Parks and the outdoors in Sydney

Parks and the outdoors in Sydney

1. DoCity Centre

   Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour

   A walk around the Royal Botanic Garden with an Aboriginal guide who will tell you about native plants that have been used by Aboriginal Australians for generations, as food, medicine, and tools. You can sample a few on the way, including fruits and herbs. Book in advance.

   Thu Fri Sat 11AM–noon·$30 for adults, $20 for children 7 and older, free for children under 7

2. SeeCity East

   Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool

   A famous yet paradoxically little known location overlooking Wooloomoloo bay and near to the Botanic gardens. It was a popular swimming location with Indigenous Aboriginals before the arrival of Europeans in Australia. The pool was also the venue for the sporting triumphs of Australian swimming legend Andrew Boy Charlton in the 1920s and is believed to be the birthplace of the Australian Crawl or freestyle swimming stroke.

   Sep–Apr, non-daylight saving: daily 6AM-7PM, Daylight Saving: daily 6AM-8PM·Adult $5.50, concession $4.10, family $15.30, additional family member $2, spectator $2.70

3. DoSydney Olympic Park

   Archery

   Sydney Olympic Park Archery Centre

   Want to learn how to start in the sport of Archery? The centre regularly runs 1.5 hr introductory sessions for anyone to try the sport. Archery Australia members can use their facility casually, but contact them if you are an international archer.

   Tue-Fri 10AM-4PM, Sat Sun 9:30AM-4PM (summer 9:30AM-5:30PM)·Introductory session (Bronze Arrow): $26

4. EatSydney Olympic Park

   Armory Wharf Cafe

   Partially a bunch cafe with an all day breakfast, also does a mean fish and chips. But, go for the view of the Parramatta river.

   Daily 9AM-3PM

5. EatSydney Olympic Park

   Bacar Restaurant Bar Lounge

   Lobby of the 5-star Pullman at Sydney Olympic Park hotel, corner of Olympic Boulevard and Herb Elliott Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park. Contemporary International Cuisine in a stylish modern setting, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

   Breakfast: 6-10:30AM (open until 11am on Weekends), Lunch: noon–3PM, Dinner: 6-10PM·$45-60

6. SeeLower North Shore

   Balls Head Reserve

   Two points to the west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Balls Head is a large park and picnic area with extensive harbour views and walking tracks. The park also contains the Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability - an industrial zone turned into a community area where visitors can also walk through the original tunnels. Adjacent is the MV Cape Don, a decommissioned ship which holds tours occasionally. Also has a restored Aboriginal rock carving of a whale.

7. SeeLower North Shore

   Balmoral Beach

   Family friendly beach away from the main Harbour waters. Good for a quick swim in the swimming baths, enclosed by shark nets and a wide boardwalk. Plenty of cafes around.

8. SeeCity East

   Beare Park

   A picturesque spot right on the Harbour on Elizabeth Bay, this is a popular place for picnics and a bit of inner-city sunbathing.

9. SeeLower North Shore

   Berry Island Reserve

   Berry Island first connected to the mainland with a causeway from Wollstonecraft farm in the 1800s. Later quarried sandstone made a permanent land bridge to the island. The land bridge is now lawns with a playground, and a loop walk circles the island, which will take around 20 minutes. There are interpretive signs about the Aboriginal heritage of the area. The last part of the walk can be done rock hopping along the sandstone rocks on the coastline. There is an Aboriginal carving there, but it basic, and quite hard to make out. There is a lookout at the end of the point, with views across the harbour to Balmain and Birchgrove. You can also see across to HMAS Waterhen Naval Base.

   free

10. DoSydney Olympic Park

    Bicentennial Park

    Other than having a barbecue, while you're there, walk, cycle or fly a kite. Bicentennial Park is a 100-hectare park created to celebrate Australia's bicentenary in 1988. Although older than Sydney Olympic Park, it is now part of the Sydney Olympic Park precinct. Facilities include electric barbecues, extensive gentle paths suitable for children cycling and for wheelchairs, and enormous amounts of grass on which to picnic or play sports. It is popular with families. Admission and parking is free but hard to find around lunchtime on some weekends, and it may be simpler to walk from the train stations.

    Free

11. SeeInner West

    Birchgrove Park

    Contains Birchgrove Oval, the spiritual home of rugby league in Australia after it hosted the first professional matches in 1908. A family park that has good views of the Harbour Bridge.

12. EatCity Centre

    Bodhi

    This is an outdoor vegetarian yum cha restaurant located just down the stairs from St Mary’s Cathedral over looking Cook and Phillip Park. It's a vegan restaurant and has a wide range of enticing and tasteful healthy yum cha options (all vegan). Fantastic on a sunny day. Open on weekends too. Kids can run around safely in the park while you linger over coffee.

13. EatBondi Beach

    Bondi Surf Seafoods

    The Bondi Beach Fish Shop is the place to go for that dubious local speciality, the deep fried Mars Bar. Fans of the bar counsel caution: no matter how strong you think you are, restrict yourself to one deep fried Mars Bar daily.

14. Do

    Bradleys Head

    Take the ferry to Taronga Zoo wharf and then head to your right along the promontory. There's pristine bushland (almost unchanged from the time of European colonisation), quiet beaches, and knockout views across the harbour, and in the warmer months you'll spot plenty of Eastern Water Dragons, a type of large lizard. Once you reach the tip of the headland, you can either amble back to the wharf or - if you're feeling more ambitious - follow the track several more kilometres to Clifton Gardens, ogling the gigantic houses along the way. From there, you can either hike all the way back to Taronga or get a bus to a ferry wharf.

15. BuyCity South

    Brewery Yard Markets

    A small market set on the green adjacent to Central Park shopping centre. This market specialises in street art, crafts, jewelry and clothing with smatterings of food stalls and live music throughout.

    10AM-4PM, 1st & 3rd Sun every month

16. SeeSydney Olympic Park

    Brickpit Ring Walk

    The Brickpit

    Homebush Bay was an industrial site before it was remodelled as Sydney Olympic Park. The brickpit area was preserved because the post-industrial area was also habitat to several species of rare frogs, including the endangered green and gold bell frog. The brickpit site has a high elevated walkway ringing the site. The engineering is quite impressive. There are interpretive displays as you walk the ring. It is unlikely that you will see any of the tiny frogs all the way down in the water filled pit, but there are binoculars if you wish to try your luck.

    Free

17. BuyInner West

    Broadway Shopping Centre

    A convenient shopping centre on the edge of the city that includes a large cinema complex and area views from the top of the car park.

18. SeeEastern suburbs

    Bronte House

    An historic house up Bronte Road from the north end of the beach.

19. SeeDarling Harbour

    Busy Buses

    A massive aquarium. In addition to various display tanks (penguins, platypus, various fish species), it has three underwater walks where visitors walk in glass corridors underneath and between the dugongs, sharks, rays and tropical fish. There is a 2-minute "penguin ride" in a small boat, heavily advertised but underwhelming. Consider going on a weekday evening, to avoid some of the crowds.

    10AM-6PM (last entrance at 5PM) daily·Adults $44, child $25, various concessions and family tickets available. Save 15-20% online

20. SeeInner West

    Camperdown Memorial Rest Park

    Located just two blocks behind King St, it has lots of open space and plenty of street art and graffiti on the walls surrounding the park, as well as an atmospheric cemetery in the adjoining church. Sit on the grass and people-watch, there's always someone out of the ordinary. The Newtown Festival is held here in November.

21. DoSydney Olympic Park

    Cathy Freeman Park

    The Olympic Cauldron, which was the centrepiece of the water themed opening ceremony is now a large fountain that the kids (or adults) can run under. The park can also be used for picnics.

    Free

22. SeeEastern suburbs

    Centennial Park

    This is a large formal park in Sydney eastern suburbs with its own internal road and walking trail system, grand avenues, historic buildings, lakes and many groves of shady trees dotted with picnic areas. Bike and walking trails, horse trails and equestrian facilities, some restaurant, cafe and kiosk facilities are available. This park is both a playground and a giant green lung for the city. Popular all days but especially on the weekends. Centennial Park covers 220 hectares and draws more than 3.6 million visitors annually.

    April: 6AM-6PM, May to August: 6:30AM-5:30PM, Sept to Oct: 6AM-6PM, Oct to April: 6AM-8PM. Paddington Gates (exit gate) is the last to close every day·There are no access charges to the park, however some sporting facilities and formal activities may attract fees

23. BuyCity South

    Central Park

    This shopping centre is part of a larger complex that includes parklands and apartments. There is a wide selection of unique fashion and homeware stores along with general retail and a supermarket. Central Park is also great for its wide range of food and dining options, from cafes to restaurants. If you visit, be sure to check out their website for events that include workshops, art galleries, local markets and the BYO Cinema.

    10AM-8PM

24. SeeLower North Shore

    Chinamans Beach

    A beach that's perfect for picnics, off-leash dog walking and ample parking. This small sheltered beach looks across Middle Harbour to Clontarf and Sydney Harbour National Park, where the water always seems to be glistening. Rosherville Reserve is perfect for picnics games with the kids and dogs are allowed off-leash on weekdays.

25. SeeDarling Harbour

    Chinese Garden of Friendship

    Modelled on the typical private gardens of the Ming Dynasty, the garden offers an insight into Chinese heritage and culture. A centrepiece of the gardens is the Dragon Wall, guarded by two imperial dragons, with the brown dragon representing Guangdong and the blue dragon New South Wales, playing with the pearl of friendship.

    9:30AM-5PM·Adults $6, children $3

26. SeeLower North Shore

    Cobblers Beach

    Clothing optional beach which is also popular with families. It can get crowded here on weekends in summer, but nudists say that's a great time to join in if you're new to it. You'll blend in to the crowd.

27. DrinkEastern suburbs

    Coogee Bay Hotel

    On a summer's day it is a great place to enjoy a relaxed drink or meal. There's an outdoor beer garden which is popular in summer, and kept warm in winter by outdoor heaters. In the evenings, it can get more lively, with live music, and a younger crowd of backpackers, locals and visitors from around Sydney.

28. DrinkCity South

    Covent Garden Hotel

    A local institution. Usually busy, a mix of the after work crowd, tourists, and people in town for a night out. Gets very busy before some shows at the Entertainment centre. It has been renovated in modern style, and struggling a little to recapture the former vibe.

29. SeeLower North Shore

    Cremorne Reserve

    Cremorne Reserve is a small park along the water near Cremorne Wharf, with sweeping views southwest to the city and Harbour Bridge. A good place to watch the sunset on a summer night with a picnic dinner.

30. SeeCity Centre

    Customs House

    A historic building, and imposing building. You can imagine it looking out over the port of Sydney (if you can equally imagine the absence of the Cahill Expressway). A large diorama of the Sydney area which you can walk over is on display in the foyer. The Sydney City Library occupies the building, and sometimes has exhibitions. Free.

31. DoSydney Olympic Park

    Cycle

    Sydney Olympic Park offers possibly the most extensive and pleasant recreational cycling opportunities in Sydney, with water and park views, and some interesting historical sites to explore. Bike Hire is available from the Visitors Centre in Bicentennial Park. Get a copy of the bike circuits map from the visitors centre or online. There are three planned routes that are marked by coloured discs on the edge of the path. Paths tend to be quieter away from the picnic areas of Bicentennial park.

32. BuySydney Olympic Park

    DFO Homebush

    Just outside of the Sydney Olympic Park precinct, this is an outlet shopping centre with a food court.

33. SeeCity East

    Embarkation Park

    Great views of the CBD skyline and parts of the harbour. This is one of the most popular places in the Inner East to watch the New Years Eve fireworks shows. The park may be locked at night.

34. EatCity South

    Emperor's Garden BBQ & Noodles

    This is a popular Chinese eatery specializing in meat and poultry dishes (marinated duck tongue $6) and has a great little window area where you can choose your takeaway goodies.

    Dishes $3.50-9

35. SeeInner West

    Glebe Foreshore Parks

    Four different parks (Federal Park, Jubilee Park, Bicentennial Park and Blackwattle Bay Park) with the Anzac Bridge in the background. A mix of grasslands, sport fields, playgrounds and wetlands make for a wide area to explore. There is a walking path along the foreshore all the way from the Fish Markets to Annandale, with a Light Rail station conveniently at each end. A short walk further into Annandale along Johnston St will show you a series of gothic mansions and Federation houses - keep going to Booth St, where you can get a bus back to the city, or one block further to see the Hunter Baillie church, which once had the tallest spire in Sydney.

36. SeeCity Centre

    Government House

    A stately home in the Botanic Gardens. The official residence of the Governor of New South Wales (the state's representative for the British Monarch). Open to the public Fridays & weekends.

    Fri-Sun 10:30AM-3PM·Free

37. SeeCity Centre

    Hyde Park

    An extensive city centre park of a formal design tradition dissected by Park St, elongated in layout and containing a large fountain (Archibald Fountain) towards the northern end and the Anzac War Memorial at the south - a favourite with city workers at lunchtime, joggers and sunbakers. The park occasionally hosts public and private events and functions.

    Free

38. SeeCity Centre

    Hyde Park Barracks

    Built in 1818-1819. Constructed by convicts and housed by them, the Hyde Park Barracks provided housing for convicts working in government employment around Sydney from 1819 until its closure in 1848. Interior is restored with exhibits depicting the furnishings and life of the time. Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

    Daily, closed Good Fri and Christmas Day·Free

39. SeeEastern suburbs

    Kamay-Botany Bay National Park

    La Perouse has a museum explaining the interesting history of the area. The Kamay Botany Bay National Park takes its name from the Kamay people (the Spear people) of the nearby Cook's river and Botany Bay. There are walks and great views over the ocean and the bay. The park contains rich marine environments and remnants of the heathland vegetation which Banks and Solander, Cook's botanists, first studied in 1770. You can explore the Banks-Solander track, with its fascinating insights into the once-widespread vegetation communities that Cook's botanists explored in 1770. Or learn about Australia's Aboriginal history and European Colonisation, told in the Lapérouse Museum and the Visitor Centre. Enjoy the Cape Baily Coast Walk, with its windswept heaths, historic sites and spectacular coastal views. All easily accessible by car or bus.

40. DoLower North Shore

    Luna Park

    Luna Park is an older style amusement park on the harbour's edge. The huge grinning face over the entrance is a Sydney icon.

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Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Sydney (CC BY-SA 4.0).