The best things to do in Sydney this August

To bring a little musical joy to the Harbour City through the cooler months, Sydney’s historic waterside precinct The Rocks is hosting free jazz performances every Thursday throughout winter – with live performances by musicians from around Australia. Jazz Sessions in The Rocks will run from 6pm until 9pm every Thursday between Thursday, May 9 and Thursday, August 29 – so there’s plenty of time to catch the star-lit shows.  Local distillery Hickson House Distilling Co will be slinging gin-based cocktails (including a signature Native Negroni), and there are a host of excellent restaurants in the area to keep you nourished pre and post show. The full season-long line-up is yet to be released, but in May, we can expect alfresco performances from Sydney-based jazz sweetheart Kate Wadey (Thursday, May 9), fantastical four-piece Cope Street Parade (Thursday, May 16), multi-disciplinary artist Alice Terry (Thursday, May 23) and the ever-soulful Latin/ jazz singer MIRA (Thursday, May 29).The events are free to attend and there’s no need to book. You can learn more over here. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.   RECOMMENDED:  Want more evening entertainment? These are the best bars and pubs in Sydney for live music. And these are the best musicals to catch this month. Need fun now? Here’s what’s on in Sydney this week.

Sydney’s love affair with pop and live music isn’t over now that Taylor Swift has left the building. We can confirm that South Korean girl group aespa is bringing their epic arena tour to Australia for the first time. With a name derived from a combination of “æ” (avatar and experience) and aspect, this powerhouse K-Pop quartet – Karina, Winter, Giselle and Ningning – has carved a tremendous trajectory since they debuted in 2020 with the hot single ‘Black Mamba’, with record-breaking music releases and live performances including a main stage set at Coachella in 2022. With the SYNK : PARALLEL LINE tour perfectly highlighting their meteoric rise to fame, aespa is exciting fans globally with their incredible stage presence and innovative approach to hyperpop music, and Sydney will finally get our turn to be part of it this winter. Here's everything you need to know. When is Aespa in Sydney? Marking the first time aespa will bring their high-energy pop, electronic and hip hop performances Down Under, aespa will kick off the Australian leg of their tour at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday, August 31 (then onto Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Monday, September 2). How can I get tickets to the Sydney Aespa show and how much do they cost? Tickets for the Australian shows will go on sale to the general public at 9am (AEST) on Friday, May 10, via Ticketek – you can join the waitlist here. Before then, Telstra Pre-Sale will be live from 9am on Tuesday, May 7 - 9am on Thursday May,

The Harbour City does a good line in immersive light experiences, and if you can’t wait until Vivid takes over the city later in May, Luna Park is here to help. The iconic attraction’s newest installation – Sonic Neon – is now open, with tickets on sale until the end of June. Housed in Crystal Palace – a building which dates all the way back to 1935 – Sonic Neon will take visitors on a journey through six different rooms, with state-of-the-art visuals and a layered soundscape creating a transportive experience. Illuminating more than 150 metres of the historic building, the experience will feature more than 26,000 lights set to a pulsating soundtrack using state-of-the-art technology that’s never been used before in Australia. Tickets to the event are available now, which you can purchase online or in person. Plus, save money by purchasing bundles like the Unlimited Rides Pass and Lunaverse Superpass, which includes Sonic Neon, Dream Circus and unlimited rides.  The family-friendly rave and experience will run daily from 10am. Tickets for the self-guided Sonic Neon experience (estimated to take around 30 minutes) start at $29 per person. If you’re keen to secure your tickets, you can do so over here.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more things to do, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: Keen for more luminous fun? This immersive experience is coming to the Blue Mountains Lightscape will be taking over the

It’s imperative that you do not eat before you visit the Carriageworks Farmers Markets. You’ll want to save maximum belly space for your personal version of The Bachelorette where you decide who gets your dollars and what delicious produce gets to come home with you. Maybe you like something soupy and savoury first thing? In that case head to Bar Pho for a traditional Vietnamese start to the day. On the veggie train? Hit up Keppos St Kitchen for a falafel breakfast, or head to Food Farm for a classic bacon and egg roll.Once the hounds of your hunger have been quieted it’s time to prepare for your next meal, or seven. Stock up on artisan cheese from Leaning Oak, smoked salmon from Brilliant Foods and Sydney’s favourite sourdough from AP Bakery and brunch is sorted. You can spend a whole lot of money if you want to here, but equally you could just grab a kombucha on tap from Herbs of Life and find a chair for some of the best dog-watching in the city.   Hungry for more? Look at our list of the best markets in Sydney – produce or otherwise. 

In excellent news for sauna lovers, what began as a dreamy pop-up has now become a (relatively) permanent feature at Manly’s Quarantine Beach. The 10-person Finnish sauna from Cedar the Salt will be stationed on the shores of Sydney Harbour throughout the winter – offering a very Scandinavian experience from arguably the most stunning sauna location in the city. Sydney's first pop-up seaside Finnish sauna launched as a thirteen day pop-up, but due to huge demand (around 150 sauna-goers per day), it will be staying put until spring. A 45-minute ocean-side sauna experience will set you back $35, and you’ll have easy access to the ocean to cool off between steams. If you’re keen to take over the entire sauna for a celebratory sweat, private sauna sessions are also available, and there's a soundbath experience available for those who went to level up their relaxation. If you want to make the seaside sauna a regular component of your wellness routine, you can nab a pack of three, five or ten sauna sessions.  The sauna is open from sunrise (between 6.30am and 7.15) until sunset (around 4.30pm), seven days a week, with the current closing date currently estimated at "springtime". Keen? You can learn more and book your session over here. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.   RECOMMENDED:  We tried this beautiful affordable bathhouse. These are Sydney’s best spas.These are the best da

Spend a leisurely Sunday morning in France without the jet lag at these fabulous French markets in Sydney’s north. Le Marché is the only fortnightly French market in the whole of Australia, popping up every second and fourth Sunday of each month at Laurelbank Cottage in Willoughby. Here, you can say bonjour to more than 45 talented Frenchies selling everything from raclette and rillettes to choux buns and Champagne.   Start your morning in Le Marché’s culinary corner, which channels the vibes of a mini French supermarket. Fill your reusable baskets with farm-fresh eggs, truffles, saucisson, duck confit and of course, all the French cheeses your heart desires. Thirsty? Take a detour to sample fine French wines and locally brewed gin, or skip straight to the Champagne bar for a bubbly start to your day.  Experience the lively spirit of a French village market by chatting with Le Marché’s passionate line-up of artisans selling striped Breton t-shirts, colourful berets, linen tablecloths, straw baskets and more. Take a leisurely browse through the stalls, and when it's time to refuel, hit up the hot food stalls serving everything from buttery escargots and boeuf bourguignon to raclette and truffle-infused rotisserie chicken. Seal the deal on your market rendezvous with a flaky croissant, creamy eclair or delicate choux bun. Bring a taste of the markets home too by buying a freshly baked baguette or colourful box of bite-sized macarons.  RECOMMENDED: Hungry for more? Look at our

Discover the hidden marvels of marine life and the remarkable woman who paved the way to better understanding marine conservation at Valerie Taylor: An Underwater Life. This free homegrown exhibition is more than just a tribute to one of the world’s most celebrated underwater storytellers, shark researchers and conservationists. It’s a call to action for all environmental enthusiasts and future changemakers to protect our beautiful oceans, their animals and their habitats from further threat. Dive straight into 60 years worth of stories as told through objects and ephemera donated by Valerie and her husband Ron Taylor, including cameras and underwater housings, Valerie’s iconic blue fins and dive suits, and the stainless-steel chainmail suit she wore to get up close and personal with sharks. You can also admire Hollywood movie posters from the past fifty years, including Jaws and The Island of Dr Moreau, plus more than 500 images from the Maritime Museum’s collection of animals, people and places now under threat.   Valerie Taylor: An Underwater Life is one of the headline exhibitions in the Maritime Museum’s summer program and will run until August 31, 2024. Be sure to catch the other special exhibitions while you’re there including Ocean Photographer of the Year. For more information on the exhibition head here. 

Dust off your street directory: A free laneway party with Ukrainian house DJs, beers from Young Henrys, and sausages by LP’s Quality Meats is going down on the first Sunday of every month in Grafton Lane. And the first one is kicking off in Chippendale on Sunday, April 7, from1-9pm. Spearheaded by Plate It Forward and Kyiv Social – the change-making team behind Colombo Social and Kabul Social – Beers and Bangers aims to be a fun, community-minded event and a celebration of both Australian and Ukrainian culture with delicious eats, cold beers, and ace tunes. And it may be because we’re hungry right now, but beers and bangers is an excellent name – and food and drink combination – and frankly the whole of Sydney should get around this shindig. Clover Moore, The Lord Mayor of Sydney, will be at the inaugural Beers and Bangers party to commemorate a grant by the City of Sydney to officially close Grafton Lane as it transforms into a permanent outdoor dining and drinking laneway. Hell yeah. On the menu there’ll be LP’s Quality Meats’ beef and pork Ukrainian sausages, Ukrainian-style gourmet hot dogs and Kyiv sliders. Plus, the team from Young Henrys will be pouring cold ones from a new outdoor bar. And all this will be soundtracked to groovy beats by Ukrainian artists and DJs. Since opening six months ago, Kyiv Social has provided 3,000 hours of employment to 22 newly arrived Ukrainian refugees. And now with Beers and Bangers, the team is keen to help even more people – and have s

You’ll find massive variety among the 200 stalls that take over Glebe Public School each Saturday morning, but it’s the fashion ones that attract most visitors. There are rows upon rows of eccentric and colourful vintage clothes, alongside hand-crafted jewellery, accessories and new clothing designed by locals. There are vintage stalls scattered all around the market, but the smaller section just off Derby Lane at the back of the school is a goldmine and a slightly quieter place to scour through racks and try things on.  Even if you’re not searching for a new wardrobe, the Markets at Glebe is a great place to grab some lunch and relax on the school lawns where live musicians serenade the crowd. The lane of food stalls – just opposite the lawn – has old market favourites, as well as more high-end offerings. Want to market all day long? Hop, skip and jump over to Rozelle for some more treasures.

Every Saturday, more than 100 stalls line the grounds of Paddington Uniting Church and the neighbouring public school selling Australian-made fashion, handmade crockery and metal costume jewellery. The market has been operating on the same day since 1973, and the all-weather event is a profitable fundraiser for the church. Many of the stallholders return week on week, like the elderly Japanese couple selling Bonsai trees and the Spanish shoemakers selling espadrilles. It’s predominantly an art, clothing and design market – and alongside the kitsch bric-à-brac and Australiana-print tea towels you’ll find straw hats from local milliners and soft Tunisian-made ‘Turkish’ towels from young Eastern Suburb entrepreneurs. Antique, vinyl and vintage stalls are few and far between, but leather satchels, beach photography prints and patterned baby rompers are two a penny. On a hot day locals gather at the shaded tables and stools by the snack stalls. Turkish women hand roll yufka dough at the gözleme tent and vegetables are blitzed in a blender at the fresh juice stand. Chin’s Laksa stall, proudly MSG and gluten free, is a popular choice – as are the vegan cookies and sourdough scones on offer at the bakery stalls. It has a bohemian flair compared to its Oxford Street location and customers joyfully take up fortune readings, as well as reiki and Japanese massage. It’s an oddball mix, but one that works strangely well in an area known for its designer boutiques and gentrified pubs. Ou