Really? When?
Well, it's a great tourist city in that it looks amazing - the harbour, the beaches and all that. Lots of great places to wander around. Several good museums in the cbd area (Art Gallery of NSW, Museum of Contemporary Art, hell even the Justice and Police Museum has a great exhibition on at the moment).
Architecture-wise - the bridge and opera house of course, also The Rocks, which is just under the southern side of the bridge and has lots of colonial architecture from when Australia was first settled. I also like a lot of the old buildings in suburbs like Glebe (not sure of their style, but big turn-of-the-century houses that have been well-preserved) and the terraces in Paddington. The northern side of the cbd and Macquarie St also have a lot of old sandstone buildings
Bars - well, I tend to hang around Newtown (formerly gritty student/musician kind of area that's gradually yuppifying, but still good). The odd thing about Sydney is that there's not really much in the city itself - it tends to be more in the area immediately surrounding it like The Rocks, Cockle Bay Wharf, Surry Hills/Darlinghurst, and Kings Cross if you're after a big night
Defnitely check out Leichardt (old Italian suburb), Newtown/Glebe, Surry Hills/Darlinghurst, Paddington (most definitely yuppy though), the Botanic Gardens, the Blue Mountains (2 hr train trip to the west, but amazing views), Bondi just cos it's Bondi, but also because there's a great walk around the cliffs to Bronte beach. I like Coogee as well. Also some great beaches on the northern side of the harbour, but it's a bit of a hike. A ferry trip from Circular Quay to Manly is a must - gorgeous harbour views.
Oh, and you can also get a ferry across to Taronga Zoo. I think they still do the whole koala-holding thing (haven't been in years), but watch out cos they're aggressive when not completely doped up on eucalyptus
What else...public transport is, in a word, shite. Buses are generally the way to go, but even getting to places like Bondi can be a pain in arse even from the city
I'll think of more in a bit. How long will you be here for, and when?
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