Five Days in Sydney: Things To Do, Places to Eat & Drink

Sydney has been on my travel to-do list for as long as I can remember and it was always going to feature prominently in my Australian itinerary. I had planned to spend five nights (four-and-a-half days) in the city, but Qantas had other ideas. They cancelled my flight to Auckland on Monday morning and rebooked me on a much later one. Although I wasn’t exactly unhappy to have more time in Sydney, it was unfortunate that I then lost half a day from my much briefer stay in Auckland.

I spent three nights staying with some very good friends of mine who have lived in Sydney for several years and who acted as excellent tour guides — conducting me to all of the best food and (especially) coffee the city has to offer. For my first two nights, I stayed at the Sydney Harbour YHA in the Rocks. My private en suite room was the most expensive of my entire trip and, although large and clean, was pretty basic. However, I could see the Sydney Opera House from my window (if I stood on tiptoes; I'm short) and the view from the rooftop was even more impressive. Its location in the historic Rocks neighbourhood was good too, particularly for the central attractions around Sydney Harbour and Circular Quay, although like many parts of central Sydney, it is pretty hilly and has plenty of small passageways and unexpected staircases.

Things to do
As will soon become apparent — and goes without saying for regular readers — I spent a lot of time in Sydney visiting speciality coffee shops and enjoying Sydney’s culinary delights. I will be producing a separate post about the coffee, and you can scroll on down to see where I ate and drank other things. Here’s what else I got up to while I was in town.

Sydney Harbour and the Harbour Bridge
I took the airport train into Circular Quay, the not quite circular quay that serves as a launchpad for many of the city’s ferry services and that offers the closest views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. It was pouring with rain but by the time I’d checked into my lodgings and headed back out, the rain had stopped and a glorious sunset was in progress. I took dozens of photos of the bridge, the Opera House and the harbour, roping an unsuspecting local into taking a photo of me leaping.

You can walk across the bridge (indeed, I ran across one morning) and scale the southeastern Pylon Lookout for wonderful views across the harbour, but I booked a ticket for BridgeClimb Sydney, a three-and-a-half-hour experience where you are kitted out, given a safety briefing and, as part of a group, allowed to climb up to the top of the bridge. This is expensive, particularly if you opt for one of the ‘dusk’ sessions as I did (I paid $363), but I wanted to treat myself. After agonising for a week over the weather, I booked a ticket for Thursday evening and then, of course, a massive thunderstorm was predicted to hit right in the middle of my climb. 

The climb wasn’t cancelled but the BridgeClimb folks allowed me to reschedule for Sunday (this entailed an additional $20 weekend charge) and I was so glad because the weather on Sunday was wonderful and the sunset was absolutely glorious. Note: you can’t take your phone or a camera and although you get one free printed group photo, if you want any more photos, you have to buy them. In a moment of weakness, I paid $25 for one additional photo of me, although the USB stick also included a ‘free’ 8-second video they took of me. Finally, you also get a free ticket to go up to the top of the Pylon Lookout (‘where you can take as many photos as you want’), so if you’re planning to do that too, wait until after your bridge climb. Was the whole thing worth $383? I would say yes, but we were really lucky with the weather and sunset; I may have been more sceptical had it been a grey, rainy night.

Manly
A few miles to the northeast of central Sydney, the small town of Manly is an easy ferry ride from Circular Quay. The ferry ride itself (and you can take one of the iconic yellow and green ferries, which take 30 minutes and cost $7.10 (you can use the Opal card that also works on buses and trains), or a Manly Fast Ferry, which cost $8.70 and take 20 minutes) is part of the fun as you get fantastic views of Sydney’s eastern harbour. Try to sit at the front of the boat (on the right on your way out and left on the way back, for the best Opera House views).

In Manly, you can stroll to the main beach or to Shelly Beach (keep an eye out for little penguins on the rocks), where you can surf, swim or sunbathe. I got takeaway fish and chips from The Boathouse, which I ate on the beach. I didn’t swim because my kit was in the wash, but I did follow the Manly Clifftop Walk, a beautiful ramble up and over the clifftops overlooking the sea and the city. I ended up going all the way to North Head, which took me a couple of hours, and then took the shorter (40-minute) but less scenic road back to the harbour.

Bondi Beach
I’d planned to go to Bondi Beach on a weekday when I thought it might be quieter but neither Thursday nor Friday had suitable beach weather, so I caught the bus over on Saturday afternoon (both the 333 and the 380 take about 35 minutes from the CBD). Although it wasn’t hot by Sydney standards, it was warm enough to sunbathe and take a dip. The waves were pretty huge, though, so it was better suited to body-surfing and wave-jumping than swimming. The Qantas cock-up that left me with an extra day in Sydney on Monday, happened to occur on an extremely hot day — the mercury hit 36C in the afternoon — and so I headed back to Bondi to try to cool off. The sea was a bit calmer and I also visited the Bondi Icebergs Ocean Pool to do some proper swimming.

From Bondi, you can follow a four-mile walk along the coastal path south to Coogee Beach via several other beaches. It’s a stunning piece of the coast and if you get too hot along the way, you can always cool off in the sea. At the moment, an annual art exhibition called Sculpture by the Sea is in progress, which means you can see dozens of interesting art works while you walk.

Australian Museum
I didn’t manage to fit in a walking tour but I enjoyed my visit to the interesting and well-organised Australian Museum. The focus is on Australian natural history and anthropology, and there are some fascinating exhibitions on Australia’s first people and its diverse flora and fauna. The Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year exhibition was taking place too, and there were dozens of stunning photographs that made me want to explore even more of this beautiful country.

White Rabbit Gallery
The White Rabbit Gallery has been described as one of the world’s best collections of contemporary Chinese art. There were some varied and thought-provoking pieces on display, from a ‘bondage cathedral’ (!) to video work. We spent an hour or so wandering through the well-curated rooms.

Food and drink
As I mentioned before, I created a separate speciality coffee post, but I’ve included below coffee shops and cafés where I also had particularly good breakfast and/or brunch.

Cafes
Rising Sun Workshop (Newtown) — excellent ramen in a motorbike workshop.

Reuben Hills (Surry Hills) — superb coffee and kickin’, Latin-influenced all-day food menu. I had a ‘broken omelette roll’, which was spicy, filling and delicious.

Haven: Tailoring Coffee Joyously (Surry Hills) — a stone’s throw from Central Station, this wonderfully named speciality coffee shop also tailors brunch dishes joyfully, adding an Asian — and often inventive — twist to classics. I had a creative take on an eggs Benedict, but my friend’s Amazing Kimcheese — egg waffles with kimchi, parmesan, sesame and vanilla ice cream — had to be tasted to be believed. It was actually delicious and strangely compelling.

Trafalgar St Espresso (Annandale) — the espresso (from The Little Marionette) is great here, but we came for the pies, which are from Black Star Pastry, one of Sydney’s best. My braised beef and beer pie was delicious.

Bourke Street Bakery (Surry Hills) — great for sweet treats, pies, sausage rolls and other baked goods.

Restaurants
Maybe Frank (Surry Hills) — I’d run out of planning momentum on my first evening in Sydney but luckily, I’d preloaded my Google Map with plenty of diverse eateries for precisely this reason. I settled on Neapolitan pizza and cocktail joint Maybe Frank, which was a 30-minute walk from Circular Quay. The pizza was very good and the cocktails — some Italian classics and some quirkier, like the Fish Outta Water that I tried — were also well-done.

BL Burgers (Darlinghurst and Parramatta) — on the way to Maybe Frank, I passed this burger bar and made a note to investigate further. As it happened, I returned just before heading back to the airport, and had their award-winning Blame Canada burger, an unabashed, maple-bacon and poutine-filled construction that was as delicious as it was gluttonous.

Spice I Am (Surry Hills) — there’s usually a line at this popular, cash-only, BYOB Thai restaurant. Three of us shared three dishes — one (pork belly) extremely spicy, and the other two slightly less so — and everything tasted superb. It’s not a fancy place but the food is great.

Acme (Rushcutters Bay) — Italian-influenced starters and delicious, creative pastas are the order of the day at Acme. After a few meaty starters, we ordered three pastas between the three of us: one with roast garlic and burned chilli, one with pumpkin and coffee, and one with black squid-ink and prawns. Each dish was immaculately prepared and the restaurant is cool but relaxed.

Automata (Chippendale) — if you’re struggling with decision fatigue, a tasting menu can be your saviour. I had no regrets with any of the five delicious courses at Automata. There’s a Japanese influence in the cuisine but the theme is really just simple but perfectly paired and prepared food. The minimalist décor and super service make this a lovely place for a special meal.

Bars
Gin Lane (Chippendale) — we popped down Gin Lane for a cocktail before heading to dinner at Automata across the street. Although the music was a little out of place, the cocktails were good and my cucumber, rose and gin drink came served in a snow globe. Because why not?

Bulletin Place (CBD) — tucked away on an upper floor on bustling Bulletin Place, this titular cocktail bar has a regularly evolving menu of cocktails in general and martinis in particular. Our drinks were well made and it’s a small and fun but still intimate spot.

Love, Tilly Devine (Darlinghurst) — cosy wine bar with excellent snacks and sharing platters.

Shopping
I didn’t end up doing a lot of shopping in Sydney, although had a few gifts to buy. The stretch of Oxford Street that runs from Paddington to Darlinghurst and Surry Hills, and some of surrounding streets, had the best range of independent shops and boutiques. Workshop Makery is a good bet for locally produced and themed gifts.

There are also a few design stores on George Street in the Rocks, like Shab & Shadi. Most of the big Australian and international brands and chains can be found in the CBD, in and around George, Pitt, Castlereagh and Elizabeth Streets. There’s a big Westfield Mall, although the Strand Arcade and Queen Victoria Building offer a more historic and visually appealing shopping environment.

One afternoon, we also headed down to Precinct 75, a collection of warehouses in St Peters selling, well, their wares — there’s a particular focus on homewares and interiors. If you’re in need of refreshments after your shopping, there’s a branch of Sample Coffee Roasters within the complex.

Brunch and the Beach in Byron Bay

Of all the places on my Australia and New Zealand itinerary, Byron Bay was the one I was considering dropping if I felt I was being over-ambitious. It wasn't that I didn't want to visit but one of the main reasons for going there is the wonderful beach with sand so soft it squeaks between your toes and world-class surfing. I've been to great beaches before, though, and they don't have the uniqueness of Melbourne's coffee scene, for example, or the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree Rainforest, or of Sydney.

Somehow, though, within an hour of arriving in the small, sleepy New South Wales town on Sunday lunchtime, I was already thinking about swapping my flight to Sydney for a later one. It helped that the weather was — one brief storm notwithstanding — beautiful: temperatures in the mid-20s and sunny, with a light breeze, making a pleasant change from the storms and humidity of tropical North Queensland. It also helped that my hotel — the Byron Beach Resort — was two minutes' walk to beautiful Belongil Beach, which leads all the way down to the main beach in the CBD.

Byron Bay is about much more than the beach, though. To use an overtired expression: it's a way of life. People come here for a holiday and stay forever, taken with the beauty of the area, the pleasant climate, the friendly, close-knit community, and the restaurant and café scene. Vegetarians, vegans and those with other dietary restrictions are well-catered-for here, and it may even be easier to find a nut-milk beetroot or turmeric latte here than a really good flat white. The whole town often seems to be bathed in a millennial pink glow, whether it's the food, the cocktails or the sunsets. Talk about Instagram-ready!

Surfing and the beach
I did spend a lot of time on the beach — usually Belongil Beach, as it was so close to my hotel and on the way into town — sunbathing, wave-jumping (the sea is too rough here to swim easily), sunset- and whale-watching, and surfing.

Although I've boogie boarded before, most recently in Massachusetts, I had never surfed and figured that Byron Bay would be a great place to start to learn. I booked in for 3.5-hour group lesson with Black Dog Surfing ($65, although I got a $10 discount for booking in person) on Monday afternoon. On Monday morning, though, I got a call from the ever-cheerful and friendly Tam from Black Dog asking to start the lesson an hour earlier because of the brewing storm. If not, Tam suggested I rebook for Tuesday when the forecast was better.

In the end, I went with the rainy option, which meant that our group of five, instructed by the excellent Stu, didn't have too much company in the waves, and got plenty of one-on-one instruction. I was thrilled to be able to stand up from my first wave — although needed a little booster push by Stu. It took much longer for me to start to get to grips with picking a suitable wave and then paddling hard enough to catch it on my own (the first attempt resulted in a nose-dive and the board hitting me on the head; oof!). Just when we were getting into it, lightning struck and we had to leave the beach early. Tam offered us either a $25 refund, $25 off board hire or $25 off another group lesson. The three of us who were still in Byron on Tuesday all opted for the latter option, of course.

The weather was much nicer on the second day and our group had doubled in size. While Stu worked with the first-lessoners, Jamie gave the rest of us a bit more tailored tuition. By the end, I had grown in confidence and was able to catch some waves on my own and ride them into shore with some success. Of course, I still need much more practice. As the beach was much, much busier that day, it was hard to find enough space, so I was glad that I had my first lesson on the quieter rainy day.

By the end of the second session, I was exhausted, aching, battered and scraped but very happy. I don't think this will be my last surfing experience. If you're in Byron Bay, I'd highly recommend a lesson with Black Dog. It's a well-run company, Tam was lovely and Stu and Jamie were great.

Cape Byron
A couple of miles east of Byron Bay, a headland called Cape Byron forms the most eastern point of mainland Australia. There is a walking/jogging path from the main beach, although be warned (in case, like me, you decide to go for a casual early-morning jog): the path to the Cape Byron Lighthouse is really steep and makes for hot work. I spotted lizards and a kookaburra on the way up, and the views over Byron Bay and the nearby Tweed Mountains, are spectacular. At this time of year, whales and dolphins are migrating south, and I saw several whales and some baby dolphins, which was very exciting; unfortunately, I only had my phone not my camera with me so I didn't get any good photos.

There is a small museum inside the lighthouse and you can also take a guided tour to visit the top. There's a cafe near the lighthouse and another closer to sea level at The Pass, in case you're in need of refreshment after your jaunt.

On my last day in Byron Bay, I got up at 5:15 am and ran back up to Cape Byron to watch the sunrise. There weren't any whales or dolphins in sight but nature did put on a rather lovely sunrise for me, and I really felt I'd earned my view.

Coffee, Food and Drink
Coffee
The only coffee shop I visited that was just a coffee shop was Barefoot Brew Bar, a tiny hole-in-the-wall spot operated by Barefoot Roasters. Although they do serve Aeropress-brewed coffee, I only had five minutes before my surfing lesson so I had a piccolo with a Colombian single-origin coffee, which was very nice. There isn't a lot of seating room — just a handful of stools on the pavement — but it's a great spot and the coffee was good. You can also buy beans to take home.

Coffee with breakfast and/or brunch
Bayleaf Cafe
I only managed to visit Bayleaf on my last morning in Byron — my surfing lesson weren't compatible with its opening hours, but when I showed up, post-run, at 7:00 am, it was already bustling. As well as all-day brunch (I had some excellent scrambled eggs on sourdough), they serve coffee from Marvell Street Coffee Roasters, who roast on the industrial estate in town. I had an Ethiopian Konga coffee brewed through the Aeropress and it was delicious with gorgeous apricot and bergamot notes. It was so nice, I may even have bought a bag of beans... The ceramic cups were beautiful too (apparently they sell out immediately after they come in).

Folk
Although very close from my hotel as the crow flies, the road to Folk is much longer-winded and not exactly attractive — there's a lot of construction going on. It was well worth the effort, though: the relaxed café is beautifully decorated with interiors done out in wood and with green and plant accents; the covered garden, meanwhile, is a delightful respite. The coffee is from Duke's Coffee Roasters in Melbourne, and the best piccolo of my stay in Byron Bay was made at Folk using Duke's seasonal blend. The organic, ethically sourced, vegetarian all-day menu is creative, and everything comes beautifully prepared. My avocado toast came with homemade dukkah, local baby greens, grilled citrus and toasted seeds, and almost looked too good to eat.

Combi
I popped into Combi for a very late post-surfing brunch — actually, my second brunch (and my second avocado toast, as it turned out), of the day. There are a lot vegetarian and vegan options on both the food and drink menu at Combi — I dislike feta so I went for the 'vegan avocado toast', which came without it. The coffee was nice too: an Ethiopian, Colombian and Papua New Guinean blend roasted in the Yarra Valley near Melbourne.

Top Shop
A popular spot for a spot of pre- or post-beach brekkie, Top Shop is located at the eastern end of the CBD, a short walk from Clarkes Beach. I had a much-needed brekkie burger (bacon, egg, hash brown, avocado, lettuce, cheese...probably other things too; it was delicious!) and fortifying piccolo after my morning run. At busy times — probably most of the time — you may have to wait, but there is plenty of seating inside and outside the beach-shack-style cafe.

Lunch and Dinner
Main Street Burger Bar
I'd been waiting all holiday for a burger, so I was glad I had the opportunity in Byron Bay (most places that aren't exclusively burger joints only seem to serve burgers at lunchtimes). I had a very good cheeseburger and some perfectly crisp sweet potato fries at this cool, casual restaurant on Byron's main drag, Jonson Street. I also had a beautiful and delicious gin cocktail, which was pink (in honour of #DinePink) and came with edible flowers.

Treehouse on Belongil
Located next to my hotel, The Treehouse was buzzing every night (thankfully, it did quieten down after 11 pm; yes, I am old and boring). I went for pizza one night and the Capri pizza I went for was pretty good and reasonably priced.