Some of Sydney’s best eating can be enjoyed in a number of city precincts Chinatown, The Rocks and Circular Quay, Darlinghurst and Kings Cross.  Revolving city restaurants offer unforgettable views.

Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art in George Street, a dynamic centre of contemporary culture encompassing galleries, a store and café.  It exhibits the latest contemporary art from Australia and around the world.  Guided tours are available.  The museum opens from 10.00am-6.00pm daily.  Try the weekend markets, located in the heart of Sydney’s old quarter, open very Saturday and Sunday from 10.00am-5.00pm, and specialising in Australian home wares, antiques, collectibles and gifts. The Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon lookout provides fantastic views of Sydney Harbour after a 200-step climb.  It is accessed via the bridge walkway off Cumberland Street.  It opens from 10.00am-5.00pm daily.
Walk over Sydney Harbour Bridge for another perspective of the Harbour and surrounding suburbs.

Sydney Opera House, a landmark building at Bennelong Point, is home to Australia’s opera, ballet and theatre companies and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.  There are a number of restaurants located in the complex.  Guided tours leave from the lower concourse between 9.00am and 4.00pm daily.

AMP Tower Centrepoint Observation level is located in the highest public building in the southern hemisphere AMP Tower Centrepoint at 100 Market Street.  The tower provides compelling 360-degree views of Sydney from the observation level, or from its revolving restaurants.  The observation level opens from 9.30am-9.30pm Sunday-Friday and from 9.30am-11.30pm Saturday.

Darling Harbour is a place where Sydney celebrates.  This modern waterside harbour complex, five minutes from the city centre is accessible by car, ferry, bus and monorail.  Browse through the many shops in the Harbourside shopping centre, watch a documentary on the special screen of the IMAX Theater, play at Sega World or eat in one of the many waterfront restaurants.

Here you can visit many world class attractions including the Australian National Maritime Museum that reveals the maritime history of Australia, from Aboriginal seafarers to the early European Explorers, from the long, often hazardous sea voyages faced by migrants and settlers to the sea as part of Australia’s national identity.  The museum opens from 9.30am-5.00pm daily.

The Chinese Garden, adjacent to the Entertainment Centre and Chinatown, was designed by architects from Guandong Province in China.  It incorporates pavilions, winding pathways and a system of interconnected lakes and waterfalls.  There is also a traditional Chinese tea-house.  It opens daily 9.30am-5.00pm in winter and from 9.30am-6.00pm in summer.

Sydney Aquarium is dedicated to the presentation of Australian marine life, with more than 5,000 animals displayed.  150 metres of underwater tunnels provide an opportunity to observe stingrays, sharks and a variety of fish.  The Mammal Sanctuary is home to Australian fur seals (closes as sunset).  The aquarium opens from 9.30am-9.00pm daily.

The Powerhouse Museum, in Harris Street, Ultimo, is an innovative and award-winning museum that explores almost every realm of human creativity, from fashion and migration to science and transport.  Located just minutes from Darling Harbour, the Powerhouse challenges traditional perceptions of what museums have to offer.  It opens from 10.00am-5.00pm daily.

Manly is a seaside suburb on the north eastern corner of Sydney Harbour with both ocean and harbour beaches.  From Circular Quay take the JetCat, an express ferry or visit Manly as part of a harbour cruise. Close to Manly Wharf are restaurants, boutiques and the aquarium, Oceanworld Australia, at West Esplanade.  Oceanworld is an interactive aquarium, offering shark and giant ray hand feeding sessions, Great Barrier Reef displays, seal shows, touch pools, and dangerous marine animals.  Certified divers can go on special dives in the main oceanarium.  The aquarium opens from 10.00am-5.30pm daily.

Visit the old Quarantine Station at North Head that provides unsurpassed views.  Day tours and special ghost tours at night are available.  The area around Manly is ideal for scenic walks and the famous beach offers a range of water activities.  Don’t miss the Manly Food and Wine Festival held over two days in June, the Manly Jazz Festival in early October or one of the colourful Surf Lifesavers Carnivals.

Explore Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush.  See the redevelopment of Homebush Bay and the Sydney Olympic Site and take in the State Sports Centre, Bicentennial Park, Athletic and Aquatic Centres, as well as the site of the proposed Olympic Village and Stadium.  Tours depart 3 times daily Monday Friday and twice daily on Saturday.

Museum of Sydney on the corner of Bridge and Phillip Streets in an exciting modern museum.  Take a journey of discovery and wander through Sydney 1788-1850 and beyond.  It opens from 10.00am-5.00pm daily.

Sydney Mint Museum, in Queens Square, Macquarie Street, is housed in a colonial building that was the original Sydney Mint.  View the “coning factory”, the once working heart of the Sydney Mint,  and the breathtaking collections of gold, jewellery, coins and exhibitions featuring the history of gold discovery in Australia.  The museum opens from 10.00am-5.00pm daily.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales at The Domain presents one of the finest collections of art in Australia, including Australian and Aboriginal art, European and Asian art, contemporary art and photography.  It opens from 10.00am-5.00pm daily.

Choose from one of the many Dinner Cruises on the harbour offering entertainment and superb scenery, or try your luck at the new Sydney casino, Star City, at Pyrmont.  Overlooking the harbour, the casino offers gaming facilities such as blackjack, roulette, craps, sic bo and traditional Australian favourite two-up.

Sample some Jazz at Soup Plus, The Basement or Harbourside Brasserie, or Dance the night away at the Cauldron, Riche, Kinselas, Studebaker or Neo Pharaoh.  For Rock Music lovers there is the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel.  Enjoy entertainment at Kaos, a popular Comedy restaurant.

To fully appreciate the beauty of the area and make the most of the wealth of activities available, stay a few days in accommodation ranging from luxury resorts to quaint mountain lodges.

Tour through the historic village of Leura and the Blue Mountains tourist capital of Katoomba.  Witness spectacular high country views from the scenic Cliff Drive, while at Echo Point see the Three Sisters towering over Jamison Valley.  Catch the cable car or scenic railway for a dramatic view of the valley.

Visit the Jenolan caves, a network of limestone caverns 80km south west of Katoomba.  The Blue Mountains comes alive with Yulefest celebrations from June to August, a winter festive tradition of fine food and entertainment in a cosy environment.  All over the Mountains, inventive gardeners have made the most of the temperate conditions to plant trees, shrubs, and flowers that thrive in the cool climates, these can be seen in the many garden tours available.  Visit the Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens featuring an outstanding collection of cool climate plants, or historic EVERGLADES.  The mountains are a Bushwalker's Paradise with many hidden trails for walkers to explore penetrating fern-lined deep valleys and some of the most rugged country imaginable.  Other popular activities include horse riding, abseiling, scenic flights, Harley Davidson bike rides, birdwatching and picnicking.

Most travellers will approach the Blue Mountains from Sydney either along the Great Western Highway or Bells Line of Road.  Trains to the Blue Mountains leave Central Station, Sydney.  Trains usually stop only at Srathfield, Penrith and all stations to Springwood, Katoomba, Mt Victoria or Lithgow.  A number of coach companies offer day trips departing Circular Quay.

HUNTER REGION: From the blue water paradise of Port Stephens through Nobbys Beach, Newcastle to  Lake Macquarie, from the high country of Barrington Tops National Park in the north, the historic ambience of Maitland, to the vineyards of the Hunter Wine Country, this region is a delight at any time of the year.  Coach and rail tours are available.

The internationally acclaimed Hunter Wine Country located 195 km north of Sydney is Australia’s oldest wine producing area with a colourful history dating back over 150 years.  Here are some of Australia’s most famous wineries, sprinkled throughout the back roads of the beautiful hills near Cessnock.  The Hunter Wine Country area hosts a kaleidoscope of restaurants, where eating out is a gourmet’s delight.  There are dozens of cosy guest houses, villas, cabins and motels that offer excellent accommodation and recreational facilities.  Attractions range from the active to the truly self-indulgent, horse riding, cycling, bush walking, golf, tennis, water sports, hot air ballooning, abseiling, or just relaxing and doing not much of anything.

• Monday Friday 9.00am-5.30pm
• Thursday 9.00am-9.00pm Saturday 9.00am-5.00pm
• Sunday 10.00am-4.00pm Department stores, suburban shopping centres and a selection of specialty stores.
• Some supermarkets in Sydney open 24 hours during the week
  
  

  

• Opals and other precious stones
• Wool, cotton and sheepskin products
• Aboriginal and contemporary Australian artworks
• Australian fashion
• Surfing clothes and equipment
• Wines from the Hunter Wine Country
• Cosmetics with and Australian flavour

Sydney offers great Shopping venues such as Pitt Street Mall, where multi-level shopping arcades, the Mid-City Centre, cosmopolitan Centrepoint, Skygarden and historic Strand Arcade are located, and the Queen Victoria building.

HALF DAY TOURS

Harbour Coffee/Luncheon Cruise, Harbour Evening Cruise, Sail a Tall Ship, City Sights, Manly, Northern Beaches, Featherdale Wildlife Park, Waratah Park, Opera House and Darling Harbour, Bondi Beach, Vaucluse House, Kings Cross, Chinatown, Sydney by Night, Sydney Harbour and Northern Beaches Scenic Flight, Walking Tours of Historic Sydney.

FULL DAY

Taronga Zoo, Hawkesbury River, Old Sydney Town, Blue Mountains, Australian Wildlife Park, Hunter Region, Jenolan Caves, Jervis Bay, Dolphins, Wildlife, Farm Tour, Australia’s Wonderland Sydney, Port Stephens, Historic Parramatta, Windsor, Wollongong, Sydney and Bondi Beach, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Olympic Park.