Sensational Sydney

In summer, Sydney is at its best. Mix up your days by going to the beach, watching the cricket, visiting Watsons Bay, going on a bushwalk, and exploring the city.

Outside of Sydney, there is plenty to see and do within only 1-2 hours drive. And of course, the possibilities just increase as you go further afield.

Quick Tips:

Don't be limited to The Rocks/Kings Cross/City/Bondi. There is so much to get out and see, that it would be a real shame to leave Sydney and only see the harbour bridge and the opera house.

Best Way To Get Around:

Public transport is very effective. Trains cover a large part of the metropolitan area, and where they don't, buses fill in the gaps. Get a bus and train map, and there won't be any problems. If you're heading outside of Sydney, hiring a car/motorbike is the best option.

When I was back in Sydney recently, Wildfire was the restaurant hit at the time. Only opened in mid 2002, it has already been voted 'the best new Sydney Restaurant' in Vanity Fair and 'best wine list of the year'.

Set at the top end of Circular Quay, it commands majestic views of the city skyline, the Opera House, and the harbor looking towards the Pacific Ocean.

The ambience of the restuarant is serene, with light music adding to the dining experience. The wine selection has to be seen to be believed - a magnificent two story full-wall arrangement, with a wonderful, though not too wide, variety to choose from.

We found the service initially not up to scratch, but when we gently pointed this out to the appropriate staff, there were no problems, and indeed the staff were very helpful.

Wildfire is an incredible dining experience!

Watson's Bay is at the peak of the South Head of Sydney Harbour. It is a beautiful, peaceful suburb with plenty of things to see and do. On the coastal side, the main attraction is the walk around The Gap. The rockface along here is spectacular - sandstone crevaces dropping anywhere from 30-60 metres into the ocean below.

You can continue walking along this path all the way to the lighthouse on the Head.

On the harbour side, Watsons Bay is a very scenic beach front, with a number of great fish and chip shops (Doyles, which is an exclusive Sydney fish restuarant, runs a 'take-away' shop here that is high quality and very reasonably priced), as well as the Watsons Bay hotel, a predominantly open air pub, that serves great seafood lunches looking across the harbour toward the city.

Getting to Watsons Bay is very easy by ferry from Circular Quay, or by bus - catch the 324 or 325, or the L24 or L82 (faster) from Circular Quay.

Palm Beach is the most northerly of the Sydney beaches. While being quite a way from the city (from 45 minutes - 1 hour), the trip there is well worth it, if you can take the whole day. The beach itself is about 2-3 km long, with lovely clean sand all the way. The commercial section is only on the southern tip of the beach, parking is available to about halfway, and the remaining half (including a sizeable sand dune at the end) is almost always sparsely populated, and so very peaceful.

The water is probably the cleanest in Sydney, and there is often a decent swell for those who want to surf/body surf.

If you get bored of lying on the beach, you can do a walk up onto Barrenjoey Head and see the lighthouse, as well as look across Broken Bay to Brisbane Water and the central coast.

A much nicer beach than the way-too-commercial Bondi and Manly.

In the past few years, a number of recreational areas have sprung up on the city side of Darling Harbour. Along with them have been a couple of very nice bars. Cargo is the pick of them.

Cargo is on the ground and first floor of King Street Wharf. It looks west across Darling Harbour (which equals beautiful sunsets all through summer). It has a large open air area, with stylish wooden tables and chairs. Upstairs there are a number of comfy lounges to relax in, as well as a few pool tables. Bar areas are on both levels.

Cargo is one of the increasingly large number of trendy pubs in Sydney. On most nights of the week you will find 'suits' having an after-work drink here. Friday and Saturday nights make sure you get here early, as the bouncers are pretty snooty and the queues can grow quickly.