Sydney, Australia

The iconic opera house and skyline of Sydney, Australia (cc)

Sydney Travel Guide

Introduction

Sydney is a world-class metropolis and the most happening place in the Land Down Under, at once trendy, vibrant and cosmopolitan. It's really a fabulous city, built on hills that tumble down to historic Botany Bay. There are excellent cultural venues, a city center packed with top-of-the-heap restaurants and upscale shops, boutiques and galleries, scores of all-night bars and clubs, a red-light district that is arguably the oldest and liveliest in Australia, no dearth of public parks and shade-dappled urban nooks, colorful inner-city suburbs and ethnic neighborhoods, iconic landmarks that are instantly recognizable the world over – think Sydney Harbour Bridge and the stunning, sail-roofed Sydney Opera House – and golden beaches, the likes of Bondi, Coogee and Manly, that are just as famous. Sydney, in fact, is Australia's most interesting and most rewarding city, and, too, the richest, most expensive and most populous in the land, which rings in the New Year ahead of the rest of the world and fairly brings down the house with the planet's most spectacular fireworks display over the Sydney Harbour, giving the celestial Southern Cross a run for its money.

Location

Sydney is situated in the Australian state of New South Wales, along the southeast coast of the Tasman Sea, at the head of Sydney Harbor, fanning out inland into the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. It is actually the capital of New South Wales.

How to Get There

Sightseeing

Neighborhoods

How to Get Around

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Where to Party

Essential Information

Nearby Destinations

How to Get There

Sydney is very well connected to all the other Australian cities, both by land and air. There are also daily flights between Sydney and Auckland, New Zealand, and international flights to and from several major cities in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, North America and Europe. Sydney's main airport is the Sydney International Airport, formerly Kingsford Smith International.

Sightseeing

Main Neighborhoods

Downtown Sydney -

Centre Point -

The Rocks -

Kings Cross -

Oxford Street -

Glebe -

Balmain -

Paddington -

Darling Harbour -

Woolloomooloo -

Parramatta -

Manly -

Mosman -

Crows Nest -

How to Get Around

Sydney has an excellent mass transit system, consisting of commuter trains fanning out from the city center to suburbs in all directions, as well as city buses and other modes of public transportation, making it fairly easy to get around town.

Where to Party

Where to Eat

Where to Stay

Know Before You Go