MUSEUMS

Australian Museum

Want to see some of Australia’s famously deadly wildlife from behind the safety of glass? Then visit Australia’s oldest museum next to Hyde Park for as many taxidermied critters you can handle. The Australian Museum has earned global acclaim for its work in natural history and anthropology, particularly documenting the achievements of Indigenous Australians, one of the longest continuously surviving cultures on earth.

Maritime Museum

The Maritime Museum has been welcoming visitors to its six permanent galleries and a small fleet open to the public, including the HMAS Onslow submarine, the HMAS Vampire big gun destroyer and a replica of the HM Bark Endeavour, the vessel Captain James Cook skippered on his first voyage to Australia in the late 1760s.

Hyde Park Barracks

Built by fabled convict architect Francis Greenway, these World Heritage listed barracks have gone through four incarnations in their two-century history — first transporting convicts (1819-1848) and female immigrants (1848-1887), then housing the local courts (1887-1979) before being transformed into a museum following an extensive archeological dig. Step through the reconstructed living quarters to learn just how grim life was for those colonial-era convicts transported primarily from Ireland to a penal colony 17,000km away.

Museum of Contemporary Art

After a major redevelopment was revealed in 2012, the MCA houses 4,000 envelope-pushing paintings, sculptures, photographs and moving image projects by modern Australian artists — and the monumental art deco sandstone building that houses the collection is as much of an artwork as anything hanging on the walls inside.

Museum of Sydney

The museum is built above the remains of those original foundations, and deftly documents the interactions of the local Gadigal people and their British colonisers before telling Sydney’s story thereafter.

Powerhouse Museum

The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences — known as the Powerhouse to locals because it’s built in an old power station near Darling Harbour — is like a candy shop for science nerds, home to more than 250 interactive exhibits and 400,000 objects, including New South Wales’ first ever locomotive.

Sydney Jewish Museum

Sydney is home to one of the most thriving Jewish communities in the diaspora, made up of 50,000 people, six schools and 30 synagogues around the city. And you can hear their stories at this state-of-the-art museum that walks you through the Jewry’s experience in Sydney since the first free Jewish settlers arrived in 1821, including a touching treatment of the Holocaust when thousands of Jews found refuge on Australian shores.

Justice & Police Museum

This old water police station channels the thousands of criminals who have passed through its doors since the 1850s, placing the macabre side of Sydney’s past under the magnifying glass with mugshots of the city’s most infamous delinquents as well as a reconstructed charge room, remand cell and courtroom. In other words, the perfect museum for parents travelling with kids they’d like to scare straight.

Art Gallery of New South Wales

This is one of the Harbour City’s favourite cultural institutions — there’s not a student who grew up within 50km of Sydney who didn’t visit the Art Gallery in primary school. Overlooking the Domain, the museum houses collections of Australian, Asian and European art, and also hosts the beloved Archibald Prize each July, celebrating portraits of famous Australians.

Susannah Place Museum

The charm of these four terraced houses in the heart of the Rocks? They’re totally and utterly ordinary, making them the perfect time capsule of what life was like for the impoverished Irish families who built these tiny cottages in Sydney’s oldest neighbourhood way back in 1844.

PARKS

Mrs Macquarie Point

Come to Mrs Macquarie’s Point for the best views in Sydney. The park offers unobstructed and breathtaking views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Another popular reason people visit the point is to sit in Mrs Macquarie’s Seat – this historical landmark is a sand stone rock cut into the shape of a bench.

Centennial Parklands

Located in the Eastern city suburbs is Centennial Parklands. This park is made up of three smaller parks: Centennial Park, Moore Park, and Queens Park. With over 360 hectares, there are so many activities available here, like horseback riding, cycling, and running.

Nielsen Park

Nielsen Park is the perfect place for a weekend getaway or just a nice afternoon. Located in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, the park offers access to Shark Beach, and has stunning views of the water. Known for their great outdoor amenities, the park includes three sheltered picnic areas.

Royal Botanic Gardens

Right near Sydney Opera House lies the Royal Botanic Gardens. Besides having diverse and beautiful gardens, with more than 1 million specimens, the harbour views are excellent. The gardens are popular with both locals and visitors, and the location is perfect for having a lazy picnic lunch or for a quick morning jog to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

Sydney Harbour National Park

The Sydney Harbour National Park protects Bradley’s Head, Clark Island, Shark Island, and many other landforms. Originally created protect Sydney from the threat of invasion, today the park has evolved into a nationally protected park. The park includes great picnic areas, picturesque walking trails, and pristine beaches. The park also protects original Aboriginal sites.

MARKETS

The Rock’s Market

In the shadow of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and right near the harbour that overlooks the renowned Sydney Opera House is The Rocks Market, a relaxed and cool market along George Street in the Rocks area of Sydney. Open every weekend, just outside the CBD, this market has over a hundred stalls selling a range of hand-made goods from fashion to jewellery, as well as art, sweets and artisan chocolate.

The Paddington Markets

The Paddington Markets have been open every Saturday, come rain or shine, since 1973. Over 150 unique stores offer a range of different fashion styles, artisan soaps and candles, jewellery and art by artists and designers from Sydney and the surrounding regions. This is the perfect place to go to find authentic locally designed and produced creations.

Sydney’s Paddy’s Markets

Just south of Sydney’s CBD is where you’ll be able to find all of the organic and local produce from the area as well as consumer goods, kitchenware and clothing at Sydney’s Paddy’s Markets. This is where the best farmers and producers sell their fruit and vegetables, the best butchers provide their produce, and the best fish mongers offer their best seafood from the east coast of the country. You can also find a lot of men’s and women’s fashion, electronics and toys.

Eveleigh Market

Every Saturday morning until just after lunch the Eveleigh Market is open in the inner-southern suburb of Eveleigh, an area that is known for its bohemian lifestyle and culture. This market is home to over 70 different stalls serving the best produce from around the state of New South Wales, including organic and bio dynamic foods from artisan farmers.

Balmain Market

The Balmain Market is another market across the bay to the west of Sydney’s CBD, which is based in the St Andrew’s Congretional Church in Balmain, a suburb of Sydney. This market is open every Saturday, from the morning through to the mid-afternoon, and is where you can find only authentic goods. The Balmain Market has rules against counterfeit goods, meaning that you can be sure that you’ll only find hand-crafted and original artisan products.