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Jacarandas
Photograph: Destination NSW | McDougall Street, Kirribilli
Photograph: Destination NSW

The best things to do in Sydney this November

See out spring with a host of community festivals, shows and long-awaited art exhibitions

Avril Treasure
Written by Avril Treasure
Editor, Time Out Sydney
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November is shaping up to be a good one, Sydney (the last month of spring! Hello, purple jacarandas!).

Head to the Head On Photo Festival (Nov 6-29), which returns for its 17th year with 93 free exhibitions showcasing more than 700 photographers from over 30 countries.

Garage Sale Trail – Australia’s biggest second-hand treasure hunt – is back for two massive weekends (Nov 7-8 and 14-15). Cash in on your unwanted records and stock up on vintage finds. 

Love beer, delicious food and live music? Head to the Inner West for Made in the Inner West (Nov 6-15), a 10-day neighbourhood party bringing together 13 breweries and 13 local businesses for exclusive beer collabs, food pairings and live music.

There’s also Diwali in Harris Park on Nov 7, a free street party celebrating the Festival of Lights with food, music, cultural performances and market stalls.

The same day, the long-awaited Powerhouse Parramatta opens its doors, kicking off a 23-day festival of talks, workshops, food, music and performances.

Art lovers, meanwhile, can check out the Affordable Art Fair at Carriageworks (Nov 5-8), featuring thousands of original artworks, or step inside the immersive world of David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away), also at Carriageworks and running until January 24.

There's plenty for foodies and market-lovers, too. The Good Food & Wine Show: Christmas edition is taking over the ICC from Nov 20-22, while The Finders Keepers Market returns to Carriageworks from Nov 13-15, bringing together more than 170 independent designers and makers with plenty of gift-worthy finds.

Sydney Cellar Door is popping up at First Fleet Park in The Rocks from Nov 13-15, bringing together more than 35 NSW wineries and 200-plus wines for a big three-day celebration of local drops. Entry is free, with tasting packs available to purchase.

And for a big dose of Aussie music nostalgia, Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical opens at the Roslyn Packer Theatre on Nov 15, with a season running until January 3. Can't wait.

Hope you have a 11/10 month.

Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, straight to your inbox.

Keep edging towards summer at one of Sydney's best waterfront bars, or one of the best rooftop bars in the city.

November's biggest events

Garage Sale Trail

  • Shopping
  • Op shops
  • Sydney
Garage Sale Trail
Garage Sale Trail
Photograph: Supplied
Say farewell to fast fashion and hello to shopping secondhand, as Australia’s biggest pre-loved treasure hunt – Garage Sale Trail – returns for two massive weekends this November. We suggest getting a headstart on that spring clean-out to make room for lots of newfound treasures at bargain prices.This year’s event is going down on November 7-8 and 14-15, with hundreds of sales set to pop up across the country. From vintage clothes to classic cookbooks, cult vinyl and rare Lego, Sydenysiders willing to hit the streets will get their hands on some pretty special treasures. If you're roaming through your suburb on the day you'll likely stumble on a sale or too, but it's worth checking out the map if you want to plan out your shopping journey with coffee breaks in mind. Garage Sale Trail started with two Bondi guys, Andrew and Dazz, who decided they would set up a secondhand stall at a local event in the suburb. ‘Don’t dump it. Sell it.’ was their tagline. Fast-forward 15 years, and Garage Sale Trail has become a nationwide festival with more than 300,000 Aussies hitting the trails each year, and Garage Sale Trail sellers making an average of $457.Plan your route by building a trail of sales to visit using the Garage Sale Trail map, here. If you want to turn your stash into cash, you can register for the Garage Sale Trail for free here. 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...

Made in the Inner West

  • Things to do
  • Fairs and festivals
  • Marrickville
Made in the Inner West
Made in the Inner West
Photograph: Yeah Rad
This November, the Inner West is serving up a delicious mix of exclusive craft beers, live music and seriously good food, all wrapped into one big neighbourhood party. Made in the Inner West runs from November 6-15, bringing together 13 breweries and 13 local businesses for ten days of deliciously creative collaborations and limited-edition beers.  In terms of entertainment, Inner Westie singer-songwriter Ben Lee is performing across four breweries along with his favourite local artists on November 7, so get ready to 'catch his disease', if you know what we mean. The festival’s food and drinks menu is full of unexpected pairings between local breweries and eateries. For instance, Grifter is teaming up with A.P Bakery, Heaps Normal with Mapo Gelato, Bracket with Miss Sina, and Pickled Monkey with Donut Garage and many, many more.  Grab a festival passport and collect stamps as you visit breweries and purchase beers. Score ten stamps and you’ll earn a limited-edition tote bag featuring artwork by Aidan Howes. Entry is free and everybody's welcome, so bring your family, bring your friends, and even bring your fur babies.  Made in the Inner West runs from November 6-15 across 13 Inner West Ale Trail breweries. Entry is free. Find out more here. 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: Hungry for more? Here's where else you can grab a bite to eat in Sydney's Inner West.
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Sydney Cellar Door

  • Things to do
  • Food and drink
  • The Rocks
Sydney Cellar Door
Sydney Cellar Door
Rory Forbes lange
Vino fiends, glasses at the ready! Winemakers from more than 35 NSW wineries will be descending upon The Rocks for Sydney Cellar Door, a huge celebration of the state’s best wine. For its third year since being founded, NSW Wine Month will see the best homegrown wines take over First Fleet Park, where top tipples will be paired with panoramic harbour views – truly the stuff of dreams. At this three-day féte, running from Friday, November 13 to Sunday, November 15, wine lovers will have the opportunity to meet the minds behind top wines – including regional vignerons, winemakers and venue owners – and sample the fruits of their labours. Plus, you’ll get to experience exclusive collaborations with NSW bars, restaurants and venues. Beyond the vino, the scenic space will be stacked with freshly shucked oysters and crowd-pleasing Italian bites, including arancini and wood-fired pizza. Make the most of the fest’s free entry and spend the weekend sipping your way through the state’s best wine regions, from the Hunter Valley through to Orange and Mudgee, with a stunning harbour backdrop. On this year’s bill of top-notch drops, you’ll experience acclaimed craftmanship from Silkmans wines, Brokenwood wines, Lowe Family Wine Co., Ross Hill, Via Pola, Stein Winery and De Beaurepaire Wines, to name a few. Take your pick between each winery’s finest bottles, ranging between crisp whites, juicy reds and deeper, more indulgent sips. Or, let the curators do the thinking for you by opting...
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David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)

  • Art
  • Digital and interactive
  • Eveleigh
David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)
David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)
Photograph: Jacquie Manning
The late, great David Hockney (July 9, 1937 – June 11, 2026) passed away earlier this year, but his art is very much alive. You might know the British artist for his sun-drenched Los Angeles swimming pools, including A Bigger Splash (1967), or Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972), which fetched a whopping $90.3 million at auction in 2018. Or, perhaps you’ve seen his portrait of pop star Harry Styles that he painted in just two days, or his vibrant digital landscapes that he created on an iPad. Or maybe you just dig the fact that Hockney wore yellow Crocs when he met King Charles.  Now, Sydneysiders can step right into Hockney’s colourful, endlessly curious world as his acclaimed immersive experience, David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away), makes its Australian debut at Carriageworks. Running until January 24, 2027, this spectacular 360-degree production transforms the vast Bay 17 into a kaleidoscope of colour, movement, sound and light. Created by London’s Lightroom, the experience has captivated audiences from Seoul to Singapore since premiering in London in 2023. Bigger & Closer takes you inside Hockney’s artistic imagination, tracing six decades of creative experimentation. Narrated by Hockney himself and accompanied by an original score by composer Nico Muhly, it reveals the stories, ideas and happy accidents behind his extraordinary body of work. Journey through the San Gabriel Mountains, cruise along California’s Mulholland Drive...
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Powerhouse Parramatta Opening Festival

  • Things to do
  • Fairs and festivals
  • Parramatta
Powerhouse Parramatta Opening Festival
Powerhouse Parramatta Opening Festival
Florian Holzherr
It’s been a long time coming, but Powerhouse Parramatta finally opens this weekend! With free entry, the new Western Sydney museum will throw open its doors to the curious, creative and everyone in between on 7 November, marking the start of a 23-day Opening Festival featuring more than 170 free and ticketed events spanning music, food, performance, design, science and more. Visitors can also explore five epic exhibitions, four of which are free.  This massive program includes talks from astronauts, designers, sci-fi writers, artists and more, a live music program that spans a world of genres and cultures, film screenings from across Australia, Asia and the Pacific, food programming including a family-style dinner, cooking demonstrations and tastings, cultural performances and workshops.  The biggest on the starting exhibition lineup is Task Eternal, the most ambitious aerospace exhibition ever staged in Australia, featuring over 850 objects including a historic Qantas avro 584 aircraft, space suits and an immersive light work exploring flight, space and human perception by American artist James Turrell. There’s also Overflow, a First Nations-led exhibition on the living principles of Water Country; The Dark, an immersive world for kids filled with over 800 objects; the Australian debut of British artist Es Devlin in Es Devlin: The Turning; and The Mall, a retrospective on the history and significance of the humble shopping mall. As for must-see events from the Time Out...
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Superposition

  • Things to do
  • Fairs and festivals
  • Prospect
Superposition
Superposition
Photograph: Supplied | Superposition
Sydney’s summer music scene this year is seriously strong, but if you’re keen to get your live music fix outside of the city, we’ve got good news. This November, a brand-new festival is bringing four days of art, live music, immersive performances and nature-based fun to the Blue Mountains. Here’s what we know.  The brand new festival, Superposition, will run from November 26-29, 2026, across Dharug and Gundungurra Country – with programming spanning Penrith, Katoomba, Blackheath, Mount Victoria, Medlow Bath and Wentworth Falls. Conceived specifically for the Blue Mountains, the multi-disciplinary fesi will bring together local, national and international artists for a program inspired by the region's landscapes, communities and contemporary culture. One of the biggest drawcards is Block Party, a street party curated by Mountains-born electronic pop group Hermitude and Haiku Hands, featuring Jamaica Moana, Vv Pete, TOAH and DJ Charlie Villas. Elsewhere, Homo House will transform Katoomba's Victoria and Albert Guesthouse into an immersive queer arts space, with installations, performances and music. High Tea Dance promises a garden party spanning the guesthouse's grounds and stables, with performances by Dykes on Bikes, Lesbionica, Justin Shoulder and Betty Apple, alongside DJs and live acts. Fun.  There's a whole lot beyond the headline events, too. Visitors can wander through Ace Mart, an art-filled convenience store and community hub, catch a Welcome to Country and...
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Head On Photo Festival

  • Art
  • Photography
  • Sydney
Head On Photo Festival
Head On Photo Festival
JULIA SH
In an Instagram-flooded world, it’s easy to forget the way good photography can truly make us see the world a little differently. Here to remind us, Australia's biggest photo fest is coming back to Sydney – bringing 93 free exhibitions and more than 700 photographers from over 30 countries to venues across the city. Running from November 6-29, Head On Photo Festival's three key locations are Bondi Beach promenade, Bondi Pavilion and Paddington Reservoir Gardens, where the major Featured Program exhibitions will be presented. The wider program extends into galleries, cafes, bookstores and community spaces across Sydney, with additional independent exhibitions taking place interstate. And what can we expect to see this year? From what we can tell, there are some seriously powerful international stories in the mix. American photojournalist Carol Guzy, the first journalist to win four Pulitzer Prizes, presents ICE: Broken Families, documenting the impact of US immigration enforcement on children and families. Other heart-wrenching depictions come from British photographer Giles Clarke, who brings rare images from inside war-torn Sudan, and Palestinian photojournalist Abdelrahman Alkahlout who captures everyday life and displacement in Gaza. Closer to home, Australian photographer Trent Mitchell explores the landscapes, rituals and contradictions of regional Australia in Australian Lustre, and Sydney photojournalist Glenn Lockitch revisits the city's after-dark characters...

Wundrful World of Christmas

  • Kids
  • Exhibitions
  • Sydney
Wundrful World of Christmas
Wundrful World of Christmas
Photograph: Supplied
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. If your little ones are already making a list for Santa and checking it twice, there’s something special waiting for them right in the heart of Sydney. After delighting families in London, Wundrful World of Christmas is returning home from November 6 to December 24, bringing festive cheer to Sydney right opposite the QVB. Created by Sydney-based immersive entertainment company Wundr, it is designed especially for young children. This enchanting 50-minute adventure invites kids and their grown-ups to step inside a Christmas wonderland where they’ll be immersed in the action, surrounded by dazzling animation, twinkling lights, actors and animated characters. The adventure begins with a thrilling simulated journey to the North Pole. Families can wander through a snowy Enchanted Forest, peek inside the Elves’ Workshop and discover where the Christmas magic happens. Little helpers can lend a hand sorting letters to Santa before visiting Mrs Claus in her cosy cottage. Of course, no Christmas adventure would be complete without meeting the jolly man in red himself: Santa Claus. Families can take home a photo with Santa, choosing from a range of Christmassy backgrounds. Wundrful World of Christmas Sydney runs from November 6 to December 24 at Wundr Store on Market Street (opposite the QVB). There are timed entry slots which last for about 50 minutes. Tickets start at $27.50 and children under two years are free. Check the website for...
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Six the Musical

  • Musicals
  • Sydney
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Six the Musical
Six the Musical
Photograph: Getty Images | James D. Morgan
You should know the premise by now – divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived all set to a fiery, feminist live band. Henry VIII’s six ex-wives reclaim their stories and their thrones in the worldwide sensation that is Six the Musical. This is the fourth time in (wouldn’t you know it) six years that the queens have graced Sydney stages, the second at the Theatre Royal. So has Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ Tony- and Grammy-nominated electrifying pop-concert hit lost some of its glam? The short answer is “No Way”. What is the plot of Six? What started as an Edinburgh Fringe hit went on to capture the hearts of the West End, Broadway, and beyond. At its core, Six retains those fringey roots in its tight 80-minute, one-set, one-act pop-concert musical in what is a song-cycle of the Tudor Queens turned Pop Princesses who remix five hundred years of history to win their crowns. Who had it the worst under Henry’s reign? Who deserves the most sympathy? And is it all about his-story or is it time for a bit of herstory? The beauty of Six is that it’s a star vehicle for female and gender diverse talents. Thankfully, the creative team have offered up six of the best to fangirl over, from young veterans of the stage through to mainstage debuts: Sarah Murr as Catherine of Aragon, Mia Paris Scalise as Anne Boleyn, Cara Bessey as Jane Seymour, Kadesa Honeyhill as Anna of Cleves, Angela Brischetto as Katherine Howard, and Lorinda May Merrypor as Catherine Parr. Alongside them...

Moonlight Cinema

  • Film
  • Outdoor cinema
  • Centennial Park
  • price 1 of 4
  • Recommended
Moonlight Cinema
Moonlight Cinema
Photograph: Supplied/Moonlight Cinema
Sydneysiders don’t need many excuses to roll out a picnic rug, pop a bottle of pét-nat and spend a balmy evening under the stars – but this summer, Moonlight Cinema is making an especially solid case. Australia’s favourite outdoor cinema is back for another season, bringing blockbuster releases, festive favourites and family films Centennial Park’s leafy amphitheatre. Since opening in 1995 with a screening of Pulp Fiction, Moonlight Cinema has become a pretty beloved Sydney summer tradition. Expect golden-hour picnics and hours sprawled on comfy bean beds catching up with friends before settling in for a movie under the stars. From Wednesday, November 25, 2026, the Belvedere Amphitheatre in Centennial Parklands will once again transform into an open-air cinema, with screenings running until Sunday, March 28, 2027. Leading the new season is The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which will kick things off in Sydney on November 25. The opening program also includes plenty of new releases, from psychological thriller Verity, starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, to a gloriously tear-jerking new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (screenplay written by Sydney’s very own Diana Reid). Other highlights include The Social Reckoning, Practical Magic 2 and Wild Horse 9, alongside preview screenings of A Talent for Murder, starring Helen Mirren, on December 6 and Cat in the Hat on December 30. Naturally, things will get super festive around...
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