Visitor Guide
Visiting Sydney? Here's Time Out's ultimate guide to the city's events, attractions and sights. From tourist favourites to hidden gems
The best walks in Sydney
Coastal walks, bush walks, historical walks and inner city ambles: there are many routes to choose from to discover Sydney from a new angle. See our list of ten favourite places to wander and remember to pack a camera – these walks offer some of the best vantage points for snapping our city at its best.
A foodie's guide to dining and drinking in Sydney
The Sydney restaurant hit list
Unless you have the metabolism of a nine-year-old and the finances of a Kardashian, you never stand a chance against Sydney's ferocious dining machine. The openings just don't stop – and ain't nobody got time to keep on top of what's what. Except us, of course. Behold: our eat-and-destroy list, a guide featuring some of the best new restaurants you need to try, along with some old standbys still doing things right. Go forth – and eat all the things!
The 27 most Australian dishes in Sydney
No matter how you feel about nationalism, there's one thing all Australians can agree on. We make pretty epic food. We thought we’d celebrate our country with some of Sydney’s finest fare. We’ve found the 27 most Australian dishes that Sydney has to offer. From the best pad Thai to our raddest lamington and most delicious native plant stir-fry. Here is our list, in no particular order, of Sydney's best takes on Australiana:
The best cheap eats in Sydney
In a perfect world, we'd spend every night enjoying fine cuisine at Sydney's most indulgent restaurants. We'd be at Quay, Sepia, Rockpool Bar & Grill... anywhere, really, that requires half (or all, or far more than) what's currently in your bank account for a shared plate. But we do not live in a perfect world – sometimes the stove is broken, the thought of checking your balance makes you break out in hives and skipping meals seems a viable option. But you don't have to do that! There's a host of restaurants all around our fair town serving up tasty food at prices that won't leave your wallet empty.
The best bars in Sydney
This has been the year Sydney’s bar scene got classy. People who not so long ago wouldn’t have touched a straight liquor cocktail with a bargepole are now ordering up Old Fashioneds and Sazeracs without a second thought, and they’re loving it. Sure, the lockout laws continue to dampen the late-night hijinks, but that just means our party starters have had to get creative. New bars are still popping up in any underground space, hidden enclave and lofty spot that becomes available, and the yardstick for bar snacks has been set at an all-time high. The old guard have applied fresh vigour to the cocktail craft in the last 12 months. New additions have reminded us that the best drinks aren’t always the booziest; orange wines are everywhere we look; and this year heralded the rise of locally distilled spirits. Way to level-up, Sydney.
The best pubs in Sydney
Charge your glasses, friends, and join us in a toast to Sydney’s pubs. To the fusty watering holes that champion the old ways: they’ve still got a pie warmer behind the counter, the footy is on the TV and their Reschs is cold and clean. And to the young guns swinging open the saloon doors to local breweries fermenting up a flavour storm in all corners of the city. Great evenings have been built on a foundation of schnitzel and steak, but we’re also showcasing the local pubs getting creative with counter meals and ensuring the tucker is top-notch. All up it’s been a ripper year for the Sydney pub scene: this guide is where we get to sing the praises of the best in the business.
Most popular events in Sydney
Making Modernism: O’Keeffe, Preston, Cossington Smith
This exhibition explores the parallels between early Australian and American modernism through the work of three artists
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
This popular annual exhibition from London's Naturall History Museum is berthing in Darling Harbour for winter
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Little Creatures Live
You might already enjoy their beer – including Pale Ale, Rogers' and Dog Days – but did you know there's a way to take your Little Creatures love a little deeper? This year the brewery is taking their show on the road with a series of parties that feature live performance art, food and beer at various on-premise locations and festivals across Australia. They're calling it Little Creatures Live – inspired by the original moniker of their very first Pale Ale, brewed their own way with fresh hops flowers and live yeast. Little Creatures Live will be back in Sydney very soon. Curious as to what to expect? Check out our recaps below. Or if you can't wait, why not pay a visit to Little Creatures' Fremantle or Geelong breweries?
Vote for the bar making your favourite Patrón XO Café Espresso Martini and win a $200 bar tab
If the mere thought of an Espresso Martini makes your heart beat a little faster, then it’s a great time to live in Sydney right now. For a limited time, a selection of top Sydney bars curated by Patrón are creating special twists on the classic Espresso Martini, using Patrón XO Café. Each of these bars is putting their own expression on the cocktail, and together, they make up the Expresso Society (get it?). They’re shaking up the classic cocktail in all sorts of delicious ways – Rosie Campbell’s ‘Patroco’ blends Patrón XO Café, chocolate liqueur and homemade toasted coconut syrup and coconut cream to create a tropical holiday in a glass. For a nutty kick, try Café del Mar’s ‘Espresso del Mar’, which adds Frangelico, hazelnut syrup and butterscotch to Patrón XO Café and espresso. The creativity doesn’t stop there. Bars like Paddington Inn are adding sweetness by throwing burnt marshmallows into the mix, while the clever bartenders at Pitt Street’s Mexican diner Mejico are staying true to their roots by using Peloton Mezcal and agave in their ‘MeXo Espresso’. The question is: which of these Espresso Martinis do you most want to drink? To win a $200 tab at one of these Sydney bars, tell us which cocktail recipe takes your fancy (the full list is here). Enter by telling us which of these Patrón XO Café Espresso Martinis you'd most like to drink, and why by Monday July 31. Name: Email: I'd like to drink: (25 words or less) Tick this box to hear more from Patrón XO
Monday night cocktail club at Zeta Bar
Nobody enjoys freezing cold weather, Mondays, or expensive cocktails. Escape from all three by visiting Zeta Bar on Monday nights for their winter warming cocktails and specials. Every Monday until the end of August, Zeta Bar is transforming into a cocktail club with $10 rotating cocktail specials. Love gin? Zeta Bar do, and they’re putting together a warm gin cocktail to beat the chilly weather blues – the ‘Abdication Punch’ a shareable concoction for four people ($85). Zeta Bar's dedicated mixologists take inspiration from innovative culinary heavyweights such as Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adria so the drinks are bound to be a little fancier than your standard G&T. Zeta Bar’s cocktail club is open 5pm till late every Monday until the end of August.
Head to Hacienda Sydney
After a spot for pre-theatre drinks or a post-work wind down? Look no further than Circular Quay's Cuban-inspired cocktail lounge, Hacienda Sydney. The glassed in box juts out over the concourse, making for some of the best views of the glistening Sydney Harbour. On the cocktail front they are slinging fruity, Caribbean themed numbers. Kick back with a Pina Princess with pineapple rum, mezcal, apricot brandy, passionfruit puree, chai syrup and ginger beer; or a Té Amo with elderflower, vodka, lime juice and earl grey tea syrup. Snacks wise you can order up jerk chicken sliders, black bean arancini, chargrilled octopus and spiced lamb riblets. Add in DJs on Friday and Saturday nights spinning relaxed house tunes and you've got yourself a swanky way to kick start your weekend.