry)
3. The Hawkesbury & Kuring-gai Chase
4. Taronga Zoo
5. The Rocks & Opera House

Suggestions

Darling Harbour is a good place to base yourself if you want to explore the city attractions on foot.

If you fancy a gamble it’s a short walk to Star City, or you can stroll to Chinatown. Chinatown’s eateries cater for all budgets from food halls to sophisticated dining. The best value is probably somewhere in-between. If in doubt, look for where the locals are eating and check the menu before taking a seat. Just up Liverpool St is the much smaller ‘Spanish Town’.

The Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney Aquarium, Powerhouse Museum, Imax Theatre and Entertainment Centre are also at your doorstep. Tumbalong Park is a grassy area in the centre of the precinct that hosts free lunchtime and weekend concerts.

The Chinese Garden is the largest outside China and just the place to sit and relax. Have a quiet cup of tea overlooking the lotus pond. For the non-tea minded, the Pumphouse Restaurant and Bar serves beer that has been brewed on the premises. There’s an amazing choice of dining options: there’s Harbourside, on one side of the harbour, and on the other, the curious mix of bustling but laid-back Cockle Bay and King Street Wharf.

Just over the hill from Darling Harbour is the Sydney Fish Market. Although it’s basically a market with a whole heap of dead fish, there’s something attractive and fascinating about the place. Auctions start at 5:30 in the morning and are very lively; there’s an amazing choice of fresh seafood, and there are some nice little cafes and restaurants that manage to avoid smelling of fish.

To get to Circular Quay and The Rocks, you can hop a ferry or jump on the monorail into the CBD, but the walk from Darling Harbour to the even more darling harbour can be more rewarding. Heading into the city, you cross Pyrmont Bridge, occasionally being overtaken by young things on rollerblades wearing Walkmans, and up to the grand Queen Victoria Building. It takes up a whole block and is home to more than 200 shops. At the southern end is the excessively ornate Town Hall with Australia’s oldest cathedral, St Andrews, next door. Down George Street takes you to cinemas, amusement halls and fast food.

Near the north side of the Queen Vic is the main shopping precinct (Pitt Street Mall) and Centrepoint Tower that has a revolving restaurant and a 360-degree viewing level. Of course, it’s known as the AMP Tower, an architectural example of how advertising has become such a part of our lives. Personally I can’t stand the Sheffield Shield belonging to a milk company, a phone company owning the Wallabies and a brewery owning Australia’s greatest horse race.

A little further along Market Street you run into Hyde Park. At the edge of the park behind the old entrance to St James station, is a trendy little eatery, located where a yellow-tiled public lavatory and infamous pick-up place once sat. Hyde Park itself is a slab of green in the middle of the city. Office workers lunch on the grass, old men gather to play chess, lovers meet and lie holding hands. At the Macquarie Street end is the Greek mythology inspired Archibald Fountain. At the southern end is the simple, but poignant, Anzac Memorial. Across College Street is the Australian Museum and, heading back towards Macquarie Street is St Mary’s, one of the world’s largest cathedrals. On the other side of the park is the Great Synagogue. Both have free tours.

Turn right after St Mary’s to the excellent Art Gallery of New South Wales and The Domain. The large, open area was once Australia’s first farm, but today city workers use it to take a break - jogging or playing various sports. On Sundays speakers take to their soapboxes. It’s also the venue for large, free open-air concerts and events such as Opera in the Park and Carols by Candlelight. Across a walkway (or you can access from the Opera House and Macquarie Street) are the Royal Botanic Gardens, which open from sunrise to sunset.

Macquarie Street runs from Hyde Park to the Opera House – a gentle downhill stroll – and has the city’s greatest concentration of early colonial buildings.

The street gets its name from Governor Lachlan Macquarie who had a grand architectural vision for the city. He commissioned convict architect, Francis Greenway to realise his dream – and a fine job he did, too.

Hyde Park Barracks and St James Church are two of Greenway’s best and are well worth a visit. The Sydney Mint Museum is another delightful building with interesting exhibits. The Sydney Hospital is the country’s oldest hospital and has a welcoming café in its courtyard. Nearby, Parliament House is the world’s oldest continually operating parliament building. The lovely sandstone exterior hides the contemporary interior, which has a modern restaurant and swimming facilities to help the politicians with their daily grind. The State Library is more than just a library with fine exhibitions and collections of early Australiana, including Captain Bligh’s log from the Bounty. Greenway designed the present Conservatorium of Music as stables and servants’ quarters for nearby Government House. Stupidly, Greenway invested his own money in the building and became a pauper when Macquarie was replaced as governor.

Heading along Macquarie Street, you can take a left into Martin Place, the so-called centre of the city.

Geographically, courtesy of urban sprawl, Parramatta is the centre of Sydney. Martin Place is basically a large plaza lined with some fine examples of Victorian architecture.

At the George Street end is the Cenotaph, commemorating the Australians who died in the various wars. If you are in Sydney on Anzac Day (25 April), this is the place to be at 4:00am for a truly moving experience.

At the bottom of Macquarie Street you’ll find the magnificent Opera House with a view back to the city, over to The Rocks and Sydney Harbour Bridge spanning the harbour.

From the harbour end of Macquarie Street, set into the path along East Circular Quay at regular intervals are round plaques. This is the Writers’ Walk, celebrating famous writers with snippets of their impressions of Australia. Circular Quay is both a gateway to the city and the harbour. It was where the first European settlement began, in 1788, on the banks of the Tank Stream (which still empties underground into the harbour beneath Wharf 6). Along the quay you’ll find buskers and street masseurs, and the comings and goings of tourists and locals. The ferries cut their way across the blue water carrying commuters and holidaymakers - you can tell them apart quite easily. While on board, everyone’s relaxed. As soon as the office workers hit dry land, they lose their relaxation and race off. Customs House sits behind the Quay. It’s a fine old building in harmonic contrast with the glassy skyscrapers, and has an arts and cultural centre, and al fresco dining.

At the Quay end of The Rocks, The Museum of Contemporary Art can be interesting, can be bewildering. It houses some fine modern art, but occasionally goes a little too weird for my liking. The last exhibit I saw was a ‘food’ exhibition, which left me neither hungry or satisfied. A number of harbour cruises operate from this area, including the replica of the HMS Bounty (made for the Mel Gibson movie). You’ll be able to tell at a glance which cruise suits you.

On weekends The Rocks Markets are fun to explore. For those who like shopping there are a number of converted warehouses and interesting centres that also have galleries and cafés. There are many good pubs where you can quench a thirst or grab a pub lunch. The Lord Nelson and the Hero of Waterloo both claim to be Sydney’s oldest. On the way to either you’ll probably pass Garrison Church, the first church in Australia. It’s at the end of Argyle Cut, a tunnel through the hill that was cut by convicts. There are many good restaurants and many that are so-so, overpriced and aimed at the tourist dollar. Don’t be afraid to go in to look at the menu and get a feel for the place.

The Sydney Observatory sits at the southern end of the bridge and has an interesting little museum and interactive displays. It’s free by day but there’s a charge at night to look into the heavens.

Spanning the harbour, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of the city's most imposing structures. You can walk across it on the Opera House side (the other side is for trains and also has a cycle-way). You can drive across it; there is a toll one way (into the city). Drivers not wanting the scenic route can use the under-harbour tunnel. You can visit the Pylon Lookout in the SE Pylon which houses an exhibition on the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and, some 200 stairs up, there's an observation deck with excellent views of the city and harbour.

The Pylons are purely cosmetic. They were built to give the bridge a more powerful look. The Pylons were actually not built until after the completion of the arches.

And you can climb it. BridgeClimb, despite its price tag, is for me Sydney's best attraction. While not for those with extreme vertigo, it is completely safe. You receive training before the climb and at all times are attached to the bridge with specially designed harnesses. You will also be breath-tested before being allowed to take the climb. One unfortunate climber on my trip failed the breath test because he'd gargled with a mouth freshener, which is almost pure alcohol. If this happens, climbers are given a second test and, if over the limit, will be rescheduled to a later climb. You only need a moderate level of fitness - it's informative, exciting and the view is terrific. There are NightClimbs as well.

Once, unless you were farewelling a naval boat, the only reason to head to Woolloomooloo Wharf was for a pie from Harry's Cafe de Wheels. Now it's The Wharf and home to restaurants, shops and a boutique hotel. There are four, smaller finger wharves just west of the Harbour Bridge on Walsh Bay, again with shops and eateries, and one wharf is home to the Wharf Theatre.

Under the bridge on the north side are Luna Park and North Sydney Pool. Luna Park has had a turbulent past through recent decades, and it may or may not be open. (At the time of writing it was promised a multi-million-dollar facelift.)

It still has some of the old, quaint, amusement park attractions like Coney Island with its timber slides, as well as state-of-the-art rides and Ferris-wheel fun. It’s been very much a Sydney icon since the 1930s but, since a tragic fire on the Ghost Train in the 1970s, it hasn’t been able to regain its former glory. Next to Luna Park is North Sydney Olympic Pool. It would be just a nice swimming pool except for the unique view of the bridge and the sound of the trains trundling across.

There are many ways to enjoy Sydney Harbour itself: you can sail or cruise across it, dive under it, parasail or take a chopper over it, or take a walk along its foreshores. Harbour landmarks include Kirribilli House (the Prime Minister’s home), Admiralty House and Fort Denison. Once a convict harbour prison, ‘Pinchgut’ now has a restaurant as well as tours. When it was built it was the perfect prison. Not many of the inmates could swim, and those who could weren’t game to chance being taken by a shark. There are a number of small islands within the harbour that are lovely spots for picnics, such as Shark and Clark islands, provided you can supply your own water transport and you have made a booking at the Sydney Harbour National Parks Information Centre.

For the visitor with little time, take a ferry from the Quay to Manly or Taronga Zoo, or the RiverCat to Parramatta (via the Homebush Bay Olympic Games site).

Taronga is a zoo with a view, set in a spectacular setting and is always interesting. If arriving by ferry, take the cable car or bus to the top and walk back down to prevent sore calves the next day. And, if you wonder whether the animals appreciate their million-dollar views, think of Lulu when you visit the chimpanzee enclosure.

Lulu is about 30 years old and she knows her way around. When she sees boats gathering in great numbers on the harbour during the day, she will refuse to go into her enclosure at night. Instead, she sits under a tree with her hands behind her head and patiently waits for the fireworks to happen.

Manly, named by Governor Phillip after the physique of the local Aboriginal people, has been dubbed ‘seven miles from Sydney and a thousand miles from care’.

On Manly Wharf there are a number of shops and eateries, as well as a fairly ordinary little theme park. From here you can also take a parasail for a birds-eye view of the harbour and a bit of an adrenalin rush.

As you leave the wharf, to the left is Oceanworld, a fine aquarium. The adjacent Art Gallery and Museum has a lot on local history and beach culture. Straight ahead from the wharf is The Corso, a cosmopolitan pedestrian mall full of shops and eateries, which leads to the surf beach. From the beach, a gentle walk (right) will take you to pretty Shelly Beach and Le Kiosk, a delightful restaurant for lunch. And it’s a good spot for a beach scuba dive. There are professional dive shops in Manly that hire gear and arrange transfers to dive sites.

The harbour beaches are, because of geography, more sheltered and gentle than the ocean beaches, and many have pleasant parks for picnics and play areas for children.

Some of the best for families are Balmoral and Clontarf (north) and Watsons Bay and Shark Bay in Nielsen Park (south). Near Watsons Bay is Lady Jane Beach which is nudist and mainly gay.

On the north side, Reef Beach was once a nudist beach.

When local residents protested about nudists using the beach some years ago their spokesman, a well-known Sydney identity, was quoted as saying, ‘the last thing I want when I come home is genitalia shoved down my throat’. I guess we know what he meant... anyway, the protests must have worked because it is now a family beach.

There are many beaches stretching along the coast both south and north.

To the south the most famous (and most-visited) is Bondi Beach – full of colour, surf, sand and people: almost naked, tanned would-be-models; less tanned European visitors and clothed Japanese tourists giggling in the shallows with the waves barking at their ankles. Seagulls flock to picnics on the grass as skimpy Speedos, baggie boardies and rollerblades parade the boardwalk.

Nearby is a smaller, prettier beach called Tamarama (nicknamed ‘Glamorama’ after the pretty young things it attracts). There is a pleasant walk that follows the coastline between Bondi and Tamarama (and on to Coogee). The next beach south is Bronte, a family beach with a longer stretch of sand and a large park. Other fine beaches include Coogee and Maroubra, and word of mouth will always let the ardent surfer know where the best waves are. Cronulla is also a popular spot, probably because it’s one of the few beaches that can be accessed by train. A ferry ride across Port Hacking to Bundeena for a picnic or bushwalk is a pleasant way to spend a relaxing day.

The northern beaches, stretching from Manly to Palm Beach, are just as rewarding. For families – Manly, Curl Curl, Dee Why and Collaroy are good. Narrabeen arguably has the most consistent surfing waves. The beaches north of Narrabeen, although a bit further out, are all good.

These include Warriwood, Mona Vale, Newport, Avalon and Palm Beach. My favourites are Bilgola Beach and Whale Beach. At the north end of Palm Beach (Summer Bay in Home and Away) is a lighthouse for those feeling like a short but vigorous walk. Below it are sand dunes that are a popular spot for Dads with kids – possibly so he can wander the north end of nudist ‘Palmie’ with an excuse. Bungan Beach is also not fussed about clothing, but there’s no vehicle access.

Around the corner of the Palm Beach peninsula is Pittwater, a wonderful spot for sailing, fishing or a family day out. Captain Arthur Phillip discovered this expanse of water shortly after settling in Sydney Cove in 1788 and called it the ‘finest stretch of water in the world’. For my money it still is. You can hire houseboats or cruisers to explore Pittwater, Broken Bay and the Hawkesbury River with no previous experience (although they do give you a lesson!). Hiring a ‘tinnie’ is a cheaper alternative and with an esky, a fishing line and an oyster knife, makes for a great day out. Taking oysters out of national parks is illegal, but you can eat as many as you like on site and, with restaurants charging up to $3 a bi-valve, your day could even be profitable.

A short ferry ride from Palm Beach takes you to one of Sydney’s best-kept secrets, The Basin. Safe waters, fringed by national park with full amenities and resident goannas (don’t leave the food unattended), make it simply a delight for both day-trippers and campers.

Sydney’s national parks offer good bushwalks, secluded bays and beaches, rugged cliffs, wildflowers, birds and other wildlife, and Aboriginal cave paintings. The Royal National Park to the south and the Kur-ing-gai Chase National Park to the north are the largest and most spectacular, although the Royal National, at the time of writing, was recovering from bushfire devastation.

Sydneysiders who aren’t in or on the water on the weekends may well be on one of the 40 or so public golf courses. As a hacker with sometimes-limited time, I like the North Bondi course. It’s rarely crowded, has nine par 3 holes (some challenging) and is set along the top of the cliffs with wild surf crashing below. Next door is the Bondi Sewage Treatment Works, which offers guided tours, but I’m unable to comment first hand on that one.

Also in the eastern suburbs: Paddington has good pubs, restaurants and shops; Centennial Park is big, pretty and a haven for cyclists; Double Bay is expensive and chic; and Watsons Bay has the notorious Gap and overpriced fish and chips that seem good value because of the harbourside setting.

On the way, Vaucluse House is well worth a visit.

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