SYDNEY HOTELS

SYDNEY – WHY GO?

Party central is the best way to describe Sydney. Full of life, it’s the city that rarely sleeps. Sometimes mistaken for Australia’s capital (Canberra, in case you’ve forgotten), it’s the gateway to the rest of Oz.

Affable Sydneysiders love to work hard, play hard – and somehow manage to combine honing a great tan and plenty of weekend socialising with getting ahead. 

Sydney Harbour, the most photogenic in the world, is a great place to start an Aussie adventure – after all, it’s where the country’s settlement began at The Rocks. Soak up the history, lap up the night life, then hit the waves. Have a dip in the ocean from one of Sydney’s famous beaches, scoff some breakfast at an outdoor café, cruise around one of the city’s markets (Balmain is a good one) before ending the day with some new-found mates on a pub’s verandah. Join the locals on the Coogee to Bondi walk for a real taste of Sydney living.

There’s an endless list of things to do here: climb Sydney Harbour Bridge, enjoy a show at the iconic Opera House, kayak on the harbour or take a ferry ride to Manly. Soak up the views from Sydney Tower or fly high over the city in a helicopter or sea plane. Explore some Sydney neighbourhoods – Kings Cross, Paddington and Darlinghurst should be at the top of your list – and take your own bottle of grog to a BYO (bring your own) restaurant to try some local seafood.

Check out some of the trendy bars and eateries around the Harbour (they won’t be cheap but the views are worth it) and watch movies under the stars at the Moonlight Cinema – only open in summer – in the Royal Botanic Gardens. If the movie’s dull, just feast your eyes on the silhouetted Sydney skyline.