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10 Best Things to See in Sydney and the Blue Mountains, Australia
Sydney is a great place to start your adventures in Australia. It hosts the country’s biggest international airport, so it’s the natural first stop for most tourists. Here you’ll find some of the most famous Australian landmarks, renowned zoos and aquariums filled with wildlife you won’t find anywhere on the planet, and awe-inspiring landscapes.
How many days in Sydney do you need? The area has some great sightseeing, but I wouldn’t overdo it—Australia is a big country and there’s a lot more to see if your time is limited to a week or two. You can easily see the highlights of Sydney in 3 days.
Below is a list of the top 20 things to see and do in the Sydney area, which includes a day trip out to the Blue Mountains. For more details, keep on reading for a great itinerary for Sydney and the surrounding area.
Top 10 Things to See and Do in and around Sydney
- Sydney Harbour Bridge
- The Rocks to Circular Quay Walk
- Sydney Opera House
- Royal Botanic Gardens
- Gothic Governor House
- Sydney Wild Life Zoo
- Sydney Sea Life Aquarium
- Taronga Zoo
- Sydney Tower Eye
- Blue Mountains Day Trip
Now let’s explore these sights in greater detail, with some logistical and cost-savings tips.
In-Depth Itinerary: Sydney in 3 Days
Day 1: Arrival in Sydney – Australian Landmarks, Historic Buildings, and Gardens
If you’re visiting from outside Australia and your flight arrives early in the morning, your hotel probably won’t be ready for check-in until the afternoon. Upon arrival in the country, be prepared for a long customs line.
After you’ve collected your luggage, use an airport ATM to withdraw some Australian dollars (AUD)—you’ll get a better exchange rate that way instead of using the exchange booths. If you’re hungry, you can grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants inside the airport.
Then catch a cab to your hotel. Watch out, because some cabbies will overcharge you—figure out what the approximate fare to your intended hotel should be in advance before you agree to take the ride. You may want to ask the front desk for an estimated fare ahead of time so you can better negotiate with the cab driver.
Upon arrival at your hotel, ask if your room is ready. Maybe you’ll be lucky and will have the chance to freshen up after your long journey. If not, ask the front desk to stow your luggage. If they won’t do it for free, you may have to pay to use a storage locker while you go exploring. Then set out to see Sydney.
You may want to take it easy on this first day. The Sydney, Australia time difference can make for ferocious jet lag, especially if you’re visiting from the United States!
Sydney Harbour Bridge
One of the first major sights you’ll encounter in Sydney is the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a top Australian landmark. Locals have nicknamed it “The Coathanger.” This 1,150-meter bridge is the biggest and heaviest steel bridge in the world, weighing almost 53,000 tons.
If you’re up for some exercise, you can also walk across the bridge.
Stroll Around The Rocks and Circular Quay
Take some time to walk around Sydney’s historic district: The Rocks. Start off at the northern edge and work your way southeast toward Circular Quay. The Rocks is home to some of Australia’s oldest landmarks and buildings, including the Dawes Point Battery (built in 1791), Fort Phillip (1804) and Cadmans Cottage (1815).
Exit the neighborhood and continue your walk along Circular Quay. It’s the nexus for Sydney Ferries to destinations all over. You’re sure to see the quay filled with sailing ships, ferries, and some larger vessels. Remember this place, because you’ll be back on Day 2 to take a ferry from here to Taronga Zoo.
Pick up some information about ferry transit and scheduling from an information booth at the harbor. You may also see people in aboriginal dress playing didgeridoo musical instruments on the harbor front, which adds to the atmosphere.
Make your way to the north, along the water’s edge, until you arrive at:
Sydney Opera House: One of the Top Australian Landmarks
If you’re looking for the top landmarks for Australia, the Sydney Opera House should be at the top of your list. One glance is enough for many people to instantly recognize it as Australia’s iconic building. Danish architect Jorn Utzon came up with the design in 1956, but it didn’t open until 1973. The billowing sail-like fans are held up with special supports, and are layered with more than a million self-cleaning Swedish tiles.
You can check the schedule to see what’s playing in the evening and catch a performance if one interests you during your time in Sydney. Or you might take one of the hour-long guided tours. At the very least, spend some time walking around the magnificent building.
Royal Botanic Gardens
Then walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens. This lush green park dates back to 1816, and is filled with trees, flowers, and duck ponds. You’ll probably see many exotic Australian ibis birds with long curved beaks walking the grounds with you.
Here you might take one of the guided walks and learn about indigenous foods on the Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour. Or visit one of the many gardens, such as the Bicentenary Garden, Palace Rose Garden, or Pioneer Garden.
Gothic Governor House
At the northern edge of the Royal Botanic Gardens, you’ll find the Gothic Governor House. This 19th-century mansion has long been the residence of the governors of New South Wales.
You can take a free guided tour of the house that lasts about 45 minutes. Tours run every half hour during normal business hours. Inside you’ll see a series of beautiful rooms.
The entrance to the building is the Outer Hall, and is decorated with the coats of arms of the five Governors-General of Australia from the early 1900s. The Inner Hall has an interesting portrait collection of 19th-century historical figures. Inside the study, you’ll see leadlight windows and furniture from the 1890s. The Main Hall looks like a medieval house. A grand table that can seat 34 people occupies the Dining Room. Finally, the house holds an Ante Room, Drawing Room, and Ballroom.
By the time you’ve seen all this, your hotel room should be ready. Go back and catch up on some sleep so you’ll be fresh for another full day of sightseeing.
Day 2: Darling Harbour, Zoos, and Aquarium
Devoting your second day to Australia’s wildlife would be time well spent. You can save money by buying a combo ticket online called a Sydney Big Ticket. For example, for about $75, you can get a pass that lets you into the WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo, the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, and the Sydney Tower Eye. That’s a lot cheaper than seeing each of these individually.
After breakfast, head back out to Circular Quay and take a ferry to Darling Harbour. The views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge on this and other ferry rides will be excellent.
WILD Life Sydney Zoo
After you dock at Darling Harbour, it’s a short walk to the WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo. It’s worth spending most of your morning here.
Interesting animals you’ll find in the zoo you’ll see include cassowaries, a crocodile, kangaroos, koalas, numbat, platypus, quokkas, Tasmanian Devils, wallabies, and wombats, among others.
When the zoo opens, you’ll first walk through a bird and butterfly garden. Proceed to the Devil’s Den, which houses a few fascinating Tasmanian Devils. They look kind of like giant black rats, and they lope about like wolverines. Extremely curious, they will probably bound up to you and other visitors for a closer look, but will be separated from you by a low glass wall.
One of the zoo staff may give a talk on the Tasmanian Devils. They have the most powerful bite for their size of any mammal. The devils are facing extinction in the wild because of a deadly face cancer spread by saliva during fights at feeding times. Devils don’t live for very long—usually only around five years, though one named Oreo lived for significantly longer than that. Tasmanian Devils are fond of eating wallabies and rabbits, preferably already dead. They also prefer stinky carrion to fresh meat.
Take a look at the fascinating cassowaries. These are the deadliest birds on the planet and the third largest, after ostriches and emus. With their blue heads, crests, red wattles, and long claws, the cassowary is a very exotic bird.
Listen to another talk on kangaroos. One of the zoo staff may try luring out a couple of the big kangaroos with their favorite foods, which include sweet potato, carrots, corn, and wild grasses in pellet form. If that works, you’ll get a much closer look at these incredible animals. The staff might even show you a baby kangaroo swaddled in a blanket.
Kangaroos can jump at up to 65 kilometers an hour, and their legs are like big springs that can use energy efficiently. Kangaroos can only move forwards, not backwards, so petting them while standing in front is a bad idea. A kangaroo’s kick is extremely powerful. Fights between them can break ribs and rupture organs.
The wallabies are much smaller than the kangaroos, and wallabies use their hands more often while feeding.
The zoo will give you the opportunity to have your photo taken with koalas for $25 each. The koalas usually sleep for 20-22 hours per day, but I was lucky enough to catch them while they were awake.
Visit the large pool with an artificial waterfall to find a giant saltwater crocodile named Rex. The crocodile has the strongest bite of any living animal; to get out of a crocodile’s bite, you would have to be strong enough to bench press a car!
You might see a few other animals like the perentie lizard, a white-furred possum, the spotted quoll, and a water bug that looks like a horseshoe crab.
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium
Walk next door by lunchtime to see the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium. If you’re looking for a light meal, the on-site cafeteria has tasty and reasonably priced pumpkin soup with bread. In fact, this was probably the best pumpkin soup I’ve ever tasted, with big chunks of fresh pumpkin.
You’ll see some remarkable marine life. These may include eels, penguins, platypus, rays, seahorses, sea snakes, and zebra fish, to name a few.
One of the highlights of the visit will be walking through a long tunnel under a giant pool filled with sharks while nice synth music plays in the background.
Try to catch the next ferry to Circular Quay before 2 p.m.
Taronga Zoo
From Circular Quay, take another ferry to Taronga Zoo. From the harbor you may want to take a bus up to the zoo. You should plan to arrive by 2:45 p.m. The zoo is open from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., so you’ll have at least a couple of hours to explore it.
Entry tickets to Taronga Zoo aren’t cheap—plan to pay around $50 for each adult and $30 for each child. You can save a few dollars by purchasing your tickets online before you enter.
It had a great collection of animals, though. One of the cutest is the meerkat, which is a funny and curious animal with blackened eyes. The meerkats will frequently stand on their hind feet and interact with visitors. They look almost thoughtful, like tiny humans in fur coats. Don’t be fooled by this animal’s benign appearance, though. A meerkat can kill a cobra!
Another animal here is the fishing cat, which looks like a big house cat. Native to Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea, they love water and will swim to catch fish.
A few other unusual animals at Taronga Zoo include the binturong, which looks like a cross between a bear and a cat, and the Fennec Fox, which looks a lot like a gremlin with giant ears.
You may also see Asian Elephants, giraffes, gibbons, gorillas, kangaroos, koalas, pelicans, Regent Honeyeaters, rare Sumatran Tigers, and equally rare Sun Bears.
After you’ve had your fill of the zoo, take the Sky Safari gondola down to the ferry.
Sydney Tower Eye
Finally, check out the Sydney Tower Eye. Book the timeslot of your entry before arrival.
The 360-degree panoramic views of Sydney are unparalleled. You can look out all the way to the Blue Mountains for a preview of the following day’s adventure. Way up here, there’s even a restaurant and bar if you’re so inclined.
Then descend, return to your hotel, and rest up—tomorrow will be a big day.
Day 3: Take a Blue Mountains, Australia Day Trip
The Blue Mountains
A day trip to the Blue Mountains from Sydney can be a little challenging because of the transportation issues, but let me assure you—the trip is worth it. Your third day in the area is perfect for a Blue Mountains, Australia tour.
Wake up early and walk down to a station—when I was there, the closest one to my hotel was Wynyard Station. Buy a roundtrip ticket to Katoomba and catch the train to Blacktown, aiming to arrive by 7:45 a.m. Transfer to a bus that departs for Katoomba. Hopefully you’ll arrive before 0900.
Upon arrival, buy a Lyrebird Pass with unlimited rides at Scenic World (a couple of cable cars, passenger train, and scenic walkway) and the Blue Mountains Explorer Bus for around $95. That may sound expensive, but it’ll save you time and give you some great advice and stories. It’s definitely worth it.
You may have some time to kill before the first bus arrives. There are some on-site restaurants and stores where you can get a meal and snacks while you wait.
Aim to hop on board the bus before 9:45 a.m. and listen to the driver’s commentary. Disembark at stop 8 and head east toward the Skyway Eastern Station, passing some exotic-looking fern trees, rivers, and waterfalls on the way.
Take a short break at Cliff View Lookout, then take the Scenic Skyway cable train. The views of the rocky crags that make up the Three Sisters, Katoomba Cascades, and mountains in the distance are fantastic.
Presently you’ll arrive at Scenic World, where you can take the Scenic Railway down. This train is the steepest in the world, descending at a 52-degree incline. At the bottom, get out and take a scenic walk, passing a variety of old mining settlements, exotic flora, and even a lyrebird singing its eerie, otherworldly song.
Then take the cableway back up, look at the items for sale at the Scenic World station, and catch the next bus at stop 9. Pass stops 10 and 11 and pause for a few minutes at Narrow Neck Lookout. You’ll approach some great Blue Mountains hikes soon.
Get out at stop 15’s Honeymoon Lookout, then hike back to Echo Point at stop 14. This will take about half an hour, and you’ll enjoy some great views en route. The view of a giant crag emerging from the valley from partway down the Giant Stairway is especially worthwhile.
This is a good place to spend an hour or so when the buses stop running for lunch. The views of ridges, forests, and the Three Sisters from Echo Point are superb. Get a bite to eat at the on-site cafeteria. Board the next bus to come along after 2 p.m., and hike the walk from stop 16 to 17 or 18.
This area is filled with fantastic sights like the Leura Cascades, the Bridal Veil Falls, the Olympian Lookout, and the Gordon Falls Lookout. The waterfalls cascading over rocks are especially atmospheric in the subdued late afternoon light. This is a lengthy hike. Eventually, you’ll make your way to stop 18, where you catch a bus back to Katoomba.
Back at Katoomba, take the express bus back to Blacktown at around 4:30 p.m. Take the next train back to Sydney, then to the station closest to your hotel. Your Sydney adventure has drawn to a close.
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this Sydney, Australia itinerary and outline for a Blue Mountains, Australia day trip. For an excellent onward trip, consider visiting Cairns and The Great Barrier Reef.
