On our first trip to Sydney, we stayed in a private boathouse offering unobstructed views of Sydney Harbour Bridge. Mornings began with the sound of kookaburras laughing high in the courtyard trees. Not too shabby.
We befriended our host during a trip to Italy in October 2023, who kindly offered us a place to stay if we ever paid a visit. She also pick us up at Sydney Kingston Smith Airport (a gesture of true love!). On our kitchen counter was a generous basket of Aussie snacks: among them, Cheese Twisties, BBQ Shapes, a jar of Meredith Dairy’s insanely creamy marinated goat cheese… and Tim Tams.
The next morning, on our first official day as tourists in Sydney, we took the ferry to Circular Quay. Seeing the Sydney Opera House in real life was nothing short of surreal. I had always pictured its smooth, bright white sails in my mind’s eye. I was surprised to discover up close that they are patterned (tiled) and off-white. It was just one of many details we’d come to appreciate about Sydney – largely considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
- Sydney Itinerary At-A-Glance
- Where We Stayed
- Where To Eat
- Where To Drink
- Where To Shop
- Places to Visit and Things To Do in Sydney
- Add These To Your Sydney To-Do List
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Sydney Itinerary At-A-Glance
- Day 0.5 (Sunday Night): Marrickville – Craft beer at Wildflower Brewing and dinner at Cafe Paci
- Day 1 (Monday): Morning – Walk at Ballast Point Park, Brunch in Balmain, Ferry from Balmain to Circular Quay, Museum of Contemporary Art. Afternoon – Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Opera House Guided Tour, walk the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Evening – Dinner at Chat Thai Haymarket
- Day 2 (Tuesday): Day – Brunch at Sea Salt Clovelly, Bondi to Coogee Walk (in reverse), Lunch at Icebergs. Night – Newtown/Enmore – Dinner at Cafe Paci and Dessert at The Cow and The Moon
- Day 3 (Wednesday): Day – Driving Tour of Sydney with our host, Brunch at Celsius Coffee Co. Kiribilli Wharf, Shopping in Paddington. Night – Sundowner at Henry Deane and Dinner at the Public House Hotel Palisades
- Day 4 (Thursday): All Day – Blue Mountains Tour (Three Sisters and Wentworth Falls)
- Day 5 (Friday): Power Up Festival at White Bay Power Station, Brunch/Lunch at The Grounds Roastery Eveleigh
Where We Stayed
Birchgrove: We knew we had a place to stay in Sydney, though we didn’t know the exact area where we’d be. Honestly, we weren’t about to ask too many questions… free is free! Nothing prepared us for how good we had it: our own private boathouse right on the water, separate full-sized bedrooms, a glass-enclosed shower, a restaurant-quality kitchenette, and a spacious, sun-drenched living room with views.
Birchgrove and Balmain as our home base offered a more laid-back, local side of Sydney. Having space to spread out and unwind after days spent exploring the city was a luxury.
Where To Eat
Baba’s Place (Marrickville). Tucked away in an industrial pocket of Sydney, this homey spot feels almost out of place. After a couple of rounds at Wildflower Beer, we tucked into an indulgent spread including taramosalata on toast and beef tartare, and plenty of Australian wine. Paired with jet lag and the comfort of our own private boathouse, we had no trouble falling asleep. Not a bad way to start acclimating to the other side of the world.
Cafe Paci (Newtown). Easily one of my favorite meals of the trip. Sitting at the sleek chrome bar, we enjoyed an inventive, well-paced meal, presented a dish at a time (how civilized!). The grilled octopus was a generous serving, and the house-made sourdough pasta was deceptively simple yet rich. We ended our meal with the market fish with smoked butter and Aleppo pepper.
Celsius Coffee and Dining Co. (Kiribilli Wharf): Judging by the wait, this hidden gem is no longer hidden. Perched on the wharf’s edge, this compact box of a cafe serves coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and brunch plates. We had the Billi’s Eggs (chili-buttered eggs, braised garlic tomatoes, onion jam, burnt butter glaze, fresh mint, and Greek yogurt on sourdough) and the Mushroom Burrata (a trio of mushrooms, house-made chimichurri, and burrata on sourdough). The deep purple broth of the burrata was unexpected.
Chat Thai (Haymarket). This is the OG location of Sydney’s legendary Thai eatery. We ordered the Som Tum papaya salad and Padt Ho glass noodles (with chicken, fresh chilli, bamboo, lemongrass, pea eggplant and kaffir lime leaves). Next time I’d swap the Padt Ho for the Grapao Gai Sup (stir-fried minced chicken with fresh chili and holy basil), which seemed to be the crowd favorite. The soft shell crab in yellow curry sauce was chef’s kiss.
The Grounds Coffee Factory (Various Locations). The Alexandria outpost of The Grounds Café is supposedly the most Instagrammed restaurant in the world. We visited their newer South Eveleigh location, an operational roastery. The Lunchbox Salad sandwich—beetroot, carrot, cucumber, rocket (arugula), tomato, alfalfa, and ricotta, served with a side of onion rings—was just what I was craving- something wholesome paired with something naughty. The dessert cart is dangerous.
Icebergs (Bondi Beach). We’d just come from the Bondi Icebergs Club, where the scent of chlorine was pervasive and the atmosphere a bit frenzied. The dining room (located upstairs) had a more refined vibe, but its proximity to the swim club meant it was still buzzing with tourists, families, and locals—even in late afternoon.
A friendly regular dining solo nearby clued us in on the prix fixe lunch special ($20–30 AUD), which included an entrée and a drink. Leah and I shared the burger and tuna steak (slightly overcooked) alongside glasses of prosecco. Note: The dining room isn’t part of the swim club – in other words, you don’t need to pay for club admission to eat there. (The attendants kindly refunded our $10 AUD entry fee when we realized our mistake!)
Kafeine (Balmain). The breakfast tasting plate was the move here: a trio of corn fritters, eggs Benedict with smoked salmon, and warm black sticky rice porridge with poached pear, pistachios, fresh fruit, and coconut palm sugar sauce (essentially breakfast dessert). If you’re sitting outside, beware the relentless Australian sun—you’ll want some good sunscreen.
Sea Salt (Clovelly Beach). The perfect pre-hike fuel for our Coogee to Bondi walk. I had a Green Goddess smoothie but couldn’t resist stealing a bite of the house-made date bread with espresso butter.
Public House at Hotel Palisade (Miller’s Point). After a couple glasses of prosecco at the hotel rooftop bar, we went for a casual dinner in the ground floor pub. We started with Sydney rock oysters and shared a green salad alongside the “Barra and Chippos” (barramundi and chips).
Cow and The Moon (Newtown/Enmore). This shop won the World Gelato Tour with their Mandorla Affogato flavor—Italian caramelized almonds with roasted coffee over Madagascar vanilla. I went for a cup with two flavors – basil ricotta mango and sticky date crumble.
Where To Drink
Henry Deane (Miller’s Point). This stylish hotel rooftop bar at the Hotel Palisade offers stunning Sydney Harbor views—if you can snag a good spot. When we arrived (walk-in, no reservation), only bar seats were available, with most of the indoor real estate occupied by a corporate happy hour. We grabbed two glasses of sparkling wine and kept an eye out on the patio from the bar. Persistence paid off. We eventually swooped in on a corner table, enjoying a clear view of the Harbor Bridge at night.
Wildflower Brewing (Marrickville). Known for its innovative fermentation process using wild yeasts and bacteria sourced from native flowers, Wildflower crafts some of the most unique beers in Australia. I tried the Hive: Post Brood—a barrel-aged golden mixed culture beer refermented with wild honeycomb from the Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands.
Where To Shop
Paddington / The Intersection. I scored a long-sleeve, neutral-toned bodycon dress with detachable sleeves from Dion Lee during their Going Out of Business Sale. Leah and I nearly pulled the trigger on Australian merino wool jumpers and column skirts in bold colors from McIntyre Merino Wool, a family-run brand having an insane sale (under $50 USD per piece).
Aje was another cute contemporary womenswear label we discovered. We also popped into Hands, a playfully curated gift shop. I was charmed by Heim Söhne’s mother-of-pearl teddy bear spoons in candy colors.
Places to Visit and Things To Do in Sydney
Ride a Ferry. Cruising under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and into the bustling Circular Quay is an iconic Sydney experience. The sun and breeze were strong—hold onto your hats! As the Opera House came closer into view, it truly felt like we had arrived in Australia.
Coogee to Bondi Walk. This walk is labeled as the Bondi to Coogee Coastal walk. Doing it in reverse means you end at Bondi Beach, which is a smart way to do it if you want to relax on the big beach after your hike.
In September, the weather was warm but not quite hot enough for a swim. Still, the sunshine and views made it a perfect Sydney day. After breakfast at Clovelly Beach, we doubled back to Coogee Beach (about a 20-minute walk) to check out Wylie’s Baths before continuing the trek to back to Bondi.
Along the way we passed Waverley Cemetery (bury me here, please), Bronte Beach (where the surfer boys hang), Tamarama (a.k.a. “Glamarama”, a very photogenic beach) and the iconic ocean pool at Icebergs Swim Club.
If you’re vacationing in October–November, try to time your walk with Sculpture by the Sea, an annual outdoor art exhibit along the coastal path.
Museum of Contemporary Art (CBD). Our visit coincided with Time Machine, a Hiroshi Sugimoto retrospective. I first discovered his work in a photography class at Parsons, particularly his Seascapes series with its striking horizon lines. The Theaters series—long-exposure photographs taken inside classic movie houses— was my favorite of the exhibition. Don’t miss the rooftop terrace for one of the best views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbor.
Royal Botanic Gardens (CBD). If you have time before or after your Opera House tour, the Botanic Gardens are a nice way to spend time outdoors (free). The trees in Australia are much taller than those the U.S.—a difference that became even more evident as we traveled through Western Australia.
Sydney Opera House (CBD). As expected, the Opera House is a top tourist attraction. We had no problem booking a same-day tour ($45 AUD) at the box office on a Monday with just an hour’s notice. (While waiting, we wandered through the Royal Botanic Gardens, located right next door).
Our guide had jokes, keeping our group of 40+ people moving along efficiently during the one-hour tour. I enjoyed learning about how the native woods used in the construction of the concert halls influenced the acoustics. If you’re a design enthusiast, look into the architectural tour offered at select times on Saturdays.
Day Trip to the Blue Mountains
Getting out of the city was a priority for us during both the Sydney and Melbourne legs of our trip. Since we only had a day to spare, didn’t want to rent a car (nor trusted ourselves to drive on the left), and weren’t keen on traveling two hours each way by train, we booked a tour.
After extensive comparison shopping, I landed on the Sunset Blue Mountains Wilderness & Waterfall Tour, which I booked on Viator. It promised a small group (about a dozen people), a guided bush walk (a bush walk, BTW, is a hike), stops at Wentworth Falls and the Three Sisters, and a sunset over the Blue Mountains. The tour cost about $120 USD at time of booking and included park and attraction entry fees.
We met our minibus at a designated hotel in the CBD and set off with our guide, who was also our driver. Early in the day, we pulled over on the roadside to watch wild kangaroos hopping by, as common here as deer in the U.S.
We stopped for food in Glenbrook before our bush walk at Wentworth Falls. I grabbed a lamb curry pie from Con’s Patisserie. The filling was rich and flavorful, with thick, tender chunks of lamb in a mild, yet savory sauce- not the spicy curry I’m accustomed to.
We were advised to layer up for the tour, with good reason – the wind was in full force. I was legit afraid it’d blow me off the cliffs. As we approached Echo Point, the Three Sisters rock formation became visible. The tour had advertised a Blue Mountains sunset, however, we arrived at the lookout too early.
Overall, we were glad to have spent some time in nature seeing some of Sydney’s greatest hits, but didn’t necessarily leave this tour with a greater understanding or appreciation of what we saw. While we appreciated having someone else handle transportation, our driver was more driver than guide.
That said, the Sunset Blue Mountains Tour is worthwhile if you don’t have a car and want an easy, low-stress way to spend the day in nature and check one of the region’s most iconic destinations off your list. Just know that the experience hinges largely on your guide. If having a knowledgeable guide – or catching the sunset – is a priority for you, it may be worth reaching out to the tour operator in advance to set expectations.
Add These To Your Sydney To-Do List
Banh Cuon Ba Oanh (Marrickville). My mom makes Northern Vietnamese rice rolls, and though I know these couldn’t possibly compare, I would have liked a taste. With so much ground to cover and too few meals to fit it all in, these Vietnamese cheap eats will have to wait for next time.
BridgeClimb Sydney. One of Sydney’s most famous attractions—and at $250+ AUD per person, also one of the priciest. You literally suit up and climb across the top of the Harbour Bridge. I’m sure the views are sick. Advanced booking is recommended to secure your desired time slot – the Twilight times are the most expensive and most coveted. Rather than take a Sydney Harbour Bridge tour, we kept our plans flexible, deciding instead to walk across the bridge at twilight – for free.
Marrickville Pork Roll (Various Locations). Is a pork roll the same as a banh mi? I do not know firsthand, but from everything I’ve read about this iconic Sydney spot, it sure sounds like one. I’ll find out next time.
Porch & Parlour (Bondi Beach). We made plenty of stops along our Coogee to Bondi walk. By the time we reached Bondi in the late afternoon, we were focused on sitting and eating ASAP. This locals’ favorite recommended by our host is known for its fresh, seasonal food, but it closes mid-afternoon. Maybe it was for the best—Porch has also expanded into ceramics. Knowing us, Leah and I would have walked out with more than a meal.
It’s easy to see why Sydney is considered one of the most beautiful and dynamic cities in the world. I feel incredibly lucky to have experienced it the way we did, before continuing onto Melbourne. From the ferry ride to Sydney Harbor to the coastal walk, finally making it to this famed city felt like an alternate reality (perhaps that was jet lag). I hope to have a reason to return soon.
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