Many come to Sydney and insist on staying on her glittering harbour. It’s certainly picturesque, and there are some fantastic harbour-side suburbs with great accommodation: from foodie favourite Potts Point, to glamorous Double Bay, Point Piper and leafy Rose Bay. Even The Rocks and Darling Harbour are harbour-side. But if you stay on the harbour you’re not staying at the beach! What about classic beach destination Bondi or less well known, but similarly blessed Coogee — which has a vast and notably friendly waterfront pub? These are cool places to stay, undoubtedly, but they’re not the coolest. If you want to hang with the hipsters, and inadvertently show up at all the "right" gigs and parties, you might be better off staying in Darlinghurst or fashionable Paddington, with its charming rows of historic terrace houses. If anything, this introduction will illustrate that Sydney is actually packed with fantastic bases for visitors. Accordingly it's worth shopping around for the neighbourhoods that best match your dream Sydney holiday.
Image by Arvida Saubermann from Pixabay
Sydney Harbour isn’t an official suburb or a neighbourhood, it’s a vast harbour whose shoreline spreads hundreds of kilometres through numerous suburbs and neighbourhoods. But the bit of Sydney that people think of as Sydney Harbour in accommodation terms is reassuringly smaller, a circle drawn around the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, incorporating Circular Quay, some of the CBD, The Rocks, and some of McMahon’s Point and Kirribilli on the northern side. Maybe Potts Point if you’re being generous. The biggest reason for booking a hotel here is usually the harbour view. You’ve also got some of the best public transport links in Sydney, many of the main museums, galleries and other attractions, some of the oldest and most impressive architecture, the leafy Royal Botanic Gardens and a fantastic array of places to eat, drink and stay. Whatever kind of accommodation you’re looking for you will find it in the Sydney Harbour area, along with lively nightlife, and a great atmosphere.
The Rocks is where Sydney began, where the very first buildings that would become the city went up. It’s part of the Sydney Harbour area, east of the Harbour Bridge, on the western side of Sydney Cove. A comparatively large number of buildings in The Rocks are Heritage Listed, but that hasn’t stopped them from being converted into accommodation, or shops. The Rocks has become more touristy in recent years — it is right beside the cruise ship terminal — but the Sunday Market is still popular with locals, and many of the souvenir and craft shops are quite high-end. There are lots of walking tours you can take through The Rocks, but you don’t need a guide, a map will do. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Cadman’s Cottage, The Rocks Discovery Museum, and the views from the Pylon Lookout are worth including in your strolling, and there are good views from the Sydney Observatory too.
Darling Harbour neighbours the CBD, a buzzy, slightly glitzy new-feeling part of town. The Sydney Aquarium stretches into the harbour from here, across the water from the National Maritime Museum; Darling Harbour also has a Chinese Garden of Friendship, a casino, Paddy’s Markets and all sorts of cinemas, bowling alleys, restaurants, bars and cafes. This is also where you’ll find the very excellent Powerhouse Museum. There are some really big hotels here, but also some apartment rental blocks and a few mid-sized options. There’s a big choice when it comes to eating and drinking and a buzzing atmosphere in the evening as well as during the day.
Image by Horst Müller from Pix
The CBD, or Central Business District, doesn’t necessarily sound like the sort of place you’d want as a holiday base, but it does occupy a very central part of Sydney, a short walk from the harbour, Darling Harbour, Paddington, Darlinghurst, The Rocks, the botanical gardens, and the main train and ferry terminals. The hotels here also tend to be large and tall, so there are some fantastic roof terraces, with pools and bars, and views. This area is also where you’ll find the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Australian Museum, the Queen Victorian Building shopping mall and Centrepoint Tower.
Sydney’s Darlinghurst area is where the main Pride festivities take place. This is a great place to stay if you want to go out for the evening and not have far to travel home, while also being super central, and packed with small and quirky places to eat, drink and shop. And you’re right between the CBD, Potts Point, Double Bay and Paddington, so there are lots of places to explore within a casual stroll.
Bondi is a classic Sydney beach destination, one of a string of golden, sandy beaches on the eastern coastline of the city. The beaches along this coast are bookended at regular intervals by sandstone headlands, but what really separates Bondi from its neighbours is its fame and its proximity to Bondi Junction, which is the main local travel hub and an easy route into the centre of town. Bondi has a lively atmosphere year-round; there’s something going on almost every night. There’s a chic brunch culture, that’s especially busy on Sunday — with lots of people in the area for the markets as well as the beach. There’s a good choice of accommodation in Bondi, including some affordable options, but everywhere you stay around here will have a ‘Bondi mark-up’, which neighbouring beaches don’t have. So if you’re not interested in seeing and being seen, or visiting chi-chi restaurants or glamorous bars, then you might want to consider expanding your accommodation search area to include Coogee.
Coogee is a few beaches along from Bondi, and while it doesn’t quite have the expanse of beach of its glamorous neighbour, it has its fair share of pale blonde sand, enough swell to please a surfer, grassy slopes for sunbathing, and a friendly cafe. Set back from the beach there are some great places to eat and drink, including a huge pub: the Coogee Bay Hotel. Coogee’s three sea pools are worth seeking out, even if you don’t swim in them, Wylie’s Baths especially, because it has a raised timber deck. Coogee is also a lovely place to snorkel — its clear waters are within close proximity of the Bronte-Coogee Aquatic Reserve. The town has a couple of big-name hotels, but there are some good smaller accommodation options too, including family-friendly aparthotels.
Image by seanalucysmith from P
One of the best things about staying in Manly is catching the Manly Ferry to and fro from Sydney each time you want to visit any of the main sights. It’s not a short trip, but it is a spectacular one, and definitely worth doing even if you don’t have to. Manly has a few, small harbour-side beaches, but a short stroll across the shopping precinct will take you to large and sweeping Manly Beach, and the other ocean-side beaches. There are some good surfing opportunities here — this is where the world’s first surfing competition took place — and some great places to eat, drink and be merry. Shelly Beach is smaller, but great for snorkelling. There are some lovely walks too, being right on the edge of the Sydney Harbour National Park, and you’re not far from Taronga Zoo. Manly has a good range of accommodation options, including large hotels, smaller boutique brands, and the haunted pick, Q Station, a resort hotel complex converted from Sydney’s old quarantine station.
Paddington is an inner city suburb lined with terraces of colonial houses, ideally located for visitors, between the CBD and Bondi Junction, and offering a sophisticated, cosmopolitan atmosphere, great shopping opportunities, and chic places to eat and drink. This is the part of Sydney to stay in if you like to peruse an art gallery, check out new local designers, and do a spot of people watching from your table in a cool cafe, bar or restaurant. Paddington is within walking distance of Sydney’s CBD, and Bondi, but of course there are public transport options too. It’s also close to the large, green expanse of Centennial Park, and the Sydney Cricket Ground. Paddington has a great local market — which is where big-name Sydney labels like Dinosaur Designs, Zimmerman, and Sass & Bide started out.
Potts Point and Woolloomooloo are small, neighbouring, waterfront suburbs, known for their harbour views and fantastic restaurants. One half of this area has colonial era architecture, and the other is really new. The stretch of mansion houses on Manning Street and Macleay Street are worth looking over on your way to a slap-up meal or the theatre — there are a number of excellent small theatres in the area. If you’re looking for historic attractions visit Garden Island, which has the Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre, and Andrew Boy Charlton Pool, a heated, outdoor, public pool which opened in 1860. This area has quite a number of large hotel picks, as well as mid-sized options, and apartment hotels.
By BriYYZ from Toronto, Canada - Sydney, CC BY-SA 2.0
Watsons Bay is far enough from central Sydney to retain a village feel. It’s the sort of place you can come for a day trip on the ferry, but it’s actually a really simple commute away, and the ideal place for your Sydney base if you’re looking for somewhere relaxed. Watsons Bay is on the harbour side of the South Head Peninsula, so it has spectacular views of both the harbour and the ocean, and an historic lighthouse. Watsons Bay also has a beach, backed by vast Morton Bay fig trees, and a long jetty and promenade, where you'll find some icons of the Sydney dining scene: the Watsons Bay Hotel, and Doyle’s on the Beach. If you want to walk there are some lovely routes out of Watsons Bay. The candy-striped lighthouse is an obvious choice, but the Parsley Bay Reserve is an excellent destination too, as is Camp Cove. Alternatively you could explore the South Head Heritage Trail — between May and November you may even spot whales on their annual migration, as well as the wreck of the Dunbar.
