Sydney is Australia’s oldest and largest city. It is also probably its best known, not least for the magnificent harbour setting – regarded as one of the best and most beautiful in the world – and for those two icons that sit on its shores, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.

But Sydney is more than the harbour. With over four million people across an area roughly 200 times the size of Manhattan, it is a multifaceted multicultural experience.
For instance, it has some of the best surf beaches in the world. In a line that stretches for almost one hundred kilometres from the north to the south of the city, there are 50 beaches of golden sand and exhilarating surf (and that’s not even counting the more sedate sheltered beaches along the harbour).

Sydney also has its social side. Like every big city, it’s sometimes nice and sometimes naughty, but whether it’s restaurants of every hue and taste, theatre, picnics, cafes, nightclubs, dancing, bush walks, visiting the Sydney Aquarium or Taronga Zoo (where the elephants and giraffes have a view to die for), or just sitting on a chair, soaking up the twilight on a balmy Spring evening, sipping on a chilled Australian white wine – whatever it is, you will find something to please.
Perhaps you could catch a ferry to some of the inner harbour waterside suburbs – all terraced houses and cottages, many over a century old, with small al fresco cafes, perfect for an early morning latte and a read of the papers. Or take another ferry to the north side of the harbour and the ocean side suburb of Manly, for some fish and chips wrapped in paper while you dangle your feet over the promenade, watching the surfers. (But be warned, don’t feed the seagulls! They’re quicker to snatch the odd morsel than you are.) Or visit the famous Bondi Beach for great swimming, great coffee, and more fish and chips (and the same seagulls!).

Further afield are the Blue Mountains – not quite the Himalayas, but abundant with stunning vistas, thick forest growth, beguiling walks and, if you’re quiet enough, the odd lyrebird or two. You’ll also find out why they’re blue.
Down south is the Royal National Park, the second oldest in the world (Yellowstone beat it by seven years), where you can drive or walk through thick growth and suddenly find yourself on an empty beach. Or travel north for about an hour or so and taste your way through the Hunter Valley, one of Australia’s premier wine growing areas. (We recommend the Semillon.)

In other words, there’s more to do in Sydney and its environs than attending TAM Australia. But you’d be best to combine both – two experiences that you’ll never forget.

For more information about things to do in and around Sydney visit Tourism NSW

VISAS: Tourist visas allow people to visit Australia for a holiday or recreation, or to visit family and/or friends. This visa may also be used for other short-term non-work purposes including study for less than three months. To find out if you need a visa to visit Australia
see Immigration Australia for details.