The must-do highlights of Sydney in three days

Sydney is often seen as the teenager among world cities, with a reputation for being fun-loving, brash and materialistic. That’s partly true, but Sydney also has abundant Aboriginal sites, world-class museums and cultural institutions, and the oldest European settlement in Australia. More Sydneysiders attend cultural events than sporting ones, and as many enjoy beachfront brunches as nightclub parties.

Packing the best of this glamorous city into just three days is a challenge, but here are our suggestions for 72 hours of sightseeing and entertainment in Sydney.

DAY ONE

Learn about the Aboriginal culture of the Gadigal people on a guided tour of the Royal Botanic Garden.Credit: Destination NSW

MORNING

Get up early and make haste to the Opera House if you haven’t been to Sydney before. Even if you have, you’ll never tire of this spectacular building and its harbour setting.

Walk to the Royal Botanic Garden for fine Opera House views and for its duck ponds, tropical greenhouses and rose and cactus gardens. An Aboriginal tour is an interesting way to learn about the Eora people who first inhabited this region.

Art lovers should keep going beyond the southern end of the gardens to the free Art Gallery of NSW, which has a newly opened wing and excellent exhibits of Aboriginal, Australian, Asian and European art – plus a good cafe. Alternatively (though a bit more of a walk), the Australian Museum focuses on Indigenous culture and wildlife.

AFTERNOON

The city centre has cosmopolitan lunchtime options, such as Middle Eastern flavours at Jimmy’s Falafel, French bistro-style dishes at Restaurant Hubert, or the chilli-rich flavours of south-west China at Spice Temple. Can’t decide? Head into hidden Angel Place for a diverse range of trendy restaurants.

If downtown tempts you to shopping, then the Queen Victoria Building – a late 19th-century wonder of mosaics and stained glass – and has 200 shops and boutiques featuring Australian designers. Westfield Sydney has upmarket style and European brands, as well as a stylish food hall.

Now make your way to The Rocks, Australia’s oldest urban settlement. Many of its buildings have been converted into restaurants, art galleries and shops. Weekends feature street entertainment and a handicrafts market.

Take the stairs up the Pylon Lookout of Sydney Harbour Bridge, which has interesting exhibits on the bridge’s history. It’s a great budget alternative to BridgeClimb, and the outlook from the top is just as splendid.

EVENING

Many harborside attractions, like Luna Park, come to life after dark.Credit: Destination NSW

You’ll want to linger until evening at The Rocks, which has a great atmosphere at night. Enjoy a drink or evening meal at a historic pub such as the Hero of Waterloo, Lord Nelson Brewery or Fortune of War.

Alternatively, circle back towards the Opera House to see it illuminated against the twinkling lights of the harbour. The Opera Bar provides a drink with an iconic Sydney Harbour view.

Evening isn’t the end of your day’s sightseeing. Sydney Tower Eye is open until 8pm, and other attractions such as Luna Park Sydney and various museums run after-hours events. The city also has a busy program of theatre performances and concerts in every conceivable musical genre.

DAY TWO

Sea Life Sydney Aquarium will delight little ones, with tunnels beneath tanks containing sharks, turtles and manta rays.Credit: Destination NSW

MORNING

Darling Harbour is a family favourite thanks to its free entertainment and fireworks, large playgrounds and attractions such as Powerhouse Museum for applied sciences and arts, and the National Maritime Museum, where you can clamber through a submarine and naval destroyer.

Another big drawcard is Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, with tunnels that walk you through tanks of sharks, turtles and manta rays. Next door is Wild Life Sydney Zoo – the kids will love breakfast with the koalas, or an encounter with one of the world’s largest captive crocodiles.

The Chinese Garden of Friendship is one of the best classical Chinese gardens outside China. For lunch, Chinatown is a five-minute walk away. You’ll find an array of Asian cuisines and all styles of dining, from budget food halls to dumpling houses and upmarket restaurants.

AFTERNOON

Now head out of the CBD for an afternoon in the inner-city suburbs of Surry Hills, Darlinghurst and Paddington, which have a distinctive village feel and cool urban vibe. Eclectic boutiques sell everything from glamorous rock- and punk-inspired fashions to hand-printed textiles, designer homewares and decorative arts.

Relax into the typical Sydney lifestyle at any number of coffeehouses, such as Artificer Coffee, industrial-chic Reuben Hills (which also serves South American food), and Single O, which roasts its own coffee.

You could also be distracted by a production at the well-known Belvoir St Theatre or Griffin Theatre Company, an arthouse movie at Chauvel Cinema, or pop by the SCG Museum for a sporting history at Sydney’s most famous cricket ground.

EVENING

Steak heaven: Surry Hills’ buzzing three-hatted restaurant Firedoor is worth a trip to Sydney alone.Credit: Destination NSW

Don’t go rushing off. These inner-city suburbs are where locals take their tastebuds on a tango through the ever-changing Sydney dining scene. Established favourites include beer garden The Beresford, The Winery for chic bar nibbles, and Firedoor for steak cooked on coals.

There are plenty of newcomers and interesting alternatives, and you only need browse along Crown Street in Surry Hills for Greek, Italian, Korean, Lebanese, Turkish and much more. Walk up Victoria Street and Oxford Street in cool and arty Darlinghurst and you can also choose anything from Balkan seafood to Cambodian noodles.

Then the night is all yours, and you can wander your way from nightclub to absinthe bar, beer saloon to cocktail lounge, and join Sydney’s perennial party.

DAY THREE

The Manly Scenic Walkway takes you through bushland and harbour beaches, with views of North Head and the city skyline.Credit: Destination NSW

MORNING

You’ll have to choose between Sydney’s two iconic beaches, Bondi or Manly. Tough choice, but Manly is reached on a far more scenic ride. Take the half-hour ferry from Circular Quay, which chugs past the Opera House and swanky harbour suburbs.

Spend the morning taking a surf lesson, or browse the shops and wander the harbour-side promenades. Manly’s main beach provides an enormous sweep of sand, but there are several other beaches nearby too.

Stroll south to Shelly Beach for a snorkel in a protected marine reserve, or hike all the way to the cliff tops at North Head for a stunning view across the harbour towards the distant skyscrapers of the CBD.

AFTERNOON

After the obligatory fish and chips, get walking. Most visitors are oblivious to the Manly Scenic Walkway. It starts along manicured promenades but soon climbs into cliff-top bushland with splendid panoramas over Middle Harbour to city skyscrapers in the background.

It takes you west to Spit Bridge in Middle Harbour in about three hours, and the scenery is wonderful all the way. Several pocket beaches beckon you for a dip. Then hop on a bus, which will take you back to downtown Wynyard in 20 minutes.

EVENING

Aboriginal dancers from the Jannawi Dance Clan perform during an Aboriginal cultural tour in Barangaroo.Credit: Destination NSW

Spend the evening in the city’s newest harbourside precinct, Barangaroo, created from a disused container terminal. On weekdays, it livens up in late afternoon as office workers settle in for drinks and pre-dinner bites. On weekends, it buzzes with Sydneysiders out for a good time.

The waterfront here along Watermans Cove has an extraordinary park planted with still-young native trees and shrubs, well worth a wander. Take an Aboriginal Cultural Tour if you want to learn about the area’s Indigenous history.

Then hit the Barangaroo’s cool cafes, hip cocktail lounges and restaurants. Among the choices is ultra-popular Zushi for a 20-course tasting of modern Japanese cuisine, hearty slabs of beef from The Meat & Wine Co, or sustainable seafood from Love Fish.