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If you want to get a feel for Sydney, here’s a tip: buy a BridgeClimb ticket. From 134 metres up you can look down on The Rocks, where the original European settlement was started.
Its’ haphazard alleys and streets now house a variety of stylish shops, gourmet restaurants and trendy bars. Now be brave and look out across that sparkling harbour where stately ferries, brash jet boats and busy water taxis share the water, past the gleaming Sydney Opera House, past the vast Botanic Gardens.
Let your gaze sweep south to the CBD with its glass towers and enticing shops, then north, where leafy hillside suburbs like Mosman sit, smugly soaking up all that Aussie sun.
Finally, look inland across countless suburbs, each a distinct ethnic village with its own culture, restaurants, shops and inhabitants. With all this on offer in one great city, it’s little wonder they call this the Lucky Country.
Sydney definitely deserves the accolades as one of the world’s most desirable and glamorous cities, gifted with a spectacular harbour, stunning beaches and a perfect year-round climate. Spend time on or around the harbour before heading to The Rocks to explore the history and laneways lined with wine bars, cafés and restaurants. To discover Sydney’s free-spirit there is no better place to start than the Suburbs.
Paddington or ‘style mile’ as it is known will satisfy any shoppers appetite, include a stop at the Saturday market with plenty of creative gems to entice. Venture down the winding alleyways and you will find cute terrace houses complete with cast-iron lace detailing looking every bit as splendid as in their bygone days.
Near-by Surry Hills has a colourful past as the centre of the fashion and publishing trade, now it is one of Sydney’s most chic destinations, particularly for vintage fashion, home-wares and food trends. This is ‘THE’ place to dine as some of Sydney’s top chefs have opened their own restaurants here.
Balmain is a short ferry ride from the city offering a village atmosphere and a great pub culture. Sydney is home to the artistic set where locally made art is a specialty and historic streetscapes, art galleries and stylish cafés line the main streets.
Glebe is known for its alternative therapy outlets, bookshops and funky boutiques with something for everyone.
| Fast Facts
• Sydney population: 3,637,500
• Summer temperatures from 20ºC to 26ºC
• Winter temperatures from 9ºC to 16ºC
• Voted one of ‘The World’s Best Cities’
• Sydney’s land size is nearly double that of New York’s
• Visited by more than 300,000 Kiwis each year
• Over 4.5 million people visit the Sydney Opera House each year
• Sydney is Australia’s oldest and largest city
• Sydney has the largest Gay and Lesbian culture in the world
• The Sydney Harbour Bridge weighs 52,800 tons
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