Things to do in Sydney this week

Carriageworks has been saved, and this week the Eveleigh institution returns bigger and better than ever, throwing open the doors once more on Friday, August 7. You can celebrate by checking out a re-homed Bienalle of Sydney exhibition and the return of a Saturday ritual with the beloved Carriageworks Farmers Market. 

Slide on your glass slippers, affordable fine dining fave Nel has reopened its doors for physically distanced dining and they’re inviting you to be their guest with the return of a Disney-themed degustation. ‘Once Upon a Time’ involves eleven dishes with a nostalgia-inducing creative touch.

The illustrious Icebergs Dining Room and Bar is back with a bang, marking its re-entry to the dining scene with a star-spangled lineup of local artists. This week you can dine with pop songstress Kate Cerberano, indie rockers The Delta Riggs or the electro-funk legends of Sneaky Sound System.

The 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art has reopened its Haymarket gallery space with a cutely named exhibition series. Holding Patterns is a revolving show that champions the cultural contribution of four artists in a time of crisis, showcasing adaptability in the face of disruption.

A play about sex, lies, betrayal, a love triangle, an art hoax, queer undertones, and full-frontal nudity is one of the first theatrical performances to welcome an actual audience into an honest-to-goodness theatre in Sydney since the Beforetime. We masked-up and headed to Kings Cross to check out this theatrical experience for unusual times.

Some love 'em and some hate 'em, but either way, truffles have embedded themselves into the consciousness of Sydney's dining scene as the ultimate wintery delicacy. As the air gets nippier, we begin to see more and more of their earthy, aromatic flavour wafting onto menus. We've rounded up the best dishes that showcase the black diamond around town.

The Sydney Jewish Museum is launching a digital short course that takes a deep dive into the question: what is human rights? There will be five webinars streamed live via Zoom throughout Monday evenings in August, and you can either sign up for all of them or pick and choose those most interesting to you. 

Clay Sydney’s new Enmore studio offers chilled-out one-off workshops suitable for total beginners as well as short courses covering wheel-throwing, hand-building, firing and glazing techniques for the clay-curious. If you fancy learning the basics while throwing back a bevvie, the wine and clay night might just be up your alley. 

Only a few years ago, vegan dining meant a whole lot of pulses and sprouts, but now Sydney is home to plant-based burger shops, classic Italian pizzerias that showcase cheese and meat alternatives, gelato shops that favour coconut bases and a growing contingent of fine diners offering fancy degustations for vegans. Check out 18 of our top picks.

You won’t want to be late for this very important date. The new Alice in Wonderland-themed pop-up bar in Potts Point is playing host to a tea party that any mad hatter would be proud to attend, and of course, you’re invited. There will be games, puzzle-solving and even croquet played with flamingo clubs, before you tuck into a lavish spread of themed treats and the venue’s signature teapot cocktails.

To market, to market? Whether it’s the promise of brekky pho or the racks of vintage threads that gets you out of bed in the morning, these are the markets that we've been itching to get back to, with their local produce, creative wares and delicious snacks.

You can take in a city stroll and get your art fix all in one go thanks to a new outdoor show curated by Parramatta Artists’ Studios. Parramatta by Foot assembles some of Western Sydney’s best emerging artists and challenges them to create footpath reflecting the rich diversity of the local community.

Nothing about this year is normal and even as the city tentatively reopens for business, going out might still feel risky for some of us. So if you’d normally go out for dinner to celebrate your birthday/anniversary/negative medical test but would rather not in the current climate, here are the best five-star dining experiences you can have at home.

The notion of ‘family’ has long been a cornerstone of queer identity and a major new exhibition at the UNSW Galleries explores what ‘being together’ means for different queer subcultures – in Australia, internationally and across time. The work of 15 artists (or artist collaborations), along with a series of films, plus material from the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives, has been compiled for the exhibition.

Launching the cute #WorldsAStageChallenge, Griffin has cried havoc and let loose the dogs of drama. The idea’s simple: set yourself up on whatever stage comes to hand – be that your Romeo and Juliet-style balcony, atop your dining table, amidst the weeds of your unruly backyard or in the salubrious surrounds of your lime-scaled shower – and perform a snappy lil' bit from your fave play. 

The Swissotel's Crossroads Bar has brought back its annual Swiss Fondue in a decadent three-cheese version, featuring a combination of gruyère, emmental and comte cheeses, which are blended together to create a lusciously rich combination. For $36 per person, you can book in for a fondue for two, with baguettes, cornichons, and a load of other accouterments, perfect for dipping, served alongside.

In good news for seasoned sketchers and newly minted hobbyists alike, one of Sydney's longest running life drawing sessions, the Camelart Club, is back on. This sketch club is popular for being accompanied by evocative live musicians in addtion to a live nude model.

Sydney’s most inclusive restaurant is a tiny, pared back Japanese snack house on South King Street serving gluten-free sourdough doughnuts, and vegan sushi on weekends. Got allergies? Right this way, itchy friends. At Comeco Foods there is no gluten, no egg and no dairy on the menu. It’s 100 per cent vegan and for those avoiding nuts and seeds, only the brownie and the sesame doughnut pose a threat.

The Soda Factory is joining in on the return of live music in Sydney by putting on gigs five nights a week. The current lineup champions local musos and diverse genres, from soul and neo-soul to indie rock, with ‘more familiar jams’ on the weekends. And yes, you can still grab a $1 hotdog on Tuesdays.

You can outsource the time and effort required for pastry-cheffing by ordering a freshly baked Japanese cheesecake to your door from new Sydney business, 15 Centimeters. It’ll cost you $36 for the classic vanilla, or $38 for matcha, chocolate or Tahitian lime, and they require two days' notice to ensure your cake is ‘yakitate’, meaning 'freshly baked' to order.

After months of uncertainty, the Powerhouse is back! And if that news has you playing the air guitar, then does the museum have the re-opening exhibition for you. Maton: Australia’s Guitar is a truly bodacious collection of the beloved Australian manufacture's thrumming good guitars, favoured by the likes of Elvis Presley, Keith Richards Men at Work, Missy Higgins and Keith Urban.

If you haven't visited this Darlinghurst Museum, it's about time you did. There is a misunderstanding that the Jewish Museum is only meant for Jewish people to visit, or only of interest to WWII buffs. In reality, the museum’s mission is to make history accessible through the lens of the Jewish experience, and in doing so, help us to understand our present. Check out new exhibitions like Jews from Islamic Lands while you're there.

This modern Australian rooftop bar located smack bang in the middle of Barangaroo is all about slinging tropical cocktails in an open-air environment. On Saturdays, Untied hosts a Southern-inspired 'Brunch with Soul', featuring live soul singers across two sittings, at 11am and 2pm for $79 per person. On Sundays, things get a little more plant-based, with an all-vegan bottomless brunch for $69. It's enough to entice even your most carnivorous friends. 

Crown Street is now home to a Lebanese charcoal chicken shop, but they've made it a little bit fancy. Henrietta is a casual offering from the team behind schmick Middle Eastern diner Nour, serving up Middle Eastern-style birds with the bronzed, blistered skin known to bring siblings to blows, plus bread, dips, pickles and salads. They've gone and filled the drinks list with some cheeky, boozy fun, and you'll also find a bit of fast-food fusion.

Many dishes at Little Lagos are self-explanatory, like hand-held beef pastry pockets fresh out of the oven, or goat cooked until tender in an earthy, fragrant stew of tomatoes, capsicum, onion and habanero chillis. Like your food super hot? The pepper soup is for you – clear, spicy and bulked out with a nose-to-tail selection of beef (skin, meat and tripe). No matter what you order, add a side of fried plantains.

There are plenty of opportunities near Sydney for novice hikers to experience the great outdoors without trekking too far from civilisation. In the national parks that sit on the city’s fringes, you'll find several wonderful hikes that are perfect for those who prefer a relaxed amble to a major expedition.

Sydney’s only cat café is welcoming back human guests. If snuggling up with a cup of coffee and a brood of fluffy new friends sounds pretty good to you, it’s about time you got down to Catmosphere. They do things a little differently here, you can make a private booking to hang out with cats that are "zoned" into themed rooms based on their age, energy level, and adoption status.

The doors have re-opened on the Biennale with an extended run. Championing First Nations artists, there’s a big focus on further decolonising Western art’s traditionally hallowed spaces this year. With a staggering spread of 700 works led by 101 artists, it can be overwhelming figuring out just what to see. Here’s our insider’s guide to the Biennale of Sydney.

For a particularly photogenic kind of brunch this weekend, head over to the Rose Bay Empire Lounge, where you can watch seaplanes take off and land at the marina nearby while you linger over your latte and pick at platters laden with brunch-time goodies. You can enjoy a brunch spread for a reasonable $30 per person, or if you're in the market to kick it up a notch, try the decadent Champagne and truffle experience for $45.

If wandering through a lush property hot on the heels of a cute pup in search of thousands of dollars of ‘edible gold’ sounds like how you’d like to spend a wintery Saturday morning, well, join the club. Wild Food Adventures, a local Southern Highlands company, has been running experiences marrying food and the natural scenery of the area for years. To cater to truffle hunters, they’ve teamed up with Ganymede Truffles.

If there's something we Sydneysiders could do with a decent dose of right now, it'd be pure, unadulterated joy. The Happy Place, a pop-up exhibit of boldly colourful, immersive environments had its Australian premiere on the rooftop of Broadway Sydney in March. Now it's back from Friday, July 3. 

Rermanent ice skating rinks are welcoming back eager skaters. There's icy fun in Sydney for the whole family to practice their ice skating twirls, double axles and graceful tumbles. 

The queens at the Imperial Hotel are putting on a flashy new dinner and show experience packed with enough campness, nostalgia and colourful feathers to help us forget about the perils of 2020. Pop on something that makes you feel fabulous and shake your tail feather down to the Priscilla’s Experience: a marathon of glamourous and glitzy performances served alongside a three-course menu from the Impy’s in-house restaurant. 

International borders look set to remain sealed until at least next year and restrictions on interstate travel are still in effect for much of the country. Fortunately, there's a wealth of great getaway options right here in New South Wales ready and waiting to receive eager holidaymakers. 

Hoorah! Sydney Bridgeclimb is open to the public again. Yes, you have to wear an unflattering grey jumpsuit – but if climbing the fourth-longest single-span steel arch bridge in the world is a should-see for out-of-towners and visiting celebrities, then it’s an absolute can’t-miss for locals. Plus, they'll be offering discounted rates on climbs until July 19. 

Oxford Street stalwart Universal is back in business, with a luxe new offering. You won’t find the usual club nights and sweaty dancefloors upstairs. Premiere is an immersive dining experience featuring performances from some of the city’s most seasoned drag queens served up with a gourmet three-course dinner and bottomless bevvies. 

The Australian National Maritime Museum has reopened to the public with two stellar new exhibitions to see. Under Southern Skies and From Kupe to Cook explore not just the traditional, colonial perspectives of James Cook's navigation (and 'discovery') of Australia and the Pacific, but also the perspectives of First Nations people involved in those encounters.

Surry Hills' the Winery is a pretty picture-perfect venue as it stands: bedecked in fairy lights, dotted with people sipping champagne in the garden area, with a plant-decked path leading the way in. Now, it's about to get even prettier with igloos to be installed in the garden, where you and your crew can sit, sip and dine on three courses and a cocktail as soon as your arrive.

As capacity restrictions ease for larger venues in Sydney, the Lansdowne is welcoming back punters for (seated) live music shows. The Lansdowne has been a mainstay of Sydney's local live music scene for years, and is key to nurturing the the careers of musicians in that nebulous middleground of their careers.

Locals might have seen the fluoro green wearing I’m Free Walking Tour guides hanging around Town Hall Square and the Rocks, but have you ever stopped to join them? These tours had to hit pause during the last few months, but the tour guides are back and ready to help you explore the city – with private bookings that were once rather exxy now costing nada.

While Sydney’s hospitality sector has been in hibernation, the Four Pillars team has been hard at work creating a sophisticated new gin joint in the heart of Surry Hills. The venue has three distinct parts: its street-facing gin shop, which has been trading since the end of May; its ‘Gin Lab’, where workshops on the botanical intricacies of gin making will be hosted; and Eileen’s, an intimate cocktail bar. It's gin o'clock.

These igloos are not the icy kind, but rather see-through bubbles furnished with Scandinavian simplicity, draped in furs and filled with hearty winter feasts for you and your crew of winter city explorers.

The fine artists from Cork and Canvas are inviting us back into the studio again. That’s right, you can dip your brush and wet your whistle in public once more at their Crows Nest and Darlinghurst sip and paint studios.

Ramen, more than any other soup, will divide people. Are you after an opaque tonkotsu or a brighter chicken shoyu broth? Firm hand-cut noodles or soft squiggly noodles? Find your favourite ramen in Sydney the old fashioned way – try them all. We did, and regret nothing except that we now need to buy bigger jeans.

If there's one thing we might love more than hot, steaming dumplings, it's alliteration. Thanks to the dumpling masterminds at Din Tai Fung, you can officially have both. They're launching a limited edition DIY 'Disco Dumpling' kit so you can finesse your dumpling making skills, while jamming along to an inspired, specially-curated disco playlist.

If there’s one cheese out there that’s captured everyone’s hearts and minds, it’s got to be burrata. In just 90 minutes, the experts at Omnom Cheese will teach you how to make your own in this hands-on class. The curd masters are back and ready to re-launch their new, smaller classes designed for ultimate health and safety. 

Australia has always existed in the popular imagination as the slip-slop-slap land of sun, sea and snags. But our backyard isn't just worth frolicking around in the summertime. From the majestic, crisp peaks of the Blue Mountains to the bucolic vineyards of Mudgee, we've rounded up some of our favourite cold-weather destinations to travel to from Sydney. 

Sydney's own Sky Line Drive In in Blacktown has opened again to the public, with a whole season's worth of cinematic programming to keep you coming back for more. You too can channel John and Olivia in Grease – it's the perfect date night. Feel free to wear tight black leather pants, or, you know, don't. 

In excellent timing for the upcoming long weekend, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is opening up a range of campsites all around to state to welcome punters. Regional travel has been given the green light from June 1, which means NSW citizens will be able to travel for a holiday or any other recreational purposes around the state. 

Sometimes you just want to exchange your everyday for an alternate reality where plush robes come hand-laundered to your door. We have rounded up some of the most luxurious hotels in NSW for you to escape the rigours of modern life with on a truly indulgent vacay. 

Follow your traveller's instinct and get away for a day to one of our best day trips from the city – featuring quaint villages, seaside hangouts and mountain escapes. Around a two-hour drive or a scenic train ride away, you'll find yourself rambling through eucalyptus gums, gazing out over gorgeous ocean cliffs, or watching the world go by in a sleepy village. 

In Sydney, winter is your best bet to catch a glimpse of some humpback whales, as 20,000 of them make moves along the New South Wales coastline between May to August. Head to one of these lookouts with your camera and binoculars in tow to capture some blowholes spouting.

Whether you're looking to go for a run, walk your dog, have a sedate picnic or just take a break from your four walls, these are the parks to visit. They have sprawling open spaces, free barbecues and shaded spots to while away an afternoon or simply catch a break at lunchtime.

Here are some of the best outdoor fitness stations from across Sydney, which you can access 24-hours a day and completely free. 

One of the country’s most prestigious live theatre companies has joined the mass pivot to online streaming. The free, on-demand streaming service will release exclusive content every week, drawing from the company’s extensive back catalogue of live performance recordings.

If you've been tearing through books with lockdown fervour, then we have just the thing for you. The City of Sydney are virtually holding our hands through iso by offering us a whole stack of new reading material, all available online, for free.

From Sydney's world-famous beaches to the red centre and way out west, mainline your travel inspo right from the comfort of your own sofa as we head for the hills. 

If you’re anything like us, you're in desperate need of something light and easy to binge-watch while settling into your sofa. With minimal tolerance for grim and gritty right now, we've turned to our public broadcasters for lowkey cute chuckles with a side of feel-good warm and fuzzies.

Prime is no slouch in the local streaming market, with plenty of great shows to binge. But it also has a strong range of movies. Here's our list of the very best, all available to stream at time of writing.