Map of Sydney

Sydney is one of the largest Australian cities in its land size.  It reaches across 1580 square kilometres.  This is the same as London and more than double New York's 780 square kilometres.  For its size though there are only 1, 426, 266 dwellings in Sydney and its population is 3, 536, 000 people.  Sydney is a remarkably easy city to move around in. An excellent train, bus and ferry service covers all points of the greater metropolitan area. Roadways, although congested in peak hour times, are generally well planned and driving is not too harrowing an experience.

Unless visitors to Sydney are specifically seeking out friends in outlying areas, most will have no real need to travel too far away from the central city area and the harbour. Most Sydney tourist attractions are either within the central business district, close to the CBD, or at points around the harbour. The exceptions are Bondi and Manly - surf beach suburbs situated south and north of Sydney Heads.

If you've only got a week or a few days in Sydney, your time would be best spent by taking a walk around the wider CBD area, visiting The Rocks or spending time on the harbour. The harbour is Sydney and on a warm day, with a clear blue sky, there is no better place on earth.

The best times to visit Sydney are the shoulder seasons of spring and autumn, especially around March to April or October to November.  Sydney is blessed with a temperate climate and averages summer temperatures of around 25°C (77°F).  It can get up to 40°C (104°F) on a hot day and high humidity can make it oppressive, but torrential downpours often break the heat between October and March.  Winters are cool rather than cold.  Beach lovers unperturbed by the hazards of lizard-skin and melanomas should come between December and February.

The huge Sydney Festival takes up most of January.  It's the umbrella for a number of events from open-air concerts in The Domain, to street theatre and fireworks.  The Great Ferry Boat Race is in January and the more serious Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race starts in late December and continues in January.  The outlandish Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras is in February or March and should not be missed.  The more traditional 12 day Royal Easter Show brings the country to the city.  The Sydney Film Festival takes place in June, and the 14km City to Surf Run in August.  Sydney is a city which you will be hard pressed to find yourself bored in.
 

Click here to go back to Australia page

Email me at tim@timsaxon.co.uk

This site is © Copyright Tim Saxon 2004-2005, All Rights Reserved

site optimised by site-pro.co.uk
Steve's free web templates