august 201 2 Q A N TA S 91

One perfect Day

Sydney

07:00Watching the sun coming up over one of Sydney’s myriad beaches is an unbeatable way to start the day, especially when the beach is Bondi. At dawn, the famous stretch is home to joggers thundering down its promenade, surfers scanning its breaks and optimists combing the sand for lost treasure. Plunge into the waves or try the baths at the southern end – for laps, a sauna, perhaps a massage and then coffee drunk while looking out over the ocean, all in the one spot. Breakfast places abound along the promenade. Avoid the

centre, the best are around the edges where the emphasis is on hearty food, fresh juices and coffee. Try Bondi Trattoria or Aqua Bar, or go healthy at the Earth Food Store in Gould Street.

09:00Time to leave the beach and head towards the city, more specifically the Royal Botanic Gardens. The gardens front the harbour and contain exotic trees, flying foxes (currently resisting attempts at relocation) and a magnificent cactus garden. Wander through its wonders down to the

harbourside. To the east is the Domain and Mrs Macquarie’s chair (where Elizabeth, wife of Governor Macquarie would sit and look out), Garden Island naval dockyards, the saltwater Andrew Boy Charlton pool and the art gallery. To the west, the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Head west, because the Opera House is that rare instance of a brilliant piece of Sydney architecture. Jørn Utzon’s building sits easily on Bennelong Point. Walk around the building to fully appreciate its beauty, then enter to experience the soaring interior, Utzon’s tapestries and John Olsen’s mural Salute To Five Bells.

Sydney Opera House

Swimming pools at Bondi Beach just before sunrise

From a Bondi sunrise to a tequila sunset, with art, arch and sharks

– and, yes, those famous sails – in between, the emerald City

snaps, crackles and pops at any time of the day or night.

WOrDs AmruTA Slee

“If you’re not living in Sydney you’re camping out,” declared former Prime Minister Paul Keating about Australia’s

unofficial capital. Arrogant? Maybe, but on a warm summer’s day when the light dances on the harbour and

everything looks newly washed, it’s easy to see what he meant. Hedonistic and outward-looking, Sydney is all

about the view – and the views are generally about the water, so much so that it’s hard to remember that the city

does have other attractions. With just 24 hours to see it, don’t waste any time sleeping in. Make the most of it.

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new series

Surfing at Bondi

august 201 2 Q A N TA S 93

BeST reSTAurANTS awarded favourites and new arrivals. http://travelinsider.qantas.com.au/sydney_restaurants_awarded_favourites_and_new_arrivals.htm

rOck ’N’ rOll ArT Our guide to sydney’s best rock galleries. http://travelinsider.qantas.com.au/our_guide_to_sydneys_rock_galleries.htm

THeATre Discover sydney’s old, new and offbeat theatres. http://travelinsider.qantas.com.au/sydneys_old_new_and_offbeat_theatres.htm

SweeT STuff going gourmet at sydney’s best ice-creameries and gelaterias. http://travelinsider.qantas.com.au/a_guide_to_sydneys_gourmet_ice_cream.htm

THe kNOwledge so you think you know sydney? think again. http://travelinsider.qantas.com.au/so_you_think_you_know_sydney.htm

Q A N T A S . c O m / T r A v e l i N S i d e r

Mor e at tr avelinsider

One perfect Day

11:00Keep walking around to Circular Quay, where the ferries depart for Manly, Taronga Zoo and other spots. Board a ferry for Watsons Bay, the final eastern suburb before the harbour becomes the open sea. Witness its majesty from the Gap lookout. The Watsons Bay pub has good fish and chips best eaten in the harbourfront beer garden. Dunbar House across the park serves up relaxed fare in a glamorous setting (Wednesday to Sunday). But ferry rides aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. near Circular Quay, the newly refurbished Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) has a strong permanent collection including Judith Wright and Ai Xian. The Museum of Sydney is a thoughtful guide to Sydney’s past. The Art Gallery of nSW in the Domain runs the gamut: it boasts a strong Indigenous showing, a good Asian gallery and John Kaldor’s conceptual collection.

12:30Sydneysiders take their food seriously, so pick up The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, the authority on food of all prices and type. In the Quay area, Sailor’s Thai does wonderful things with spices or, if it’s a Thursday or Friday and money’s no object, book into Guillaume At Bennelong inside the Opera House.

14:00If the food’s great and the seats are comfortable, by all means stay and enjoy. But for those with energy to

burn and a sense of adventure, it’s time to see the city from the top of the Harbour Bridge. An express climb takes small groups up into the iron arches and down again in just two hours and 15 minutes. no, you can’t fall off. yes, they will make sure that you don’t get vertigo. not tempted? The bridge is still worth studying up close and the best vantage point to do that is from where one of its 80-year-old sandstone pylons meets the ground on Hickson Road in the Rocks area. Across the harbour is luna Park’s smiling face. Water, water everywhere; what lies beneath? Sea life Sydney Aquarium in Darling Harbour is, literally, a window into the

deep; visitors can see rays, dugongs, fish of many types and sharks. The aquarium claims to showcase 12,000 aquatic animals, so allow time.

16:30like all of modern Australia, Sydney has been enriched by immigration. Chinatown and its main drag, Dixon Street, is one of the city’s oldest enclaves, but it’s also a glimpse into generational change; older restaurants are being joined by their offspring, many of them producing the food mama used to make – only better. Grab a terrific dumpling at Din Tai

climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge (above); mcA (left)

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94 Q A N TA S august 201 2

One perfect Day

Asian fusion: grilled corn with parmesan at ms g’s in Potts Point (above left); love, Tilly devine for the perfect nightcap (above right)

for airfares call Qantas on 13 13 13 or visit qantas.com. for holiday packages to Sydney call Qantas Holidays on 13 14 15.

word up

52 SuBurBS: A SeArcH fOr BeAuTy iN THe ’BurBS

Louise Hawson(new south Books)

Realising she didn’t know the city she lived in, Hawson set out

to photograph it, suburb by suburb. Her blog, which became a book,

is a terrific visual guide.

SydNeyDelia Falconer

(new south Books)

Part of a series about Australian cities, Sydney digs under the glitz to uncover a city that doesn’t always

act in its own best interests.

SydNey ArcHiTecTureGraham Jahn & Patrick Bingham-Hall

(the watermark Press)

The mind-boggling array of architectural styles in Sydney deserve their own informed and

authoritative guide.

Fung in World Square, a freshly made roti with sauce at Mamak in Goulburn Street, sweet Japanese bread, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, or some of the best Peking duck south of Beijing at BBQ King, also in Goulburn Street. In Chinatown’s warren of shops you can buy everything from dried seahorses to fashion-forward streetwear from Tokyo.

18:00Sydney’s 19th-century terrace houses began a metamorphosis in the 1970s and are now pricey real estate. Take the bus from the city over to inner-city Paddington, jump out at the corner of Oxford and Queen Streets, and get lost among the iron lace and brickwork. Paddington Street is a good place to wander and so are Windsor, Hopetoun and Stafford

Streets. Paddington is boutique heaven, too: its food, fashion, art and homewares feel hand-picked. William Street has some of the city’s coolest shopping, both new and vintage, there’s excellent chocolate at Sweet William, and the tiny bar at 10 William Street makes a mean negroni.

20:00Where did the day go? It’s definitely time for dinner over in Potts Point. By day it retains signs of its boho past with naval officers, hipsters and elderly drag queens drinking coffee. By night the mix broadens. Between llankelly Place, Macleay Street, Victoria Street and Challis Avenue, there is a dining option to suit every taste. If there’s a waiting list (probable), the Macleay Street bookshop is open late (until 9pm Wed-Sat), or just check out the city skyline from Embarkation Park.

22:00Sadly, Sydney is not so strong on places for the kind of nightcap that features comfortable chairs, soft lights and soothing music. However, love, Tilly Devine and Eau de Vie in Darlinghurst, or Velutto and Roosevelt in Potts Point, are all good places to stop, sip and embrace the buzz. c

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