The BEST 14 Things To Do in Sydney, Australia

Australia is so far away it’s a country many people can only dream of getting to one day! Especially if you fly from the Eastern United States as I did, it was a 25-hour flight! The time difference is a whole 14 hours! Depending on daylight saving time, of course, but you still have to flip your sleep schedule more or less completely. It took me about four days to do, for reference.

I landed in Sydney as my first stop on my working holiday visa and actually spent three weeks here before I found a job and moved out to Queensland. However, if you only have one week here, these are the things I recommend checking out!

Obviously, you don’t go all the way to Sydney and not go to the Opera House! It’s one of the most recognizable buildings in the entire world. I won’t lie, I saw it and was practically breathless! It’s really an incredible sight.

Did you know you can actually take a tour?? Yup! You learn all about the history of its construction and even get to see inside some of the theatres if there isn’t a show or rehearsal going on. The earlier your tour, the higher your chance of getting into multiple theatres. I won’t give any spoilers, but it really is an awesome tour and only takes about an hour.

Make sure to book direct for the best deal, and, if your first language isn’t English, they do offer tours in French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and Spanish!

If you want another incredible view of the Opera House, come back in the evening to enjoy a drink (and maybe dinner) at the bar while the building is all lit up! You can also see the Harbour Bridge, and the whole experience is incredible.

Do be careful of the seagulls, as they can get a bit vicious, particularly if you have food.

These are completely free to visit! I took a tour through my hostel, but you can also walk around totally on your own. In fact, I came back a second time to see more of them.

We learned about many of the plants and flowers in the gardens, as well as some of the Aboriginal connections to the land. There is a chance you might see spiders that make their homes in the trees, but I didn’t see any. We were informed that golden orb spiders have been sighted. There are also different birds around, such as crows, kookaburras, and the Ibis (aka the bin chicken).

These gardens are like a little piece of heaven carved out in the middle of the city! If you’d like a guided tour, the garden offers them by donation.

This is one of the most beautiful coastal walks in Sydney! Without stopping, it should take you about an hour and a half. There are, however, plenty of places to stop to take photos or grab a bite if you wish. I did a group walk with my hostel, which took us about three hours, including stopping for photos and lunch.

From the city center it should take you about 30 minutes or so to get to Coogee and then another 45 minutes from Bondi back into the CBD. I do recommend spending a little time in Bondi at the end as the area is incredibly beautiful. There’s the beach, pubs, and cafés in the area. Also, places to buy souvenirs if you’d like.

We did this walk on a day that started off a bit icky, and we even got rained on a bit, but fortunately, in the end, it was sunny! Don’t forget your water and sunscreen! Australia’s sun means serious business.

Also known as the QVB, because Aussies love to shorten EVERYTHING! This is the original marketplace building in Sydney. It was almost lost because there weren’t enough vendors to fill it and it was too expensive to maintain, but thankfully it was saved!

Today, it’s a mall, but I still recommend a walk around as it’s just simply gorgeous! A statue of Queen Victoria also sits outside, which was brought over from Ireland. In the basement, there’s even a bargain shop with tons of home goods!

This Zoo is right across the harbour, and what’s so nice is you can take a ferry there!

I recommend buying your tickets online, as it will save you around 20% compared to buying them at the gate. It would be best to be on the earlier side and spend a few hours here, as they close at 5 pm. My group arrived around 11 am, and I’m glad we did.

They have tons of different animals and a whole section just on Australian ones! You can also see some of the creepier critters, such as the snakes and spiders, safely behind glass. There are also some animal shows, such as dolphins. Sadly, we missed out on this as we didn’t realize how popular it would be, and the whole place was filled up even though we arrived on time.

This isn’t the biggest zoo, but you’ll definitely get your steps in! There’s also the Sydney Zoo, but that’s farther out, and I didn’t make it there.

This area is where the colony of Sydney actually began! When the first convicts landed on Australia’s shores, The Rocks was literally a huge space with tons of Rocks. Thus the name. If you want to learn about the history of the district and see some of the oldest buildings in the city, taking the I’m Free The Rocks walking tour is a great option and lasts about an hour and a half!

The tour is actually free! The company runs on donations, so you can pay as much or as little (even zero) as you want or can afford. You do still have to register for the tour on their website, so don’t just show up without a ticket!

My tour guide was super kind and knowledgeable!

If you want a crash course on Sydney, the I’m Free Sydney Sights tour is great! They take you around to a bunch of different spots, including the QVB, Hyde Park, the ‘Rum’ Hospital, and more! This tour lasts about two and a half to three hours. Wear good walking shoes and don’t forget sunscreen!

This is a great thing to do in the morning and lets you see a bunch of things you might never have thought of. Similar to the Rocks tour, it is a pay-what-you-can model, and you must still register for a tour slot. The guides were very friendly and happy to answer questions. There was also a break in the middle of the tour for restrooms and grabbing a quick beverage.

This is Australia’s natural history museum and is free to the public! They do sometimes have extra exhibits that cost a fee, but if you only want to see the regular museum, you can walk right past the desk to start your visit.

There are areas to see on two floors, including wildlife, Australian birds, dinosaurs, etc. Unfortunately, their “Surviving Australia” exhibit was closed for renovations and is due to reopen in late 2025. The museum is smaller than expected. I allotted about three hours here, and it wound up taking me only an hour and a half. Admittedly, I did not read every single information board, which probably made this much quicker.

I will tell you there’s a very unique part of the dinosaur exhibit I’ve never seen in any other natural history museum, which I think makes visiting here worth it on its own. The piece was donated by National Geographic. You’ll understand when you see it!

Right in Darling Harbour, you can see some absolutely amazing creatures that call the ocean home!

There’s a strong focus on ocean life in and around Australia, with a whole section dedicated to the Great Barrier Reef. This was one of my favourite aquariums for many reasons. First, it starts off with an exhibit of small penguins. They are beyond precious! Second, Sydney is one of three places in the world that has a dugong in human care, his name is Pig. So seeing one of these is amazing! There are actually two talks about him each day, so I recommend trying to attend one of them. Third, there’s a small boat ride that goes through the Arctic penguin enclosure so you get really close to them! It is quite cold, though, so just a heads-up. This ride is part of your ticket, by the way!

I highly recommend getting your ticket online, as it will save you a few bucks compared to buying at the door! I spent about two hours here and didn’t feel rushed.

I’ll be super honest and admit this isn’t something I thought too much of when I first walked by it. However, I decided to stop in and am so glad I did! The garden is beautiful with pagodas, streams, tons of plant life, and even lizards walking around!

It does cost $12 AUD for general admission, and I spent about an hour here. I actually would have spent more time if they didn’t close…..pretty sure I was the last person to leave. The backdrops are also great if you want some new photos for Instagram! Overall, it’s a lovely piece of serenity in the middle of the Haymarket.

Free to visit and right in Hyde Park, you can visit this memorial for those in the Australian Imperial Forces who fell during The Great War. If you’d like, the memorial does offer guided tours that come with a small fee to secure your spot.

Please remember this is a memorial and to be respectful. The building itself is beautiful and filled with a lot of history.

If you haven’t heard of the Blue Mountains, you are absolutely in for a treat! About two hours outside of Sydney is this gorgeous mountain range that, due to a chemical reaction with the Eucalyptus tree oil, creates a blue colored haze which engulfs the area.

The views here are stunning, particularly at the Echo Point Outlook, where you can see the Three Sisters. This is a set of three rock pillars that were once believed to be seven. You can definitely do this on your own by taking a train from Sydney’s Central Station. With this, you can take your time seeing the sights and even stay overnight if you want to extend. You will most likely need to rent a car.

However, I really recommend booking a tour so you don’t have to worry about transportation! The one I took picked me up at my hostel and also included stops at Featherdale Wildlife Park and Scenic World. I could relax on the bus and get to extra places I had on my list all in one day!

Located at the top of Hyde Park, this free museum takes you back in time to the early days of the Sydney colony. The different sections give you glimpses into the kinds of lives convicts and then free settlers lived as the area developed.

You can book your visit online, and once you arrive, you’ll receive an audio guide. What’s very cool about this is that the guide is designed to automatically play the section where you are. No need to type in any codes! Look out for the disks on the ceiling. If you move too far from what you’re listening to, it might switch to a different track. This happened to me a few times.

I spent about an hour here and found it very enlightening about early settler life in the city. There are also toilets available in the courtyard. Make sure to return your audio guide in the gift shop on your way out.

Sydney is an absolutely amazing city! For my first experience in Australia, I was very happy, and coming from a city as large as New York, I wasn’t overwhelmed at all. It’s very easy to get around with public transportation, as you can tap on AND OFF using a card, mobile wallet, or Opal card. The Opal system charges based on distance, so make sure you’re tapping off as well so you don’t get a bunch of weird or too high charges. You’ll get an authorization and then a final cumulative charge later in the week. As a note, the light rail has the machine at the platform, not on the vehicle, so don’t forget!

Do remember that Sydney is far more than just the CBD (Central Business District), so don’t be afraid to hop on a bus or train to see some of the other neighbourhoods if you do have the time. I enjoyed Newtown for good food options!

A lot of places open later in the further neighbourhoods as people empty out of the CBD after work, so places around there often close on the earlier side. If you want to stay in the CBD for late-night meals, Chinatown and Haymarket are great options!