104 Best Sights in Sydney, New South Wales

Even on the roughest day it's safe to swim at the end of this long, keyhole-shape inlet, which makes it a popular family beach. There are toilet facilities, a kiosk, and a café. This is also a popular snorkeling spot that usually teems with tropical fish, including a huge blue groper, which has called this enclave home for more than a decade. Take Bus 339 from Argyle Street, Millers Point (The Rocks), Wynyard, or Central Station; or a train from the city to Bondi Junction, then board Bus 360. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; sunrise; swimming.

Fueling Sydney's addiction to fine food, most of this sprawling waterfront complex, on the city side of Darling Harbour, is dedicated to gastronomy, as well as a few bars and nightclubs. If you have a boat you can dock at the marina—and avoid the hassle of parking a car in one of the city's most congested centers.

A reef protects this lively beach (pronounced kuh-jee), creating slightly calmer swimming conditions than those found at its neighbors. For smaller children, the southern end offers a small enclosed pool, or keep following the coastal path, and there's a small women's-only natural pool that costs just 20 cents entry. The grassy headland overlooking the beach has an excellent children's playground. Cafés in the shopping precinct at the back of the beach sell ice cream, pizza, and the ingredients for picnics. Take Bus 373 or 374 from Circular Quay or Bus 372 from Central Station. Or, take the CBD and South East Light Rail to Randwick and walk down to Coogee Beach, taking 25 minutes. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; swimming; walking.

The last surviving example of the elegant sandstone buildings that once ringed Circular Quay, this former customs house now features an amazing model of Sydney under a glass floor. You can walk over the city's skyscrapers, all of which are illuminated by fiber-optic lights. The Customs House has an excellent two-level library, art galleries, and ground-floor bar. The rooftop Café Sydney, the standout in the clutch of restaurants and cafés in this late-19th-century structure, overlooks Sydney Cove. The building stands close to the site where the British flag was first raised on the shores of Sydney Cove in 1788.

The wonderful views of the harbor (and since the 1930s, the Harbour Bridge) have made this park and its location noteworthy for centuries. Named for William Dawes, a First Fleet marine officer and astronomer who established the colony's first basic observatory nearby in 1788, this park was also once the site of a fortification known as Dawes Battery. The cannons on the hillside pointing toward the Opera House came from the ships of the First Fleet.

Separated from Dee Why by a narrow channel, Long Reef Beach is remoter and much quieter than its southern neighbor. However, Dee Why has better surfing conditions, a big sea pool, and several good restaurants. To get here, take Bus 136 from Manly. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguard; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

Much of this densely populated but still-charming harborside suburb was originally part of the extensive Elizabeth Bay House grounds. Wrought-iron balconies and French doors on some of the older apartment blocks give the area a Mediterranean flavor. During the 1920s and 1930s this was a fashionably bohemian quarter, and it remains a favorite among artists and writers.

This 1835–39 mansion was regarded in its heyday as the "finest house in the colony." It retains little of its original furniture, although the rooms have been restored in Georgian style. The most striking feature is an oval-shape salon with a winding staircase, naturally lighted by glass panels in the domed roof. The view from the front-facing windows across Elizabeth Bay is stunning. A variety of soirees and talks are held in the house throughout the year.

The oldest European building in Australia, Elizabeth Farm was built by John and Elizabeth Macarthur in 1793. With its simple but elegant lines and long, shady verandas, the house became a template for Australian farmhouses that survives to the present day. It was here, too, that the merino sheep industry began, since the Macarthurs were the first to introduce the tough Spanish breed to Australia. Although John Macarthur has traditionally been credited as the father of Australia's wool industry, it was Elizabeth who largely ran the farm while her husband pursued his official and more-lucrative unofficial duties as an officer in the colony's Rum Corps. Inside are personal objects of the Macarthur family, as well as a re-creation of their furnishings. Free tours are at 11, noon, 1, and 2 each day.

The site of the first private land grant in Australia, Experiment Farm was settled in 1789 by James Ruse, a former convict who was given 1½ acres by Governor Phillip on condition that he become self-sufficient—a vital experiment if the colony was to survive. Luckily for Phillip, his gamble paid off. The bungalow, with its wide verandas, was built by colonial surgeon John Harris in the 1830s; it contains a fine collection of Australian colonial furniture, and the cellar now houses an exhibition on the life and work of James Ruse. The surrounding ornamental garden is most beautiful in early summer, when the floral perfumes are strongest.

The shallow bay east of the Opera House is called Farm Cove. The original convict-settlers established their first gardens on this bay's shores. The enterprise was not a success: the soil was too sandy for agriculture, and most of the crops fell victim to pests, marauding animals, and hungry convicts. The long seawall was constructed from the 1840s onward to enclose the previously swampy foreshore. The area is now home to the Royal Botanic Gardens, a wonderful place to escape the city bustle.

This is the place to see kangaroos, dingoes, wallabies, and echidnas (and even feed some of them) in native bush settings 40 km (25 miles) west of Sydney. The daily crocodile feeding sessions are very popular. Take the train to Blacktown Station and then board the 725 bus for the park.

The park is on the way to the Blue Mountains.

For a brief time in the early days of the colony, convicts who committed petty offenses were kept on this harbor island, where they existed on such a meager diet that the island was named Pinchgut. Fortification of the island was completed in 1857, when fears of Russian expansion in the Pacific spurred the government on. Today the firing of the fort's cannon doesn't signal imminent invasion, but merely the hour—one o'clock. New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service runs half-hour tours at Fort Denison. Purchase tickets (from $A28) from either the NSW National Parks office (1300/072--757) or at Captain Cook Cruises' booth at Jetty 6, Circular Quay; the ferries depart for the island from 10:30 am to 4 pm daily from Jetty 6.

Although it's still known as an "island," this promontory was connected with the mainland in 1942. During the 1941–45 War of the Pacific (WWII and a number of preceding conflicts), Australia's largest naval base and dockyard was a frontline port for Allied ships. Part of the naval base is now open to the public. Access, seven days a week, to the site is via ferry from Circular Quay (take the Watsons Bay ferry). Visitors can view the museum and picnic on the hill. The Naval Historical Society runs tours to the "secure" section of Garden Island but these must be booked well in advance. The 90-minute tours (A$25) run every Thursday.

These gates are all that remain of the Garden Palace, a massive glass pavilion that was erected for the Sydney International Exhibition of 1879 and destroyed by fire three years later. On the arch above the gates is a depiction of the Garden Palace's dome. Stone pillars on either side of the gates are engraved with Australian wildflowers.

The attraction of this all-day dockyard food stall is not so much the delectable meat pies and coffee served as the clientele. Famous opera singers, actors, and international rock stars have been spotted here rubbing shoulders with shift workers and taxi drivers. This "pie cart" has been a Sydney institution since 1945, when the late Harry "Tiger" Edwards set up his van to serve sailors from the nearby Garden Island base. Drop in any time from 8:30 am (9 am on weekends) until the wee hours for a Tiger Pie, made with mushy peas, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Harry's now has nine other locations in Sydney.

Every morning, redcoats would march to this 1840 Argyle Place church from Dawes Point Battery (now Dawes Point Park), and it became commonly known as the Garrison Church, although now officially called the Church Hill Anglican. As the regimental plaques and colors around the walls testify, the church still retains a close military association. Sunday services are held at 9:30 am and 4 pm.

Declared public land by Governor Phillip in 1792 and used for the colony's earliest cricket matches and horse races, this area was turned into a park in 1810. The gardens are formal, with fountains, statuary, and tree-lined walks, and its tranquil lawns are popular with office workers at lunchtime. The park has two sections, with Park Street (a traffic street) dividing the two halves. Several events, such as the Night Noodle Markets (open-air Asian food markets) in October, are held in the park.

Before Governor Macquarie arrived, convicts were left to roam freely at night. Macquarie was determined to establish law and order, and in 1819 he commissioned convict-architect Francis Greenway to design this restrained, classically Georgian-style building. Today the Barracks houses compelling exhibits that explore behind the scenes of the prison. For example, a surprising number of relics from this period were preserved by rats, which carried away scraps of clothing and other artifacts for their nests beneath the floorboards. A room on the top floor is strung with hammocks, exactly as it was when the building housed convicts. The barracks are part of the Sydney Living Museums collection of 12 historic buildings.

Residences in this attractive suburb opposite the city and Opera House have million-dollar views—and prices to match. Two of Sydney's most important mansions stand here. The more modest of the two is Kirribilli House, the official Sydney home of the prime minister, which, along with Admiralty House, is open to the public once a year, usually around May.

At this private park in Sydney's northern outskirts you can feed a kangaroo or get close to a koala. (Koala presentations are daily at 10:20, 11:45, 2, and 3.) The sanctuary also has dingoes, wombats, emus, penguins, and wallaroos. There are sheep-shearing and boomerang-throwing demonstrations.

Nature hikes here lead past rock engravings and paintings by the Guringai Aboriginal tribe, the area's original inhabitants for whom the park is named. Created in the 1890s, the park mixes large stands of eucalyptus trees with moist, rain-forest-filled gullies where swamp wallabies, possums, goannas, and other creatures roam. The delightful trails are mostly easy or moderate, including the compelling 3-km (2-mile) Garigal Aboriginal Heritage Walk at West Head, which takes in ancient rock-art sites. From Mt. Ku-ring-gai train station you can walk the 3-km (2-mile) Ku-ring-gai Track to Appletree Bay, while the 30-minute, wheelchair-accessible Discovery Trail is an excellent introduction to the region's flora and fauna. Leaflets on all of the walks are available at the park's entry stations and from the Wildlife Shop at Bobbin Head.

Officially called Lady Bay, Lady Jane is the most accessible of the nude beaches around Sydney. It's also a popular part of Sydney's gay scene. Only a couple of hundred yards long and backed by a stone wall, the beach has safe swimming with no surf. From Camp Cove, follow the path north and then descend the short, steep ladder leading down the cliff face to the beach. Take Bus 234 or 325 from Circular Quay to Watsons Bay. From there walk along Cliff Street toward Camp Cove. Amenities: toilets. Best for: nudists; solitude; swimming.

At one time the handsome Georgian houses along this street, originally a rough track leading from the Dawes Point Battery to Observatory Hill, were among the best addresses in Sydney. Elaborate wrought-iron lacework still graces many of the facades.

Opened in 1935, this classic amusement park, with its supersize clown-face entrance, can be seen from any angle of Sydney Harbour. It's a fun afternoon no matter your age, with traditional fair rides, like the ghost train and dodgems. The tourist attraction reopened in 2021 after a A$30 million face-lift, with brand-new rides and stylish places to eat. It's located just at Milsons Point Wharf, with regular ferries departing from Circular Quay.

When the sun shines, the 15-minute cliff-top stroll along South Head Walkway between The Gap and the Macquarie Lighthouse affords some of Sydney's most inspiring views. Convict-architect Francis Greenway (jailed for forgery) designed the original lighthouse here, Australia's first, in 1818. Visitors climb the 100 stairs to the top of the lighthouse on guided tours (20 minutes duration; A$6) that are run every two months by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust. Call or check the website for dates and bookings.

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, songstress Kylie Minogue, and Olympic champion Cathy Freeman are among the contingent of Australian wax figures at the Madame Tussauds Sydney, the only version of the well-known museum in Australia. Located between SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo at Darling Harbour, the museum has nine interactive themed areas where patrons can, for example, jump on a surfboard with world champion female surfer Layne Beachley or sing in the band with legendary Aussie rocker Jimmy Barnes. The 70 figures are grouped in themes such as world leaders, cultural icons, and music and film stars.

Stop in at the Marble Bar to experience a masterpiece of Victorian extravagance. The 1890 bar was formerly in another building that was constructed on the profits of the horse-racing track, thus establishing the link between gambling and majestic public architecture that has its modern-day parallel in the Sydney Opera House. Threatened with demolition in the 1970s, the whole bar was moved—marble arches, color-glass ceiling, elaborately carved woodwork, paintings of voluptuous nudes, and all—to its present site in the basement of the Hilton Sydney Hotel. There is live music most weekends.

Sydney's largest pedestrian precinct, flanked by banks, offices, and shopping centers, is the hub of the central business district. There are some grand buildings here—including the beautifully refurbished Commonwealth Bank and the 1870s Venetian Renaissance–style General Post Office building with its 230-foot clock tower (now a Westin hotel). Toward the George Street end of the plaza the simple 1929 cenotaph war memorial commemorates Australians who died in World War I.

Except for the yachts moored in the sandy coves, the upper reaches of Middle Harbour are almost exactly as they were when the first Europeans set eyes on Port Jackson more than 200 years ago. Tucked away in idyllic bushland are tranquil suburbs just a short drive from the city.