Sydney Harbour covers 55 square km and has more than 240 km of shoreline, so a ferry or harbor cruise is the most scenic way to see the city from the water and to reach the harbor beaches on the Northern Beaches.
Sydney is the oldest European settlement in Australia, founded in 1788 as a British penal colony, and The Rocks neighborhood is the historic heart of the city with convict-built houses and the oldest pubs.
Bondi Beach is the most famous beach in Australia, with the Bondi Icebergs Club pool at the south end open to the public for a small fee, and the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee is the most popular half-day hike in the city.
The Sydney Opera House is a UNESCO World Heritage Site designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, and the inside tour covers the performance halls, while the rooftop tour requires booking weeks in advance because of limited capacity.
Sydney's Taronga Zoo is on the harbor and accessible by ferry from Circular Quay in 12 minutes, with the Australian wildlife section (kangaroos, koalas, platypus) being the highlight for international visitors.
Vivid Sydney is a 23-night light, music, and ideas festival held every May-June, and the harbor precinct gets so crowded that public transport runs extended hours and the main viewing spots fill up by 7pm.
Sydney's Blue Mountains are 90 minutes by train from Central Station, with the Three Sisters rock formation at Echo Point the most photographed spot, and the bushwalks descending into the Jamison Valley the most rewarding.
The Rocks Markets run every Saturday and Sunday with local designers, food stalls, and the buskers on the steps of the Museum of Contemporary Art, with the harbor view in the background.
Sydney's coffee culture is among the most developed in the world, with single-origin roasters in Surry Hills, Newtown, and Chippendale serving the flat white that most travelers have only ever seen in Australian export shows.
Sydney's summer runs December-February, and the city's beaches are busiest on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, with the surf clubs running the lifesaving flags and the locals arriving before 8am to claim a spot on the sand.