1 Full Day in Sydney -- what to do?

[mwilson]

I'm going to be in Sydney on May 18 (arriving sometime on May 17, flying back to the U.S. the morning of the 19th). So that gives me the afternoon/evening of the 17th and all day on the 18th to check Sydney out. I could probably stretch it to 2 full days. In any case, for a short time in Sydney for someone who's never been there (or, indeed, anywhere in Australia) before, any suggestions on how I should fill my day? I've seen a suggestion for the Powerhouse Museum in the forums before; if you had just one or two days what would you do to get a feel for Sydney?

Thanks!

[EEVblog]

2 days total is probably enough to see a lot of Sydney CBD and some surrounds.

From the airport take the train to Circular Key, and bam, there you have the opera house and harbour bridge laid out right in front of you as you step out the train door.

Sydney famously has a poor public transport system, and Taxi's are seriously expensive here, although there is Uber these days. But within Sydney central business district (CBD) you don't need public
transport, you can walk pretty much anywhere.

Darling Harbor, is a nice place for lunch and a walk around. World's largest Imax screen is there, and an aquarium + Maritime Museum. Lots of construction at the moment though down toward the powerhouse museum end though, ugly.

The Rocks area is nice. The botanical gardens are nice which joins onto the opera house forecourt and the art gallery is there.
Visit the Queen Victoria building.
Walk over the harbour bridge and back. There is also the Pylon lookout:
http://www.pylonlookout.com.au/

You can also climb the bridge, expensive and not really the "climb of your life" they claim (says a canyoner), but very cool none the less and very popular.
But you will have to book ahead for this, don't just turn up.
One tip, if you climb the bridge, make sure you fight your way to first in line in your group when hooking into the safety line. As once clipped in you can't change position, and being in front you'll very
likely get a minute or two at the very top on your own as others get their photo taken further down.

Go up centrepoint tower, and you can do a new walk out over the edge.
https://www.sydneytowereye.com.au/explore/skywalk/

From Circular Key take the Manly ferry over to Manly and back for lunch or whatever, it's our most famous ferry trip. Lots of other harbour cruise type things too, jet boating etc. You can't visit Sydney and not go out on the harbour. Plenty of dinner cruises too.

We have a few museums, but not huge by international standard. The modern art gallery at circular key is free and quite good. The Australian museum is small and cute.
The PowerHouse museum at Darling Harbor is really good. They have an Apple 1 on display. But you could waste all day in museums.

Walk through Hyde park, and at the top northern end near the famous fountain is a little known thing I like, the biggest underground moving walkway in the southern hemisphere. It goes down to an underground carpark. Has murals on the walls. Costs nothing, it's just there.

Countless beaches all along the coast of course, best beaches in the world, not that we are biased.
Bondi beach is our most famous, but we have dozens just as good or better. Not the season to be swimming, but Bondi for lunch is nice.

You can camp on Cockatoo island if you are adventurous.

Best walk in Sydney is probably Bondi to Coogee
http://concreteplayground.com/sydney/travel-leisure/leisure/the-ten-best-coastal-walks-in-sydney/
Sydney is awesome to see by air if you are that way inclined, plenty of sea plane scenic flights available.

Too bad you'll miss the Vivid festival in late May, and you won't have enough time to visit the Blue Mountains.

[Halcyon]

The Powerhouse musem is a good start. See it while you can as it'll be moving to Parramatta in the near future. You can pretty much get around most of the city and Darling Harbour on foot (if you don't mind a bit of walking).

If you're after some nice places to eat, my top two suggestions would be:

• Kingsleys Steak and Crabhouse - 10/6 Cowper Wharf Roadway, Wooloomooloo.

It's on the pricer side but the food is devine. You'll need to catch a taxi to it from the city. Make sure you book in advance.
Their website appears to be down at the moment.

• The Meat and Wine Co - Darling Harbour

This one is walking distance from the Power House Museum. One of my favourites. Bookings are essential as the line is usually out the door. http://themeatandwineco.com/locations/darling-harbour-nsw/

The train network is pretty good within the CBD. If you don't feel like walking, you can grab a train. You'll need to buy yourself an Opal card (a pre-paid smartcard that you need to enter and exit station gantrys). I believe the cards themselves are free, you just need to put credit on them. Available from most newsagents or online: https://www.opal.com.au/

Uber is also an option but don't be a asshat and try to catch Uber/Taxi's in a "No Stopping" zone. Go to a taxi rank or somewhere where their won't impede traffic. Taxi driver's don't give a shit, they'll stop where ever you hail them down however it just causes traffic chaos, particularly around the peak periods.

As Dave has mentioned, check out The Rocks. It's a lovely part of Sydney. Either jump off the train at Circular Quay (pronounced "key") or take a 15-20 minute walk straight down George Street from the middle of the CBD. Google Maps is your friend.

[EEVblog]

But you could waste all day in museums.

I like the word spend rather than waste.

Yeah, museums are cool and worthwhile. But can you say you've seen the city of Sydney if you go airport-museum-airport?

A classic noobie mistake it to try to do too much and stress out.

When I visit a new city I go crazy and cram as much into one day as possible. Doesn't stress me, it makes me feel alive.
One thing I do is walk, walk everywhere, down dodgy back alleys etc, you really get sense of a city. Not uncommon for me to walk 20+km in a city in a day. Also taking the public transport is great. Cabs are a cop-out.

[sarepairman2]

get near black out drunk in a pub with lots of red bull and hopefully australia will take care of the rest?

[Mechanical Menace]

Stay in the hotel so you don't realise Sydney is just like everywhere else on the face of the planet...


It's just another city, Starbucks, McDonald's, Subway, what can't you do everywhere else?

[vk6zgo]

I should say,catch a plane to Perth!

Sydney is a nice place,though---one thing which people from other Oz cities find surprising,is how close together the "iconic" sights are.*

While you cross the "iconic" Harbour Bridge by taxi,look one way,there's the Opera House & Circular Key, another way,there's Luna Park,crane your neck & you can see Taronga Park Zoo in the distance,whilst in front of you is the CBD.
And of course,there is the Harbour itself!

Sydney-ites can correct this list,or add other attractions as required--I've only been there three times!

*And how "dinky" Bondi Beach is--but that's another story,it's not visible from the Bridge!

[sarepairman2]

whats different about different places is probobly the people and culture. this is why drinking at a pub might be a good idea. perhaps you can get invited to a party

[mwilson]

Thank you so much everyone for your suggestions!

[ez24]

Take a selfie in front of the Alutum (spelling ?) building and then knock on Dave's door.
Dave should sell guided tours.