What's happening in Sydney
The best things to do this week
Treat your pooch like a Christmas prince at this adorable pop-up doggo photography studio
Be dazzled with Christmas cheer at Market City’s little kaleidoscopic installation
Andrew Lloyd Webber takes on a classic Jack Black comedy in this winning new musical
Get your Saturday nights started with sunsets, songs and storytelling
The most delicious cuisine this side of the Indian Ocean is making a home in Darling Harbour this month
Get more than gifts at this environmentally-minded festive market
Latest news stories
Competitions and announcements
The Time Out Sydney Bar Awards 2020 will be held at the Powerhouse Museum on Monday December 9. Join us, along with host Matt Okine, as we toast the city’s best cocktail bars, new bars, wine bars, bartenders and more at the party for the party-makers.You can expect an evening of delicious drinks, great food, sweet tunes and celebration, shoulder-to-shoulder with the city's best bar professionals. Tickets are on sale now. Awards nominees will be announced shortly in the following categories: Best Cocktail Bar; Best Wine Bar; Best Pub; Best Bar Food; Best Bar Team; Best New Bar; Bartender of the Year; Bar of the Year; and Rising Talent Award. Got a favourite bar? Vote for it in the People’s Choice Award. The 2020 Time Out Bar Awards are taking place at the beginning of a new phase for Sydney. The recently published recommendations of a Joint Select Committee investigating the effect of the lockout laws called for them to be rolled back, and NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has also called for the laws to be repealed. Time Out has helped to spearhead these changes, and our Bar Awards 2020 will be a celebration of Sydney's stunning and resilient night-time scene. Time Out thanks our sponsors Asahi Premium Beverages, Two Suns and Winterhalter as well as venue partner the Powerhouse Museum for making these awards possible.
Forget after-work sessions – did you know that some of the best bars in Sydney’s CBD are open on Sunday? And with all the end-of-year catching up and Christmas shopping taking you into the city on weekends, it's good to know there are good places opening their doors. In a patriotic vein, these three bars – Old Mate's Place, PS40 and Burrow Bar – will be celebrating Aussie spirits by offering special cocktails throughout summer and beyond. Get into them on a warm Sunday arvo, or anytime before the end of the year.
Paid content
More
Australia’s summers are unforgiving, and as the climate changes they’ll only get tougher on our rural communities. But even as you’re enjoying a refreshing beverage this summer there’s something you can do to help our farmers get through the worst drought in living memory, and that’s recycle. During the Bottles for the Bush campaign, anyone who puts their eligible drink containers into a reverse vending machine will have the option to donate their refund to Rural Aid to help farmers and families affected by drought and bushfires. That’s 10c for every container going to help provide hay bales, water trucks, diesel and food on the table for struggling rural communities. The goal is to collect 2.5 million drink containers, which will raise $250,000 across the 16-week campaign. Bottles for the Bush is a campaign being run by TOMRA, the recycling company that has supplies the Return and Earn reverse vending machines used across Sydney and NSW. By any measure, Return and Earn has been a huge success, with over 2 billion aluminium, glass, plastic, steel and liquid paperboard containers collected in the scheme’s first 19 months, reducing the number of containers that end up as litter and sending them to be recycled. Bottles for the Bush kicks off on November 4, 2019. There are 320 TOMRA Return and Earn recycling machines across NSW and you can find your nearest one here.
Paid content
More
January in Sydney is set to be magical again with the announcement of the program for Wesley Enoch’s fourth Sydney Festival (January 8-26, 2020). It’s another ambitious line-up spanning eye-opening art installations, boundary-pushing drama and dance, gravity-defying circus, and thrilling musical performances. There are 75 events happening across the city, from new Australian work through to blockbuster international shows. Not sure where to start? Try these five essential events. Tickets are on sale now. Want more? Read Time Out’s 20 top picks of Sydney Festival.
Paid content
More
Recreational drug taking (including drinking) is part of the nightlife of our city. Policymakers, healthcare professionals, academics and industry insiders need an accurate picture of how, why and when we take drugs in order to keep us safe while supporting nightlife and good times. To that end, the totally anonymous Global Drug Survey is asking people around the world to be honest about their drug use. For years the Global Drug Survey (GDS) has been asking people to share their recreational drug habits by filling out a confidential and encrypted online survey. Because recreational drug use is illegal in many countries, it can be hard to get accurate information on the issue. The survey is privately commissioned by a group of international experts in drugs, health and public policy – so you don’t need to fear being contacted by the feds. This year the GDS is focusing a lot on CBD oil, which is found in many countries in everything from dietary supplements to hand lotions. But does CBD oil actually accomplish what it says it will? It's currently only available in Australia by prescription, but many people order it online illegally. If you're one of them, the GDS wants to hear from you. The GDS is also asking questions like: Do you take psychedelics as medicine for psychiatric illness? What are your biggest regrets after drinking, if any? What advice could be given to people who are drinking at risky levels to help modify their behaviour? Do you have any experience wi
When it comes to vodka, Grey Goose is at the top of many drinkers’ lists. The luxury French-made vodka is well known for being impossibly smooth and balanced, being as easily drunk by itself as it is in a cocktail. And as with all good things, Grey Goose is constantly looking to shake things up – literally and figuratively. Grey Goose La Vanille last graced our cocktail shakers in 2003 and it’s not sticking around for long this time either. To celebrate the re-release of Grey Goose La Vanille, the deluxe vodka brand is heading to three of Sydney’s top bars and one Woolongong gem to whip up some very special cocktails. Not familiar with Grey Goose La Vanille? We’re not surprised – this is a limited edition tipple created from Madagascan vanilla beans that lend the spirit a natural caramelised toffee flavour. Grey Goose add no sugar, just premium vodka made from soft winter wheat and spring water. From November, head into Maybe Sammy, Barangaroo House, and Mrs Sippy in Sydney, and Pepe's on the Beach in Woolongong to try Grey Goose La Vanille four different ways. These top shelf establishments will be shaking up drinks that are really kicked up a notch by the addition of a premium vanilla vodka. Head to Maybe Sammy for a Lady Luck combining the La Vanille with pink lady apple juice, curacao, lemon, passionfruit and maraschino. Or, try the Miss Double Bay at Mrs Sippy, a delicious mix of the exclusive vodka with pear liquer, lemon, and cucumber juice. For an elevated sour, t
Paid content
More
Here's how you can be a part of the celebration of cinema at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards
Paid content
More
The Color Run, a 5km, untimed fun run where runners are doused from head to toe in different coloured powder, is collaborating with Subaru Australia to give away a prize pack that you don’t want to miss. Enter the competition by October 31 and one lucky winner will win: - The use of a Subaru Impreza over the course of the Color Run Sydney weekend (three nights);- A $100 petrol voucher;- A $150 pre-paid VISA for meals;- The Color Run Sydney tickets for Sunday November 10 for you and three friends (four tickets total);- A one-night hotel stay for four up to the value of $800. All you need to do for a chance to win is enter your details and tell us where you'd love to go for a drive if you got to drive a Subaru Impreza for the weekend. You'll need to claim your prize over on November 9-10 2019. Good luck! Enter now
Paid content
More
The season for end-of-year catch-ups and Christmas parties is just around the corner, but if you're looking for a spot to get together with your mates, start with the Parlour Group restaurants in Sydney. Today, Parlour Group consists of four venues: Riley Street Garage in Woolloomooloo combines drinking and quality dining brilliantly with a huge island bar; Rosebery's Stanton and Co will have you dining in a setting of warehouse chic; Surly's in Surry Hills is for when you're after spicy Bloody Caesar cocktails with your BBQ and burgers; and The Village Inn is the neighbourhood favourite in Paddo, where pub classics don’t compromise on quality local produce. These restaurants may offer cuisines ranging from modern Japanese to American barbecue, but they have a lot in common too: they’re all housed in beautiful heritage buildings with oodles of charm; they are all great places to drink as well as to eat; they all offer a warm welcome to everyone; and – hallelujah! – they take bookings. Lucky for you, Time Out and Parlour Group are giving away two progressive dinners hosted by charismatic owner, Brody Petersen. Two winners will get to take four mates each on a progressive dinner where you'll get to enjoy one course and drink from Riley Street Garage, Surly's, The Village Inn and Stanton and Co over the course of one evening. Interested? All you need to do to enter is tell us why you and your mates deserve to be treated to a progressive dinner out with Parlour Group. The mo
Paid content
More
Newtown's newest bar, Cuckoo is giving away a $500 voucher so you and your crew can wine and dine
Paid content
MoreThe best of Sydney
You can't call yourself a Sydney local till you've seen the Harbour from all these angles.
Visit these beauty-spots in a day and be back home by bedtime.
These mystical wayfinders are a beacon for Sydney sightseers.
Really get to know the city of Sydney through a connection to land First Nations peoples continue to uphold.
Dive in as the sun rises and you’ll have the salty baths to yourself or wade in at hightide for a thrilling swell as waves crash against the walls.
Sydney is one seriously photogenic place. Here's where to find the best Instagram gold in the city.
Head to these parks, walks, beaches and lookouts to gaze on the Emerald City in all its glory.
There's far more to accessibility than wheelchair access alone...
Whether you want hardcore results, or just a bit of chill time.
Whether it’s the brekky pho or racks of vintage threads that gets you out of bed in the morning.
These dishes that are born and bred in the Philippines have a distinct deliciousness all their own.
While away an afternoon or simply catch a break at lunch time.
Welcome to the Time Out EAT List, our handpicked ‘best of’ for Sydney's food scene.
Take a read and get cracking on that ultimate to-do list.
Sydney packs a punch when it comes to spectacular views and thrilling activities.
For those days when it's wet, gloomy or particularly windy.
Let us be your guide to the sights you need to see and the ones you can wave to from an open-top bus.
There are a few hotels whose hospitality is just as popular with locals as with those visiting town.
