Orientation
Port Jackson , more commonly known as Sydney Harbour , carves Sydney in two halves, linked only by the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Harbour Tunnel. The South Shore is the hub of activity, and it's here that you'll find the city centre and most of the things to see and do. Many of the classic images of Sydney are within sight of Circular Quay , making this busy waterfront area on Sydney Cove a good point to start discovering the city, with the Opera House and the expanse of the Royal Botanic Gardens to the east of Sydney Cove. It's also near the historic area of The Rocks to the west, and prominent museums and art galleries. From Circular Quay south as far as King Street is the Central Business District (CBD), with pedestrianized Martin Place at its centre. Just east of Martin Place, Macquarie Street is Sydney's civic streetscape, lined with fine colonial sandstone buildings including the New South Wales Parliament House. Beyond Macquarie Street the open space of The Domain stretches to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. To the south of the Domain, Hyde Park is very much the formal city park, overlooked by churches and the Australian Museum and with a solemn war memorial. Park Street divides Hyde Park into two; heading west along it you reach the ornate Town Hall , around which Sydney's shopping heart is focused, including the glorious Queen Victoria Building. Watching over it all is the AMP Centrepoint Tower , with 360-degree views from the top. The city's two main thoroughfares of George and Pitt streets stretch downtown to the increasingly down-at-heel Central Station and the area known as Haymarket , where a vibrant Chinatown sits beside the entertainment area of Darling Harbour , with its major museums and attractions. East of the city centre, following William Street uphill past Hyde Park, is Kings Cross , Sydney's red-light district and major travellers' centre, full of accommodation, strip joints and late-night cafes. The adjacent waterfront area of Woolloomooloo is home to a busy naval dockyard and some lively pubs. North and east of "the Cross" you move gradually upmarket, with the Eastern suburbs stretching along the harbour to Watsons Bay, meeting the open sea at South Head . Running south from the head are the popular and populous Eastern Beaches, from Bondi through Coogee to Maroubra ending at La Perouse and the expanse of Botany Bay . Further south brings you to surf territory at Cronulla and the Royal National Park across Port Hacking. From the southeast corner of Hyde Park, Oxford Street steams through the gay, restaurant, club and bar strip of Darlinghurst , becoming increasingly upmarket through gentrified Paddington , which has Centennial Park as its playground. South of Oxford Street, opposite Paddington, Surry Hills is another up-and-coming area, with plenty of action on Crown Street . The nearby Sydney Cricket Ground and Fox Studios are twin focal points at Moore Park . On the western side of Surry Hills is Central Station; heading west brings you to Sydney University, surrounded by the cafe-packed and youthful areas of Newtown and Glebe. West of Glebe, ugly Parramatta Road heads to Italian dominated Leichhardt and westwards to the Blue Mountains . The bushclad North Shore of the harbour is very much where the old money is. There are some wonderful spots to reach by ferry, from Taronga Zoo to Manly . North of Manly the Northern Beaches stretch up to glamorous Palm Beach which looks across to several national parks, including Ku-Ring-Gai Chase . Flowing towards Pittwater and Broken Bay is the sandstone-lined Hawkesbury River . North of here, the Central Coast is a weekend beach playground for Sydneysiders, while the Hunter Valley is the place for wine tasting.
The telephone code for Sydney and all the area covered in this guide is 02.
TravellingLaura says "Taking a City Circle train, the Monorail or walking is the best way of seeing city attractions, while buses and ferries represent the best way to visit points and attractions around the harbour. " Thats hotBitch says "yo yo yo I love me sydney"
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