Winnie Stubbs

Winter is well and truly here, and there are plenty of ways to lean into the seasonal spirit in Sydney this weekend – with festivals, music pop-ups and magical winter markets all listed below. First up, we'd suggest kicking off this weeknd at Archie Party 2025 – a wine-fuelled celebration of music, food and art at the Art Gallery of NSW. Want to warm up? These are the best pubs with fireplaces in the city, these are Sydney’s best Sunday roasts, and these are the best day spas and bathhouses if you’re keen to get steamy.There’s also a heap of excellent exhibitions live at our city’s galleries – our top picks include the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prize exhibition, the first solo museum exhibition by Kamilaroi artist Warraba Weatherall, the incredible Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition and a futuristic new exhibition at Artspace.If you want some air this weekend, our round-ups of the best day hikes close to Sydndey and the best places to camp close to the city should help. And if you’re keen to stock up on fresh produce to fuel you for the weekend, check out our round-up of Sydney’s best markets – you’ll have way more fun than you would at the supermarket. Weather not looking so hot? Check out our list of the best things to do indoors in Sydney. Looking for weekday fun? These are the best things to do in Sydney this week.Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, straight to your inbox.

There’s a lot of fun to be had in the Harbour City this week – with major winter exhibitions now live at galleries and museums across the city and some excellent plays lighting up our theatres. If you’re low on funds but still want to find some fun, we’d suggest catching happy hour, then settling in for a free show – there’s free jazz in The Rocks this Thursday night, free alfresco orchestral performance at Barangaroo on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and live shows at these bars and pubs most nights.Keen to keep moving? These are the best running routes in Sydney, these are our favourite hiking trails in Sydney, and these are the city’s best gyms if you’d rather work out in the warm. Looking for a special date spot? These are the best restaurants in the city right now, and these are our favourite underground bars.  Scroll on for our full list of the best things to do in Sydney this week. Wether not looking so hot? These are the best indoor activities in the city. Mapping out your weekend? These are the best things to do in Sydney this weekend. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, straight to your inbox.

We might be a little biased, but we don't believe there's a better place on earth to spend a day than in our beautiful waterside city. And while Sydney shines in the summertime, there's a lot of delight to be found in the colder months.From coastal walking tracks to secret swim spots to swanky sky-high bars, Sydney is home to the kinds of settings that play host to magical memories every day of the year – from ordinary Wednesdays to the most important days of your life. Want to witness some world-class creativity? These are the city's best galleries, and these are the best plays and musicals on in Sydney right now. Feel like a spa day? These are the best day spas in Sydney. Want to get moving? This list of our favourite walks should help, and these are the best running routes in Sydney if you want to pick up the pace. Scroll on for our full list of the best things to do in Sydney today. Want to get your weekend plans in order, right now? Check out our pick of the best things to do in Sydney this weekend.Rain putting a dampner on your plans? These are the best things to do indoors. On a budget? These are the Time Out team’s pick of 25 things to do in Sydney for under $25. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, straight to your inbox. 

Winter is well and truly underway in Sydney, and instead of resisting it, we’d recommend leaning in to the spirit of the season. Thankfully, there are a heap of ways to do exactly that this month: from free jazz nights to a magical winter market complete with an alfresco fireside cinema. Plus, Circular Quay’s Bastille Festival is back with a four-day cheese and wine-fuelled affair, and Bondi’s annual arts fest is bringing a sparkling line-up of shows (and a pop-up ice rink) to the Eastern Suburbs.  July also marks NAIDOC Week – an opportunity for us to honour the traditional owners of the land and reflect on so-called Sydney’s colonial past. The always incredible National Indigenous Art Fair will pop up in The Rocks from July 5-6, and  Burramatta NAIDOC Day will bring an epic line-up of First Nations artists to Parramatta Park on July 12.Want to get creative this month? Redfern’s Baptist Street Rec Club is hosting a wildly affordable photography workshop with Fujifilm designed to teach Sydenysiders how to artfully capture a moment in time. Once you've upskilled, we'd suggest heading to one of the best nightclubs in the city to put your new tricks into practice.Keen to get some air? There are a whole lot of walking tracks waiting to be traversed before a cosy pub lunch. Scroll on for our full list of all the best wintery things to do this July – spring will be here before we know it. Keeping the kids entertained while school’s out? Here’s our guide to the best school holiday a

Believe it or not, another school holiday is just about to begin in NSW. And if the thought of keeping the kiddos entertained for the next two weeks sends you into a spiral, we have you covered –  with the ultimate round-up of activities and experiences happening in Sydney for kids and families this winter.  When is the winter school holidays in NSW?  The winter school holidays for 2025 run from Monday, July 7 until Friday, July 18 – this applies to both the Eastern and Western divisions of NSW. What to do in Sydney in the school holidays? There’s something here for the explorers, the budding scientists, the mini-athletes, the musical prodigies and just about everyone in between. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Looking for somewhere affordable to eat out with the kids? Check out our guide to the best cheap eats in Sydney. Or visit the best kid-friendly restaurants in Sydney.

When it comes to winter getaways, Australia – namely, NSW – doesn't always get the best rap. We get a lot of hype for our marvellous beaches and fairweather fun, but our backyard isn't only worth frolicking around in the summertime. Dare we say, for many NSW holiday locations, winter is the merino-wool hat that they actually wear best.  If you're ready to venture out of the Big Smoke in search of glorious winter sunshine, brisk mountain air or a crackling hearth in a country pub, this guide to some of our favourite cold-weather NSW getaways may be just the thing for you.  So, without further ado, here are our picks of the best winter getaways in NSW to book now.  Read on and be warned: they are chillingly good.  Want more of the chilly stuff? Here are nine things all Sydneysiders know are true about winter, and if you're hitting the slopes, here's everything you need to know before you go to the snow. Staying in Sydney for the cold months? These are our picks of the best pubs and bars with fireplaces in Sydney. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. 

Sun and surf aside, the Gold Coast’s diverse dining scene shines just as bright as its world-class beaches. Whether it's a casual evening with fish and chips by the water, a barefoot bite at the beach club or a special occasion dinner at one of the Goldy’s award-winning restaurants, these are the places you want to be seen. Our Travel & News Editor, Melissa Woodley, has done the hard yards and rounded up the best restaurants on the Gold Coast right now. She recommends Kōst Bar and Grill for a special occasion, Light Years for a big group catch-up, or Costa Taco for something cheap and cheerful. Leave your towels at the door and dig into this list of the Gold Coast's best restaurants. 🌊 Best hotels on the Gold Coast🏄🏻‍♀️ Best things to do on the Gold Coast

As a city known for its healthy way of life, Sydney is unsurprisingly home to dozens of spas and skincare salons offering facial treatments to keep the signature sun-kissed glow alive even through the winter months. And while we can’t list them all, we can shine a light on a few wellness sanctuaries offering fantastic skincare rituals to help you feel like your glowiest self, all year round. Read on for our (by no means exhaustive) round-up of Sydney’s best facials. Want head-to-toe treatment outside of the city? These are the best day spas in the Blue Mountains. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.

Say what you like, but Sydney sure loves to party. We can find our boogie on the roof, in the basement, by the pool, even every once in a while in a suburban bowling club. But if you're looking for somewhere to "go clubbing", we've got that covered. Yep, the Harbour City is still finding her dancing feet again in the wake of lockout laws and lockdowns. But if you’re after some dancefloor reverie, you just need to know where to look. For example, while Kings Cross has undergone a total vibe shift from its grungier past, Kings Cross Hotel still offers a multi-level dancefloor bonanza. Or, a pub crawl along a funky strip like Newtown’s King Street might be more your speed, and you can cap it off by falling down the rabbit hole at the purple-hued, 4am-licence-having Pleasure Club. Otherwise, the student crowd should be happy to know that your typical “clubbing” experience can still be found at venues like Cargo Bar. Nostalgic elder millienials will also be stoked to know that Chinese Laundry is back to peg you up on the line.  If you’re seeking a particular vibe or a niche subculture thing, then it is worth seeking out events run by particular producers and party collectives that can scratch the itch for you – for example, the ultra cool club kids of Angels Only Inc. curate surprisingly-welcoming shindigs and wholesome amateur strip clubs, and Raw Gadigal is one of a handful of spaces for authentic techno rhythms that will see your night melt away. Meanwhile, Sydney’s queer commu

In the words of Time Out Sydney Arts and Culture Editor Alannah Sue, hair is a religion, and choosing the right salon for you is an undeniably sacred act. To help you find the best people to entrust with your crowning glory, we’ve rounded up the very best hair salons in Sydney – from celeb-approved spots in the Inner City to an award-winning sustainable salon on the Northern Beaches. Read on for our top picks of the very best hair salons in the Harbour City.   Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Need some me-time? These are the best day spas in the Harbour City.And these are the best facials in Sydney.

June is here, and although winter isn’t known as Sydney’s prime time, there’s so much keeping the sunny city’s sparkle alive through the cooler months. With Vivid running until June 14, Sydney Film Festival lighting up screens across the city, and an excellent theatre line-up, this month is set to be pretty glittery, ice-cold temperatures aside. For the ultimate magical evening this month, we’d suggest hitting one of the city’s best happy hours before catching a show at the Opera House and then refuelling at one of the city’s best restaurants. Plus, whale watching season is setting in – these are the best spots to see them from Sydney.There's also a huge wine fest taking over The International, a laneway party lighting up the alleyway behind the Ace Hotel and a magical winter ceramics market (with free coffee) going down at ClayGround. Want to live a Euro-summer style life on a budget this month? Eight top Sydney venues are offering a wild 50 per cent off (yep, you're reading that right), the Boathouse venues are serving up $12 Aperols and Margs all month long, and Bondi's Mediterranean gem Ikaria is running a Greek-style happy hour with $10 Spritzes and $10 dip plates.Keen to get out of town? Our guides to the best cosy cabins and glamping spots should help. Scroll on for our full round-up of the best things to do in Sydney this month. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inb

There are plenty of exciting new restaurant openings to add to your hit list. My current favourites include a charming new Italian housed in a former butcher's shop in Newtown called Osteria Mucca, a yum new Turkish and Middle Eastern mezze bar in Redfern called Mezepotamia, Newtown’s charming new fisherman’s den, Mister Grotto; a fire-powered Mediterranean diner from the Bar Copains team called Bessie’s; and Marrickville’s new Greek grill house that’s 100 per cent worth the hype, Olympic Meats. Oh, and the five-star Neptune's Grotto. Below, you’ll find Sydney’s best new restaurants. Hungry? I am too. Let’s dig in. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Looking for something to wash it all down with? These are our favourite bars in Sydney right now. Keen to eat your way around the city? These are the best restaurants in Sydney, from hot newcomers to the OGs.

Winter is well and truly here. The shortest day of the year has come and gone, and temperatures are oscillating between beach-worthy and sub-Antarctic. If you want to embrace festive energy this winter, we’ve got just the thing.  Sydney’s beloved Christmas in July Festival will be coming back to The Rocks this July, this time with a magical alfresco cinema, more than 80 twinkling Christmas trees, a European-style winter market and a laneway with real falling snow. The Rocks Christmas in July Festival has transformed the harbour-side precinct in the past, but this year, the program is stepping up its game – with the beloved winter markets back and better than ever, and some super special new additions. The key addition to the festival for this year is the Fire Pit Cinema, a first-of-its-kind winter open-air cinema experience. Here, guests will get to watch classic Christmas movies next to cosy private fire pits while roasting marshmallows and getting giddy on mulled wine and festive vibes. Book a fire pit for yourself and your friends and snuggle up under the blankets with a steaming hot chocolate for a cinematic night under the stars.  On the food front, the market will be home to more than 20 pop-up restaurants serving up your favourite European winter fare: everything from melted raclette to golden schnitzels and sugar-dusted crêpes.  Alongside the cinema and markets, Sydneysiders can expect to find a laneway laced with falling snow, and The Rocks will be illuminated by kil

Australia’s most famous beach is welcoming back its big winter festival, this time with the biggest program to date. Running from Friday, July 4 until Sunday, July 20, Bondi Festival 2025 will bring 17 days of world-class music, theatre, comedy, visual arts and interactive performances to the beachside suburb – as well as a huge ice-skating rink and the beloved ‘Bondi Vista Ferris Wheel’. This year’s fest will also see a welcome focus on foodie offerings, with the festival’s ‘Blue Sky Markets’ making their debut at Bondi Park over three big Saturdays, hosting stallholders from across Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. Festivities will begin with the 2025 Waverley Art Prize winners’ announcement at Bondi Pavilion Art Gallery – a prize that’s now in its 39th year. After the announcement, festival goers can get their giggle on at the opening night Bondi Festival Comedy Gala, which will take over Bondi Pavilion Theatre for two laughter-filled nights. The first Saturday of the fest also sees the return of two fan favourites: the Pavilion Paw Parade, and Sydney’s beloved inclusive art class, Gladdy Drawing Club.  Other highlights from the first week include an incredible showcase of First Nations talent, an on-stage film-making spectacle by POV by re:group, the Sydney premiere of Alternative Facts’ unexpectedly intimate new theatrical experience Sincere Apologies and the Bondi Festival debut of the award-winning comedian and disability advocate, Madeleine Stewart. The second week of the fes

Winter is well and truly here, and although Sydney is a city that thrives in the summertime, there’s a lot of fun to be had in the winter months, too. To bring some extra sparkle to this year’s (exceptionally) chilly season, the Northern Beaches Council has launched a cosy-af new winter festival: complete with a European ski resort-inspired pop-up, a series of wellness workshops, ten nights of live music and a whole lot of winter-themed dinners to keep you fuelled. Running from Friday, June 20 until Sunday, June 29, Rise Manly will take over heaps of venues across the Northern Beaches with a program designed to warm you up from the inside. Highlights include a magical pop-up ‘European Ski Village’ at Manly Pavilion (complete with winter cocktails, a Euro-inspired menu, inflatable igloos, ice sculptures and more), a ten-night music series at Felons Manly, a gorgeous long lunch by Alessandro Pavoni and Giovanni Pilu at Cibaria Manly and a series of jazz nights at Henry G’s. Other participating venues include 4 Pines Manly, Fika, Winona Wine, Noon, Tenacious Bakehouse and Sunset Sabi.  Keen to get cold? Join Manly’s bold and beautiful swimmers for the Ice Cold Classic: a one-kilometre charity ocean swim on the winter solstice. Not ready to take on a full kilometre of laps? Join a snorkelling experience to watch giant cuttlefish light up the ocean floor. Want a guaranteed post-swim warm-up? Q Station is playing host to a pop-up Finnish sauna, so you can dip in the harbour then wa

The super talented teams at Cov Hair (led by chief stylist and colourist wizard Yoav Cohen) view hair as “a vessel of self-expression…something powerful that can define us, brand us, and change us,”, so it’s safe to say that you’ll be in attentive hands. Hailing from the trendy French city of Marseille, Yoav brings a fresh, cool, cutting-edge approach. The peachy toned Mosman salon is the original outpost, and the Surry Hills salon opened in 2024. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: Need some me-time? These are the best day spas in the Harbour City.And these are the best facials in Sydney.

Marrickville's Tooth and Nail – Toothies for short – was founded back in 2017 by two best friends on a mission to create an inclusive salon/ barbershop for all walks of life. Their team of talented stylists (and most-recognisable team member, resident dog Brando) have helped them to realise that vision – with Toothies now a go-to for Sydneysiders of all identities looking for a welcoming, unintimidating salon experience and a trendy new 'do.   Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: Need some me-time? These are the best day spas in the Harbour City.And these are the best facials in Sydney.

In the heart of Paddington – arguably Sydney’s fashion capital – you’ll find Paloma, a super chic, sustainable salon that claims to take a “sensory approach to self-care”. What does that look like? Ceremonial-grade matcha on arrival and neck massages with relaxing Vedic oil blends. Sign us up. The team will listen to your needs and carefully execute your cut and style while you sit back and relax, creating looks that they refer to as “undone yet elevated”. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED:  Need some me-time? These are the best day spas in the Harbour City.And these are the best facials in Sydney.

This multi-award-winning salon on Sydney’s Northern Beaches has gained an incredibly loyal 5,000-strong client base since opening its doors, and for very good reason. Not only do the team here offer exceptional cuts, colours and styling treatments, they’re also committed to making the world a better place – to date, they’ve donated more than $100k to charity, and their sustainability initiatives are second to none.  The salon’s mission – bourne out through initiatives like ‘One Chair One Child’ (which has seen them sponsor a child in Uganda for every salon chair, currently eight) and their annual ‘With Love’ campaign (an annual two-week campaign that sees them donate $25 from every appointment to a life-changing cause of the client’s choice) – is “to prove that salons can be beautiful, generous and a force for good”. If you ask us, that’s a haircut worth catching the ferry for.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED:  Need some me-time? These are the best day spas in the Harbour City.And these are the best facials in Sydney.

Founded way back in 1968, this salon has been tending to the locks of Sydneysiders for decades. Located just off Phillip Street in the heart of Parramatta, it’s a beloved salon for the people of Western Sydney, offering everything from keratin straightening treatments to balayage colouring. The salon now has outposts in Carlingford and Camden too, but the Parramatta outpost is the OG (and just steps away from some of Parramatta’s best eateries). Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.RECOMMENDED:  Need some me-time? These are the best day spas in the Harbour City.And these are the best facials in Sydney.

Situated just off Queen Street in the leafy heart of Woolahra, this intimate salon is a truly divine space to spend a few hours, with exceptional hair cuts and colours a very welcome bonus. Candles burn and fill the space with a beautiful woody scent, there’s rosé on tap, and when the sun is shining, you can sit outside in the plant-filled atrium while the colour does its work on your locks. Although the space alone would be reason enough to visit Willomina, it’s the team and sense of community that sets this salon apart. “We want people to feel comfortable and cared for when they’re here,” salon manager Bridgitte tells me. And it’s true – there’s nothing intimidating about Willomina, and you can guarantee you’re in excellent hands. The team of seven stylists are all super talented and super friendly, so you’ll leave feeling like you’ve made a friend and gained a gorgeous new look. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.RECOMMENDED:  Need some me-time? These are the best day spas in the Harbour City.And these are the best facials in Sydney.

Having styled the hair of everyone from Cate Blanchett to Kendal Jenner, Nicole Ritchie to Miranda Kerr, it’s no exaggeration to call Anthony Nader one of Australia’s very best hair stylists. And despite his celebrity credentials, Anthony still brings the most warm, friendly, non-judgemental energy to his beautiful Surry Hills salon. Now in its third location, RAW By Anthony Nader is a gorgeous, light-flooded space in Sydney’s trendy urban heartland, home to a large open room with 7 chairs, as well as a magical, sound-proofed relaxation pod room with four Japanese-made beds aligned with the basins for the most relaxing hair wash of your life. Here, with the fireplace flickering and a unique relaxation focused soundtrack setting the tone, every client receives a ten minute scalp massage – the superstar treatment isn’t reserved for just the A-listers. When describing his styling philosophy, Anthony explains that beautiful hair is hair that looks natural – when I visited, the result was a fresh new look that was soft, perfectly styled and healthier than ever. The focus at Raw is on exceptional haircuts, but they offer excellent colour treatments and blow drys too. Located just steps from some of Sydney’s best bars and restaurants, the vibe here is both friendly and exciting – you’ll feel at home, and you’ll leave wanting to take on the world. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.

This trendy boutique salon has a perfect dose of the buzzy, nightclub energy that nearby Kings Cross is known for. Up a staircase just off Victoria Street, in a beautifully designed studio, the music is pumping, and you’ll walk out with a fresh new look – ready to hit the dancefloor. Founded by global colour educator Michael Kelly, Salon Her specialises in transformative colour, holistic hair health, colour corrections and bespoke consultations. If you need to fix a dodgy home colour, this is the place to come. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED:  Need some me-time? These are the best day spas in the Harbour City.And these are the best facials in Sydney.

On Surry Hills’ Kippax Street, you’ll find Edwards and Co: the Sydney outpost of a salon known for its "future-proof" colour techniques. Time Out Sydney’s Food and Drink Editor visited a few months ago, and the shine is still strong on her buttery blonde highlights – so we can personally vouch for their excellent, long-lasting colour treatments. The minimalist, warehouse-style space is big and beautiful, and home to a talented team of stylists on hand for on-point cuts, rich colour treatments and luxe, bouncy blow drys. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: Need some me-time? These are the best day spas in the Harbour City.And these are the best facials in Sydney.

Gun to my head, if I were asked to recommend one Sydney staycation for an animal enthusiast visiting from overseas, I’d tell them Tiny Wombat. Not only is this magical tiny home named after one of Australia’s cutest native creatures, it’s also located on one of the city’s most incredible wildlife sanctuaries, meaning you can come face to face with some cute-as-hell Aussie animals before settling in for a hot tub under the stars. All of this, just a 45-minute drive from Sydney’s CBD. Got family visiting from out of town and not sure where to take them? You’re welcome.  Tiny Wombat is one of two tiny homes that opened earlier this year on the grounds of the Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, a lush 35-acre property on the outskirts of the city. While there are a lot of beautiful places to stay in Sydney (and even a hotel inside Sydney’s most spectacular zoo), Tiny Wombat and Tiny Wallaby are the first tiny homes to open inside an Australian wildlife sanctuary. Supported by generous donations and entirely volunteer-run, Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is an organisation dedicated to providing homes for injured or orphaned animals who might not survive in the wild. Tours of the sanctuary (offered to a limited number of visitors every week to maintain a stable setting for the animals that call it home) can be booked as an add-on to your stay, and all funds go towards keeping the sanctuary running and providing care to (cute A-F) creatures in need.  Photograph: Winnie Stubbs | Time Out Sydney Th

The sun has been shining bright in Sydney over the past few weeks, and we’ve been treated to some stunning days: with high skies and crystal clear waters. But it looks like our beach weather is wrapping up for a few days at least, with a huge winter storm headed for the Harbour City. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Sydney is set to be battered by torrential rain, super strong surf and “damaging” winds when a powerful low-pressure system hits Australia’s east coast over the next few days.Due to arrive on Tuesday, July 1, the storm is expected to peak over Tuesday and Wednesday, with winds of up to 45 kilometres per hour and up to 90 millimetres of rain due on Tuesday alone. On Wednesday, we’re due for up to 35 millimetres of rain, damaging winds of up to 40 kilometres per hour and “hazardous” surf conditions. If you were planning an ocean swim, you’ll want to reschedule. Photograph: Winnie Stubbs | Time Out Sydney High rainfall in the Harbour City in June isn’t super rare – it’s generally known as the wettest month of the year. But even so, the rainfall we’re set to see over the next few days is unusual – with the average rainfall in June 132 millimetres, and up to 140 millimetres due to fall on Sydney between Tuesday and Thursday. With more than a month’s worth of rain due to fall this week alone, flood warnings have been issued across Sydney, the Hunter region, Illawarra and the South Coast. According to the BoM, the rain is due to ease on Thursday, but we should s

With spectacular celebrity-approved palaces overlooking the harbour and magical beachside boltholes hiding in sun-soaked coves, Sydney’s hotel scene is already pretty unparalleled. In fact, in the most recent hotel awards from renowned travel media brand Travel and Leisure, it was revealed that 50 per cent of Australia’s best city stays are right here in Sydney. But the Harbour City isn’t stopping there. Later this year, doors will open at the first Australian outpost of 25hours Hotels. 25hours Hotel The Olympia is due to open in the heart of Sydney's Inner East this spring – here’s what we know so far.  First things first: location, location, location. If you’ve spent any time in the Darlinghurst/ Paddington area in recent weeks, you’ll have seen the scaffolding begin to come down around the huge heritage-listed building on the corner of South Dowling Street and Oxford. The former theatre (initially opened in 1911 as ‘West’s Olympia Theatre’) has spent the past few decades as a palace of entertainment, becoming Sydney’s first twin cinema in the 1970s before briefly reverting back to a live theatre venue in 2014. Photograph: Supplied | 25hours Hotel The Olympia This year, the building will officially begin its new chapter as a hospitality mecca, with the 109-room hotel set to welcome a Santa Monica-inspired rooftop bar, a coffee shop celebrating Sydney’s café culture, a sexy, film noir-inspired cocktail bar and an intimate restaurant. All four dining spaces in the hotel wil

It’s not a newsflash to be reminded that the cost of living in Sydney is high. But it’s a kick in the guts to learn that Sydney isn’t just expensive by Australian standards, but by global standards, too. A new report has just confirmed that Sydney’s housing market is the second-most expensive in the world, for the second year running. For more than two decades, the Demographia International Housing Affordability report has ranked housing affordability across 95 major metropolitan areas in eight countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. To determine the rankings, the researchers at Chapman University compare median house prices to median household incomes, scoring each market on a scale from ‘affordable’ (3.0 or less) to ‘impossibly unaffordable’ (9.0 or more). For the first time ever, not a single one of the 95 housing markets assessed was classified as ‘affordable’. This news is even more grim for potential Aussie homebuyers, with five Australian cities ranked among the 15 least affordable places to buy a home worldwide in 2025. Sydney was the second-worst place for housing affordability in the world, trailing only behind Hong Kong. This isn’t anything new – the NSW capital has ranked as the first, second or third-most unaffordable housing market in 16 of the last 17 years. In 2025, it had an ‘impossibly unaffordable’ score of 13.8, with the report finding that median house prices across the city

From spectacular seaside escapes to sky-high stunners, Australia is home to some seriously luxurious hotels. We’ve all got a dream stay, but ten in particular have just been crowned the best of the best in Australia for 2025 — and they deserve a top spot on your bucket list. Renowned travel media brand Travel + Leisure has named Capella Sydney as this year’s winner of the best city hotel in Australia. Opened in 2023 after an eye-popping $300 million refurbishment, this lavish heritage-listed hotel features a naturally lit 20-metre indoor pool, Italian Frette linen, 24-hour room service controlled by a tablet, and a chic French bistro, Brasserie 1930. Photograph: Timothy Kaye Capella isn’t the only Harbour City stay that’s worthy of a crown; five of the top ten city hotels for 2025 are in Sydney. The Park Hyatt Sydney landed in third, followed by Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay in fifth, Shangri-La Sydney in seventh and Pier One Sydney Harbour in eighth. The ultra-stylish Ritz-Carlton Melbourne ranked as the second-best city hotel for 2025. Soaring 80 storeys high, this luxe stay features 257 fancy rooms with incredible views of the city, a heated infinity pool, bougie spa packages and an award-winning modern Australian restaurant, Atria. Guests here are well and truly sitting in the lap of luxury.  Another one of our Melbourne favourites, W Melbourne, claimed the sixth spot on the best city hotels list, with its sister hotel in Brisbane landing in tenth. You

From breezy beachside stays to spectacular sky-high towers, Sydney is home to some pretty incredible hotels. We all have our favourites, but one in particular – housed in the former government building at Circular Quay – continues to gain recognition on the global stage. Last year, Capella Sydney was included in prestigious travel brand AFAR’s list of the 31 best hotels in the world, and it’s now scored another accolade to add to its collection. The renowned travel media company Travel and Leisure has just announced its 2025 award winners, and Capella scored big – ranking as the best city hotel in Australia. And it turns out Capella isn’t the only Harbour City stay that’s worthy of a crown; five of the top ten city hotels in Australia for 2025 are right here in Sydney. These are the top 10 city hotels in Australia for 2025: Capella, Sydney The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne Park Hyatt Sydney The Tasman Hobart, Tasmania Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay W Melbourne Shangri-La Sydney Pier One Sydney Harbour COMO The Treasury, Perth W Brisbane Shangri-La Sydney’s Chi, The Spa took the award for best hotel spa in Australia, with three other NSW hotel spas (Park Hyatt Sydney, Elements of Byron Resort and Spa, and The Day Spa by Chuan at The Langham) also ranking in the top ten. Shangri-La and Capella also featured on the list of the country’s five best hotel General Managers, placing first and fifth respectively. These are the Time Out team's favourite spas in Sydney Phot

There are a few must-do items on every Melburnian’s Tasmania hit list. Visit MONA, hike a mountain, drink a glass of natty wine at Sonny and relax in a hand-built sauna floating on a lake. On Tassie’s Oyster Cove Marina, a beautiful timber-lined sauna invites visitors to warm up and then plunge into the water, for contrast therapy in its most natural, Instagrammable setting. And soon, you won’t have to board the Spirit of Tasmania to try it for yourself.From mid-August onwards, the second hand-built sauna boat from Tassie-based boat builder and wellness enthusiast Dan Bush will open its doors in the heart of Melbourne. Based in Docklands, Sauna Boat Melbourne will have the same artfully simple eco-friendly design as its Tassie counterpart: fully electric and constructed by hand by a man who’s passionate about helping people slow down and reset.   Photograph: Supplied “In the rush of everyday life, we often forget to slow down. Sauna Boat Melbourne invites you to do just that – sweat, plunge, breathe. It’s wellness made simple, on the water, in the heart of it all,” explains Bush. While Sauna Boat Tasmania invites guests to cool off with an icy plunge in the lake, the Melbourne version will be home to ice baths waiting on the deck – complete with striking views of the city skyline. The contrast therapy that comes from warming up in a sauna then cooling off is a super effective mood-booster, and the ultimate winter reset.    The best news? It’s not just set to be a seasonal a

City breaks in Sydney are great for dining out, getting your culture fix and dancing the night away, but the Harbour City isn’t generally thought of as a hiking destination. Turns out, that’s not quite the case – with Sydney just ranking as one of the best hiking cities in the world. The world’s best hiking cities combine the best of both worlds – all the food, culture and fun of a city break with a dose of fresh air and outdoor adventure. Plenty of the world’s best cities are nestled amongst mountains, on coastlines and close to magnificent nature reserves, but which one can claim to be the best hiking city on the planet? A study by SportsShoes.com has set out to answer that question. The research looked into the number of nearby hikes in each city, alongside the number of reviews and the average rating the hikes were given.  Topping the list? It’s Rio de Janeiro, which had a perfect score of 100 overall, thanks to 334 local hikes, which have an average rating of 4.8 out of 5, and 219 reviews.  In second place was Mexico City and in third was San Francisco. The list is dominated by US cities, which claim seven places in the ranking overall – read on to find which ones, and have a look at Time Out’s list of the best hikes in the world here. Our very own Harbour City came in seventh place – taking the crown for the best city for hiking in Oceania. With a total 'hikeability' score of 90, Sydney came out as the city in the world with the highest number of hikes (an incredible 85

Broken Hill – Australia’s longest-operating mining town – is anything but shy. The 17,000-person outback town was the key filming location for the iconic 1994 Australian movie Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and that colourful, flamboyant energy lives on in the wide, sun-soaked streets. As well as the famous Palace Hotel, the vibrant town is home to Australia’s largest regional art gallery, a magical outdoor sculpture park, an incredible fine dining restaurant dedicated to celebrating native ingredients and a thriving pub scene. And it turns out, Broken Hill is also home to one of the best under-the-radar natural wonders worth the road-trip in the whole of Australia. You can check out our full guide to Broken Hill here, and find out why one Time Out writer thinks every NSW resident should add it to their bucket list. While everyone has their own idea of a ‘hidden gem’, the crew at Mitsubishi Motors crunched the numbers to find the real deal. They sorted through more than 50,000 Aussie attractions on TripAdvisor, filtering out the big-ticket spots, before landing on a top 20 list of secret natural hotspots – all with high ratings, but barely any online searches.  It’s no secret Aussies love chasing waterfalls, so we're not surprised that a hidden waterfall, Gunlom Falls (a stunning waterfall in Kakadu National Park), claims the title of Australia’s top hidden gem. But Broken Hill’s Daydream Mine Mine – a historic silver mine on the outskirts of the NSW town – is a more surprisi

As one of the wealthiest cities in the world, recently ranking as the sixth most liveable city in the world (cost of living aside) and ranking seventh on the prestigious Global Cities Index, Sydney is often considered as one of the most privileged cities in the world. But there’s a major issue facing our city, and the futures of a lot of young Sydneysiders are under threat. According to new research by YFoundations, 40 per cent of homeless people in Australia are under the age of 24. The housing crisis is a problem that Sydneysiders of all ages have to confront, but the issue of youth homelessness is one that has huge ripple effects, and one that experts in the field believe could be "absolutely resolved". According to YFoundations, the peak body for youth homelessness in NSW, around 43,000 young Australians seek help from homelessness service providers every year, and many of those are right here in Sydney. We spoke with YFoundations CEO John MacMillan, who said that the 43,000 figure is only scratching the surface, with the majority of youth homelessness going unrecorded. “Youth homelessness is a substantial issue, but no one knows the true extent because it’s a very difficult thing to measure. We rely primarily on data from the Commonwealth and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and we know that last financial year there were about 43,000 unaccompanied children and young people that presented to specialist homelessness services seeking assistance. But the real

Earlier this month, following the most successful Sydney Film Festival to date, the NSW Government announced it would commit $380 million to support the screen industry – including $100 million for a new film studio in the state. Now, plans for a potential studio on the Central Coast – just an hour’s drive from Sydney’s CBD – have been revealed. The 30-hectare site for Central Coast Studios is located in the town of Calga, 62 kilometres north of Sydney in the beautiful Glenworth Valley region of the Central Coast. Here, the team plans to build a $230 million world-class screen production facility featuring 10 sound stages, a film museum, production offices, an education and training precinct, and a series of studios for on-site production. The proposed plans include sustainable, accessible design that celebrates Australia's natural beauty, along with amenities such as a helipad and Australia’s largest water tank. Plus, there will be room for expansion – with the team behind the project anticipating continued growth. With Australian screen, television, and digital game production on the rise, the aim is to support a new generation – with Central Coast Studios set to create more than 2,500 jobs in the area (across construction, screen production, hospitality and education). Photograph: Supplied | Central Coast Studios The project was conceived in 2020, and with industry leaders involved in the team, it was already on track to come to life under a self-funded, staged delivery

When plans were revealed for the new Sydney Fish Market, it was clear that the spruced-up new space would be something to behold – firmly securing Sydney Fish Market on every Sydney bucket list. Now, the NSW Government has confirmed that they’ll be installing a new ferry wharf on the doorstep of the market so visitors can arrive by boat at what Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper has described as becoming “the next iconic addition to Sydney’s beautiful harbour.” This morning, the NSW Government announced that they’ll be committing $70 million towards improving transport options to Sydney Fish Market, with $30 million going towards construction of a commuter wharf in Blackwattle Bay. Once operational, it will link commuters to Barangaroo via ferry – to improve accessibility for the estimated six million people set to visit the market every year (up from the current 4.5 million annual visitors).  Other transport links to the huge $836-million market include the light rail, with the nearby Wentworth Park light rail stop set to receive a $40 million accessibility upgrade. The light rail station upgrade will be completed following community consultation, with new features set to include platform upgrades, CCTV, landscaping, signage, lifts, ramps and improved lighting.  The new wharf will be an addition to the full transformation of Blackwattle Bay, which is set to welcome 300 new homes, new commercial spaces and a public waterfront park. Photograph: Supplied | NSW Gover