Alice Ellis

This time around, Lunar New Year falls on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, and it's a celebration for many cultures represented in Sydney, including the city's Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Korean communities. It's traditionally celebrated through food, art, festivities and generally getting together with friends and family.  January 29 marks the beginning of the Year of the Snake, the sixth sign in the Chinese zodiac, symbolising elegance, wisdom and transformation in traditional Chinese culture.We've picked out some of the very best ways to harness snake energy and charm your way into the new lunar year in Sydney – we'll be adding to this list as we near the date, so check back with us when you need more activity inspo. Hungry? Here are some of the Sydney restaurants serving up special Lunar New Year feasts for Year of the Snake.RECOMMENDED: Want fun now? These are the best things to do in Sydney this weekend.And here’s what’s on this week.

No Lunar New Year celebration is complete without a feast, and there are many auspicious and symbolic dishes that are a must on any holiday menu: noodles for longevity, whole fish and salad for prosperity, rice cakes for advancement to new heights, and more. Beyond invoking luck and fortune, Lunar New Year fare is also damn delicious. So it's the perfect time to gather your friends and family together for a festive feed. We've found the best spots to celebrate the Year of the Snake. 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: The best Lunar New Year events in Sydney.  Feel like more? Check out our guide to the finest Chinese restaurants in Sydney.

Even though I am sweaty, I love this time of year. Frangipanis are in bloom, there's festive magic in the air, friends and family are out knocking back Spritzes, and the ocean just keeps getting better. Plus, the top-notch restaurant openings keep on coming. Below, I’ve rounded up the best new restaurants in Sydney, including The Grill, the luxe diner from the Shell House crew; the impressive (and huge!) Greek restaurant from The Apollo team called Olympus; and Island Radio, an affordable Southeast Asian noodle house in Redfern. Hungry? I am too. Let’s dig in. 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. Looking for something to wash it all down with? These are our favourite bars in Sydney right now. Keen to eat your way around the city? These are the best restaurants in Sydney, from hot newcomers to the OGs.

In Australia, January 26 has very different meanings for different people. For First Nations people, the day marks the beginning of colonisation and is sometimes called Invasion Day or Survival Day. For recent migrants, January 26 is the day of many citizenship ceremonies across the country. However you choose to spend it, we've picked out the main events taking place on the public holiday in 2025.In terms of time off work, it's worth noting that this year January 26 falls on a Sunday – meaning the public holiday will take place on Monday, January 27.Want to plan your year ahead? These are all the public holidays in NSW in 2025.Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, straight to your inbox. Want to escape the city? These are the best camping sites near Sydney, these are the best places to camp by the beach in NSW, and these are the best day hikes close to the city.

Summer 2025 update: Cut back on spending, not flavour, with our guide to Sydney’s best affordable eats. My current faves include new Thai-Chinese eatery Ama, colourful late-night Indian diner Derrel's, and Vietnamese eatery Tan Viet Noodle House, home to excellent crisp-skinned chicken. Because life’s too short to eat sh*t food. Going out for a meal is sometimes a big occasion, worth the splurge. But it doesn't have to be that way. From banh mi to tonkotsu ramen, biang biang noodles to vegan burgers, and pretty much everything else in between, some of Sydney's greatest culinary hits are the cheapest. Time Out Sydney's local food writers, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have eaten their way around town to bring you this list, and while cheap isn't what it used to be, there are still lots of excellent affordable venues to check out. These are the ones well worth their salt. 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. Want to spend less at the big-ticket players? Check out our cheap fine-dining hacks.

A burger is a simple premise, but doing them well is truly a dark art. Do you go with the classic sesame seed or the more gastronomic potato, milk or brioche buns? Do you prefer American cheese, blue or cheddar? How about caramelised onions, pickled or raw? Lettuce and tomato, or cheese and pickles? Is your protein power chicken, fish, beef, or mushroom? And we haven’t even gotten to the question of fries yet.  There are a thousand variations on a burger, but Time Out Sydney's local food writers, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have tried all the top buns in town – and these are the best in Sydney. 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: These are Sydney's best pizza joints. Want more carbs? These are Sydney's best pasta spots.

From specialty Sichuan spots to hot Cantonese kitchens, Sydney has some seriously great Chinese restaurants. Time Out Sydney's local food writers, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have eaten their way around town to bring you this curated and up-to-date list. So whether you want to go all out and explore regional cuisines, sit down for yum cha, grab some takeaway barbecue duck or hand-thrown noodles, you'll find your spot here. These are the best Chinese restaurants Sydney has to offer – we're hungry just thinking about them. 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: Here are the tastiest cheap eats in Sydney right now Check out the best Italian joints in Sydney town

Trouver la ville la plus cool du monde chaque année, c’est notre passion chez Time Out ! En 2025, on a tout passé à la moulinette pour mieux comprendre ce qui rend une ville vraiment vivable. Est-ce qu’on peut marcher dans la rue sans flipper ? Est-ce que l’art et la bouffe sont accessibles sans braquer une banque ? Est-ce qu’on peut facilement se faire des potes, tomber amoureux, ou juste respirer un peu d’air frais ? Parce qu’une ville où il fait bon vivre, c’est aussi une ville où il fait bon voyager. En plus des votes de notre réseau d’experts, cette année, on a demandé à 18 500 citadins de nous filer leur avis sur leur chez-soi. Gastronomie, vie nocturne, culture, coût de la vie, baromètre du bonheur… On a tout mixé, trituré et recoupé, et voici le verdict : le top ultime des meilleures villes du monde en 2025, by Time Out (dont deux Françaises, Paris, 19e, et Marseille, 38e).

People who don’t live in cities will tell you they’re busy, lonely and expensive places. But there’s a reason so many people choose to live in them: with world-class art and culture, unbeatable food and nightlife, buzzing neighbourhoods and a dizzying amount of stuff to do and see, there’s simply no better place to be.  Every year, we take the pulse of city living by quizzing thousands of locals across the planet about life in their hometowns. This year, more than 18,500 city-dwellers shared their insights on everything from food, nightlife and culture to affordability, happiness and the overall city vibe. When urban living can sometimes feel isolating and costly, this year we wanted to get a sense of what, exactly, makes a city feel like home. Sure, the nightlife is great, but is the city safe and walkable? Is good quality food and art available at a reasonable price? Is it easy to make friends, find love, and access nature?  Livability was a key factor in our ranking this year. But a great city to live in is, naturally, a great city to visit. So, along with the thousands of responses from locals around the world, we asked Time Out’s global network of city experts to vote on the places they think are particularly exciting right now. After crunching all that data, here we are: Time Out’s definitive ranking of the world’s best cities in 2025. Read on to see how your hometown fared… RECOMMENDED:🛍️ The coolest neighbourhoods in the world right now🌎 The best things to do in the

There’s just something superior about sipping an Aperol Spritz high in the sky rather than on solid ground. Maybe it’s the stellar skyline views and the magic of golden hour, or perhaps it’s just the alcohol talking – either way, we can’t resist the temptation of a top-notch rooftop bar. Luckily, Australia is spoiled for choice with spectacular spots to drink and dine in the sky. Our expert local writers have risen (quite literally) to the occasion to bring you this list of the best rooftop bars across the country. From a trendy terrace with an infinity pool to an open-air oasis with 360-degree skyline views, these are the trendiest spots to be seen or not be seen by the revellers down below. 🍹 The best bars in Australia🍺 Australia's greatest pubs for a pint🍷 The best wineries to visit Down Under

In NSW, you don’t need to travel far to make a couple of nights away feel like a proper holiday. Whether you’re in the mood for a beach break, a hike in the mountains, or an escape to the country, we’ve found a host of getaway destinations that are easily accessible from Sydney.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. Need to squeeze your excursion into a day? These are the best day trips from Sydney. Or have an in-tents city break at one of the best camping spots near Sydney. Want a nature getaway close to home? You can stay at these magical houses in national parks surrounding Sydney.

We might be a little biased, but in our humble opinion, Sydney's got it all. Can you think of many other cities in the world that rival its natural beauty, rich heritage and history that dates back thousands of years, and its creative, culinary and cultural offerings by world-class pros. In fact, there's so much to see, do, sip and ponder here, you could be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed. Worry not, dear reader – we're making it simple for you. Our team (including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure and our Sydney Editor Alice Ellis) sifted through every good time the Big Smoke has to offer and put together a Sydney bucket list for the ages. The activities we've chosen will give you a super varied experience of the city – everything from the tourist attractions that are actually worth your time to secret swimming spots that locals know and love.Whether you're a new arrival or a born-and-bred local, this 2025 Time Out Sydney round-up of the city's must-do activities will help you experience Sydney from every angle. After all those great activities you're bound to be thirsty. We suggest you head to one of the best pubs in Sydney right now.  Need somewhere to stay? Check in to one of Sydney's best hotels or Airbnbs. 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.

✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. Ateş (pronounced “a-tesh”) means 'fire' in Turkish and, considering it’s one of the coldest Blackheath days on record on the day we visit, a cosy neighbourhood wine bar and restaurant featuring food cooked over flames seems like the right place to be. This little Blue Mountains dining room is warm in more ways than one – the terracotta-coloured walls give off welcoming vibes. There are house plants scattered around the dining room, like it's someone's home. The (mostly locally-sourced) produce is cooked in a 150-year-old ironbark-fuelled oven. The service is also warm and friendly. It's the sort of place you want to settle into for the afternoon to share good food, and that’s what we’re here to do. I’m not normally a big fan of polenta, but something draws me to order it, and it’s a delicious choice. It’s soft polenta, cooked in butter, almost like a creamy risotto, and it’s topped with a mound of different types of wood-roasted mushrooms and chestnuts, sliced and tossed in a vinegary dressing that cuts through the creaminess of the polenta base. Speaking of risotto, we order that, too, jumping at the chance to sample the Kanimbla Valley truffles it’s served with. The risotto is spiked with small shavings of the truffle, but it’s also topped with the most gen

The Australia vs England Ashes contest is one of the biggest rivalries in sport, and the sense of competition isn’t any less fierce when it comes to the Women’s Ashes, which started way back in 1934-35. Ninety years on, Australia is hosting England for the 2025 multi-format Women’s Ashes series – with a range of seven different games held across the country, starting with a one-dayer in Sydney on Sunday, January 12 at North Sydney Oval (tickets $5 – bargain!). That will be followed by games in Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Canberra. The other Sydney game is on at the SCG – a T20 match on January 20.  Help make history by showing up to one of the games (or tuning in on TV) to break some records. You did it for the Matildas, now do it for our Southern Stars! They’re ranked number one in the world, after all. We've put together a handy guide to everything you need to know about the Women's Ashes 2025, including Sydney games, 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. Want more things to do? These are the biggest events on in Sydney in 2025. These are the ultimate Sydney things to do before you die. These are the best ways to keep kids occupied in Sydney this school holidays.

✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. Grenier means ‘attic’ in French, and that’s exactly where you’ll find Bistro Grenier – you enter Newtown bar Odd Culture (created by the same team) and take the stairs up into a low-lit area above, where hefty old trusses support a cathedral ceiling. There are lithographic prints of sad clowns on the dark, sloped walls – a motif that’s continued in the cute coasters on each table. As well as wall lamps and sky lights, the room is lit by a tall, skinny candle on each table dressed with a snow-white tablecloth. C'est très romantique. My dining mate orders a Martini (here they do it with butter vodka for a French spin), but I’m inspired by the setting to order a classic French apéro, a Ricard pastis. I’ve actually never had pastis before, but I’m excitedly in training for a trip to Marseille later this year. The waiter brings out the licorice-flavoured pastis in a little wine glass, accompanied by a small yellow jug of water and a glass of ice. I pour the water in the pastis as I’m instructed to do, and the whisky-coloured liquid turns milky. It tastes delicious (as long as you like aniseed) and powers up my appetite.  The front of the menu says ‘Les cingles sont les bienvenus’, which Google tells me translates to ‘Weirdos are welcome’ – but the menu itself is l

Let’s just start by saying I’m not a D&D player. I’ve played a couple of times with my family, led by my teenage son as Dungeon Master, but that was just to show interest in something he loves. So I do understand the basics – that said, you don’t need any prior knowledge of D&D to get swept up in the magic that is Dungeons and Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern. If anything, this show is probably the best way I’ve found so far to get a better grasp on the complex game that is D&D. This is an interactive show that began in New York as an Off-Broadway production – the same director, Michael Fell, also rehearsed with the Australian cast. In what ways is it interactive? The story lies in the audience’s hands, as well as with the roll of the 20-sided dice.  As you enter The Studio at the Sydney Opera House, you pick a coloured sticker from a basket. Depending on what colour you choose, you get aligned with one of the three classes: Warrior, Mage (Wizard) or Assassin/Entertainer. Throughout the show, you make decisions for the character in your assigned class, mostly by choosing options via your mobile phone (after scanning a QR code) – and sometimes just by yelling out. (Top tip:Make sure you turn up with a fully-charged phone.) You answer polls and take part in little games to choose what character the actors play, then make decisions or see the outcomes of characters’ actions. Dice rolls are directed by the Dungeon Master, played by the charismatic Cody Simpson-lookalike William Ka

Earlier this year, I was asked about my top Australian bucket-list destination – if I could go anywhere in the country, where would I pick? I nominated Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain. So it’s a pinch-myself moment as my husband and I wind our way up through the mountains in the car towards Cradle Mountain Lodge, spotting wombats, echidnas and pademelons throughout the countryside. Before we’ve even arrived at our destination, we start feeling the magic of this wild part of the world. Cradle Mountain Lodge – part of the Peppers family – sits on the edge of the World Heritage-listed Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park (a scenic two-hour drive from Launceston). It’s the perfect place from which to set off on any number of hikes through the national park, a landscape that looks like it’s been thought up by the mind of JRR Tolkien: bright green grassy knolls that appear to be kept perfectly mowed by happy wombats; crystalline lakes with mountains reflected in them; patches of rainforest encasing secret waterfalls; and rocky inclines just begging to be climbed for an even better view.  You only have to walk for about five minutes from the lodge to arrive at a shuttle bus stop – and the bus takes you to the start of multiple trails. There are also a range of boardwalks and smaller tracks that start directly from the lodge. Back at the lodge, the scenery is enchanting, too – also full of wombats, pademelons and even a little family of Tassie devils hiding under the main building

One look around this restaurant and its lush surrounds, and you can see why it’s called Lucky Duck – you can definitely call yourself lucky to spend time here. Although the rest of the Hunter Valley is pastures, grape vines and gumtrees, Leaves & Fishes in Lovedale – the property where Lucky Duck is – is more like Byron Bay. Or even Bali. There are tropical plants around the path leading into the restored timber house featuring colourful and ornate stained-glass windows, lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and a deck that sits above a dam full of silver perch. The verdant landscaping isn’t all that sets this newish restaurant apart from other Hunter Valley venues. While the region is full of eateries with menus that are Modern Australian (with some European thrown in for good measure), Lucky Duck features fun, bold and super-tasty Asian food. The dishes are share-style. On the small plates menu, there are fresh and tangy offerings such as the hiramasa kingfish with yellow curry and kaffir oil; a pineapple and cashew salad; and half-shell scallops with seaweed butter. Then some more indulgent picks, like a drop-dead-delicious prawn toast; Szechuan-spiced chicken wings with a pepper caramel and roasted peanuts; and – of course – duck bao. The large plates include barramundi over coals with burnt cos lettuce, kombu dashi and edamame; and local mushrooms with a yuzu ‘bernaise’. Lucky Duck began as a pop-up. It was a concept introduced into the space until the restaurant group – th

Some 25 years ago, The Wharf Revue began as a post-show, cabaret-esque satire act in the Sydney Theatre Company’s Theatre Bar at the End of the Wharf. It soon became obvious that it deserved a place on the main stage, and it quickly became one of STC’s most sold-out shows for the Sydney Theatre Company. I first attended this annual comedic roasting of (mostly) Australian politicians back when I was 21. Cut to 20 years on (yikes) and I’m here at the Seymour Centre (it eventually moved here and into the hands of indie producers, Soft Tread) for their last ever show. It’s the end of an era for the revue’s long-term writers and performers – Phil Scott, Jonathan Biggins and Drew Forsythe; all now in their 60s and 70s – and the end of an era for staunch audience members like me. I start to wonder if, perhaps, this is also the end of an era for satire like this. For a quarter-century no one in the public eye has been safe from mimicry. The End of the Wharf as We Know It opens with Paul Keating (portrayed by Biggins) expressing his relief at the extinguishment of this “satirical blowtorch”, which he compares to being “thrashed with overcooked broccolini”. The musicality of the revue has always been one of its most charming aspects. Scott is a talented composer, pianist and lyricist, having written and composed musicals and cabarets over the years. The others jump on guitar, bass and drums now and then as support, and everyone sings LOL-inducing lyrics, including new lyrics set to wel

The Gidley burger has got a lot of attention this year – it was named the world’s ninth best burger by the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants – so it’s no wonder it’s something that’s attracted people to The Rover, since they started serving it up, too. But that’s not all that draws people to this neighbourhoody cocktail bar. The Rover has a lot going for it. The fisherman’s pie, for one (more on that later). The Rover is a dimly lit cocktail bar in Surry Hills’ Hollywood Quarter (the section of Sydney named the coolest in 2024 by Time Out). If you go to this little intersection of Cambell and Foster Streets, you know you’ll have a good time – perhaps dinner at Pellegrino 2000 across the street, then drinks at The Rover. Or just skip Pellegrino altogether and eat your way through The Rover’s delicious menu, with a couple of cocktails or some wine. My friend and I start with the burger, of course. It’s double-beef patties made from Riverine sirloin chain meat; Coppertree farms retired dairy cow chuck and brisket, dry-aged at the in-house butchery at one of Liquid & Larder’s other steak venues, Alfie's. Basically, these guys know their meat (as well as Alfie’s and 24th best steak restaurant in the world, The Gidley, they also run Bistecca). The milk bun is perfectly round on top like in the photos; it looks polished, almost shiny, and we don’t really want to have to cut it in half. They’re thin, smash-style patties – crowd-pleasing because they’re not served rare like they are

I have to be honest – I never thought of Penrith as a holiday destination. I tend to opt for beach holidays, nature adventures and CBD staycays, but I've always passed through Penrith on the way to the Blue Mountains without thinking of it as a destination in itself. Cut to me and my family looking for something a bit different to do – we've long been keen to try indoor sky-diving at iFLY, and then Penrith scored its first luxe hotel. The new Pullman Penrith, part of a $110 million development, got our attention. The Pullman is Penrith’s first five-star hotel, and it’s located in the Panthers precinct, right across from the sprawling Leagues Club with its many restaurants as bars, as well as iFLY, and an Aqua Golf driving range – plenty for me and my family to do right there on the hotel's doorstep, let alone everything else nearby. I was expecting the hotel to be comfortable and have all the amenities you’d expect from a five-star hotel – I didn’t expect it to be so elegant, though. As you enter the lobby, striking and colourful artworks and installations line parts of the walls and ceilings – it feels more Melbourne than Western Sydney. We’re offered a glass of Champagne and juices after check-in, which we enjoy on a lounge at a marble table while we decide where to go for lunch. We settle on a restaurant at the Panthers club across the road, because we're booked in for dinner at the hotel's restaurant, Marcel Bar & Bistro, tonight. We head to the lawn out back as the kids

I'm not a daredevil. I love adventure and trying new things, but I'm also not prepared to jump out a plane. So the idea of indoor skydiving has long appealed to me, and I finally gave it a go, with my husband and 13-year-old son. When you arrive, you sit and watch others for a while, "flying" with their instructor in the big transparent wind tunnel that's in the middle of the room. Everyone gets a couple of goes – on the first go, they stay low, just to get an idea of how it feels to float in the air; the instructor stays standing with feet planted on the net below as air (a mix of oxygen and nitrogen) gushes up fast against the skydiver's body. He holds their body so they don't fly up to the top of the tunnel. On their second turn, if they want to, their instructor takes his feet off the net and together you zoom together into the upper part of the tunnel. Then "drop" back down towards the net.  Next, it's our turn to get the suits on and have some basic tutorials. When we say basic, we mean it – kids as young as three can do indoor skydiving, so it's not rocket science. Regardless, I'm a bit nervous and so are some of the other participants in our group.  The thing that surprises me most when I have my first turn is that, while you are suspended in the air "flying", the wind that rushes up against your body is so fast and powerful that it feels hard, like something solid instead of airy. So it almost feels like you're lying on something as opposed to floating. Regardless, i

✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. Our city has cluckloads of excellent charcoal chicken shops all over the place (you could say Sydneysiders are obsessed with them) so it’s hard to stand out in a cramped market – but Hariri Chickens in Kogarah does. I’d have to say it’s the best chicken shop in all of Sydney. I’ve eaten my way across a lot of them because my son does love a barbecue chook.  I am particularly clucky for Lebanese style-charcoal chicken – not only because of the toum, tabouli and pickles served alongside it, but because the chicken meat is always so flavour-packed and juicy. Hariri takes it up another notch – they finish the cooking of their whole barbecue chicken (after the skin is golden and crisp) by wrapping it in a village-style Lebanese bread (you know like those really thin Mountain Bread wraps you get from the supermarket?). As well as keeping the chicken insulated so it stays nice and succulent, the bread soaks up all the tasty chickeny goodness – the flavours from the skin and the juices from the chicken, so it’s this partly-crisp, partly-oozy thing that you rip into alongside the chicken. It’s an absolute masterstroke. Even just thinking about it right now, my tastebuds are keen.  As well as that, Hariri serves up all the other chicken-shop staples (chicken burgers, w

Chippendale ranked as Sydney’s coolest neighbourhood – seventh coolest in the whole world, actually – and at least some of the credit for that can be granted to The Old Clare. The Old Clare is a boutique hotel with bars and restaurants on Kensington Street, the area that’s the beating heart of Chippendale. The Old Clare was here first, then the eateries down the laneway – as well as Spice Alley and the plant-covered Central Park Mall – grew around it. Back in the day, when I was a student across the road at UTS, The Old Clare was my go-to pub. I enjoyed countless nights in this drinking hole clad in pale yellow Art Deco-slash-Aussie-pub tiles (the tiles are still here), having formative experiences and reading messages scribbled onto the back of the dunny door.  Since then I’ve grown up and so has the good old Clare. In 2015, the building was converted into a classy yet welcoming bar (thankfully they retained a lot of original features), a pool bar on the rooftop, and really good hotel rooms in between. It's now part of Ode Hotels, a newly branded collection of unique hotels bringing a boutique experience to travellers. Launched by EVT Hotels & Resorts (on behalf of property owners, Invictus Developments), Ode Hotels introduces a collection of three iconic properties: The Old Clare Hotel in Chippendale, Harbour Rocks Hotel in The Rocks, and The Inchcolm in Spring Hill, Brisbane. The Old Clare rooms are some of the most beautiful hotel rooms in Sydney, I find, when I step into

Time Out has released the annual 50 Best Cities in the World list, and Sydney has moved up significantly in rankings, placing 15th best city on Earth for 2025 – a big jump from 31st place in 2024. Time Out’s annual global list is based predominantly on locals’ own views on where they live. To rank cities, Time Out surveyed more than 18,500 local city dwellers on everything from their city’s food scene and nightlife to culture, walkability, public transport, affordability and city vibe. The global team then combined that data with insights from Time Out city experts from around the world. Photograph: Mauro Risch Photography Australia had four cities make the top-50 list – the most Australian cities ever. Melbourne made the top five cities on Earth (fourth place), scoring particularly well for ‘restaurants and eating out’ and ‘culture’. Perth landed in spot 33 and Brisbane 37, both making their debuts on the list. Of course Sydney has its downsides (hi, lack of affordability and a housing crisis, and nightlife that's still in a rebuild phase), but the city also has plenty going for it, especially relative to other parts of the world. It won't come as a surprise that Sydney’s high position was based partly on the city’s beauty and our natural environment that allows us to enjoy outdoorsy lifestyles. Sydney was rated as the world’s third most beautiful city, and placed second in the ‘green spaces and access to nature’ category.  RECOMMENDED: These are the absolute best things t

Sporting history is being made in our city this summer, with the return of the Women's Ashes. Our Southern Star gals are ranked as the number one team in the world right now, and now they'll take on the poms. It’s one of the biggest rivalries in sport – the Australia vs England Ashes contest – and the rivalry isn’t any less fierce when it comes to the Women’s Ashes. The Women’s Ashes started way back in the summer of 1934-1935 (though there was no trophy until 1998). Ninety years on, Australia is looking forward to hosting England for the 2025 multi-format Women’s Ashes series – with a range of seven different games held across the country, with two held right here in Melbourne. starting in Sydney on January 12, followed by games in Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Canberra, then culminating in a Test match at the MCG from January 30. So if you're keen to support our Aussie ladies and women's sport, read on for everything you need to know.  What’s the format of the Women’s Ashes? Unlike the Men’s Ashes, which is a Test Series, the Women’s Ashes is made up of a series of different game formats. Including one-dayers and T20 games in the mix attracts a range of different audiences to the Women’s Ashes (read: not everyone is interested in Test cricket – the shorter formats open it up to other audiences). The 2025 Women’s Ashes will feature: 3 x ODIs (One Day International games – 50 overs for each team, played in one day) 3 x T20 games (Twenty20 games – 20 overs for each team, pl

It’s one of the biggest rivalries in sport – the Australia vs England Ashes contest – and the rivalry isn’t any less fierce when it comes to the Women’s Ashes. The Women’s Ashes started way back in the summer of 1934-1935 (though there was no trophy until 1998). Ninety years on, Australia is looking forward to hosting England for the 2025 multi-format Women’s Ashes series – with a range of seven different games held across the country, starting in Sydney on January 12, followed by games in Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Canberra, then culminating in a Test match at the MCG from January 30.  Help make history by showing up to one of the games, and tuning in on TV, to break some records. You did it for the Matildas, now do it for our Southern Stars! They’re ranked number one in the world.   What’s the format of the Women’s Ashes? Unlike the Men’s Ashes, which is a Test Series, the Women’s Ashes is made up of a series of different game formats. The 2025 Women’s Ashes will feature: 3 x ODIs (One Day International games – 50 overs for each team, played in one day) 3 x T20 games (Twenty20 games – 20 overs for each team, played over a few hours) 1 x Test match (unlimited overs day/night games, played over four days) Why is the Women’s Ashes multi-format instead of just a Test series? Including one-dayers and T20 games in the mix attracts a range of different audiences to the Women’s Ashes (read: not everyone is interested in Test cricket – the shorter formats open it up to other

For most of us grown-ups, the holidays are over – and we’re all setting about booking our next one. Trying to plan your next twelve months around when the little ones are at school? Here's everything you need to know about the NSW school holidays and school term dates for 2025. When do NSW schools go back? (Start date of Term 1 2025 NSW) For the Eastern Division schools in NSW, the first term of the year starts on Thursday, January 30, 2025. For the Western Division NSW schools, term starts on Thursday, February 6, 2025. What are the dates for NSW school holidays 2025? NSW autumn 2025 school holiday dates: Monday, April 14 to Thursday, April 24, 2025 NSW winter 2025 school holiday dates: Monday, July 7 to Friday, July 18, 2025 NSW spring 2025 school holiday dates: Monday, September 29 to Friday, October 10, 2025 NSW Christmas (summer) 2025 school holiday dates: Eastern Division: Monday, December 22, 2025, to Monday, January 26, 2026 Western Division: Monday, December 22, 2025 to Thursday, February 2, 2026 What's the difference between the eastern and western division NSW school holidays? Historically, the NSW Department of Education has staggered NSW schools located in the eastern and western districts across the NSW summer school holidays. This means that schools located in the eastern section of NSW will return to school in the new year a week earlier than their western region counterparts. What are the NSW school term dates for 2025? NSW School Term 1 2025 dates: Eastern D

The summer of cricket is in full swing Down Under, and the action is bowling along nicely, with Australia’s men’s team having just reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in almost a decade. While the men’s Test series against India has concluded, all eyes now turn to the Australian women’s cricket team, who will soon take on England in the 2025 Ashes contest.  The Women’s Ashes started way back in the summer of 1934-1935 (though there was no trophy until 1998). 90 years on, Australia is looking forward to hosting England for the 2025 multi-format Women’s Ashes series – with a range of seven different games held across the country, starting in Sydney on January 12, followed by games in Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Canberra, then culminating in a Test series at the MCG from January 30.  Help make history by showing up to one of the games, and tuning in on TV, to break some records. You did it for the Matildas, now do it for our women’s cricket stars! They’re ranked number one in the world.  What’s the format of the Women’s Ashes? Unlike the Men’s Ashes, which is a Test Series, the Women’s Ashes is made up of a series of different game formats. The 2025 Women’s Ashes will feature: 3 x ODIs (One Day International games – 50 overs for each team, played in one day) 3 x T20 games (Twenty20 games – 20 overs for each team, played over a few hours) 1 x Test match (unlimited overs day/night games, played over four days) Why is the Women’s Ashes multi-format inste

Let me start by saying I don’t watch Squid Game. I have a low gore tolerance. Of course I know bits and pieces from the mega-hit series – and I discovered by doing it that, whether you like the show or not, Squid Game: The Experience at Luna Park Sydney is well worth doing.  Luna Park worked with Netflix to bring the show to life in Sydney, the way they’ve also done in New York and Madrid. Luna Park hired actors from NIDA (the National Institute of Dramatic Art) as the front man and guards, so they play their parts well. When you arrive, you throw on a singlet with a pocket for winner chips, and then get led by the pink, masked guards into a dormitory-style room with rows of stark metal bunk beds – the type of room I know the players sleep in the show. And so it begins.  Here you go, I’ll answer your FAQs… How many challenges are there in Squid Game: The Experience, Sydney?   There are a total of six to seven challenges (depending on how you count it), all played in different rooms, starting with a claw challenge to pick your numbered singlet, followed by things including a Korean tile-flipping challenge, a marble challenge, a memory challenge and, yes, 'Red Light, Green Light'. Photograph: Alice Ellis for Time Out   What happens if you lose a game in Squid Game: The Experience in Sydney? Thankfully you’re not “eliminated” if you fail a game. You simply miss out on winner chips (or, if you show sufficient shame and remorse, you might be rewarded with some some lighter loser

Ping. Ping. Ping. That’s the sound of Sydney's Boxing Day sales as digital payments ring out across Aussie shopping centres – with hardly a note in sight. Tyro’s latest Big Time Business Report, which surveyed more than 500 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), revealed that 55 per cent of businesses are considering the idea of going cashless in 2025, partly to cut admin costs. Hospitality businesses like restaurants and bars, as well as retail businesses, are even more likely to go cashless than other industries. And 16 per cent of Australian businesses have already gone fully cashless in 2024, with hospo and retail leading the charge. “With almost 80% of payments in Australia made by card, and the cost benefit that comes with streamlining payment operations, it’s not surprising that more businesses are interested in going cashless,” says Tyro CEO, Jon Davey. Rising costs are putting the squeeze on profit margins – 48 per cent of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) surveyed for the report said they have hiked their prices in the last year to keep up with climbing supply costs. Some have absorbed the financial strain or switched suppliers to avoid passing the pain onto customers. As the saying goes, time is money. Financial admin is a big time suck for business owners who know they need to modernise how they do business to stay competitive.  RECOMMENDED: These are the best cheap eats in Sydney. No surprises here: consumers are feeling the pinch, too. They are getting increasing

Hughes Street in Potts Point is anticipating its annual shutdown on December 25 to make way for the Wayside Chapel Christmas Day Lunch and Street Party for homeless members of the community. Thanks to over $1,400,000 in donations from the public, the Wayside Chapel will provide over 1,000 Christmas lunches “with all the trimmings” to people who’d otherwise have nowhere else to spend the public holiday. While they've met their fundraising target for 2024, demand for the service grows each and every year, so you can still donate to support the cost of keeping their kitchens, programs and support services open across the festive season. Not only is their aid in the Christmas spirit — they provides daily support for thousands of homeless people living in Sydney. Last year, they provided over 86,000 meals to vulnerable community members who walked through the doors at the Kings Cross shelter in need of nourishment. The Christmas community event that's been running for over 40 years encourages anyone who is living on the street, lost or lonely, on Christmas Day to join the free party. There’ll be a Christmas breakfast at 9am, a service at 10am and lunch at 11.30am followed by a street party full of DJ's, live music, dancing and activities until 5.30pm. More than 100 volunteers help out on the day, serving up 100kg of prawns, 50 hams and 500 Christmas puddings.   Guests can look forward to a visit from Santa Claus, alongside Christmas songs, kids’ activities, (fake) tattoo stati

Parramatta is packed with IT professionals, Lakemba has loads of taxi drivers, Epping is where accountants assemble, Mosman has a lot of legal eagles, Castle Hill is home to school principals, Bondi Beach is a hub for models – and plastic surgeons. Stereotyping, much? Not exactly. We’re referencing "occupation by suburb" statistics from the latest Census, as recently broken down by the SMH. The Sydney workforce has now climbed to almost three million people across its 562 suburbs. The most common job by sheer volume is the sales assistant – we have 89,000 of them in Greater Sydney, with Blacktown alone home to 932 of them. The second most popular occupation is general clerks (49,000) and, again, Blacktown is where a huge portion of them live. Coming in third is accountants (44,000), a big portion of whom reside in Epping.  It won't come as a surprise that suburbs with water views – e.g. Vaucluse, Mosman, Hunters Hill – have more CEOs than anywhere else. Mosman has 471 lawyers and a dozen judges among their working elite. It's also a hot spot for management consultants, HR managers and financial advisors. Lawyers also dwell across inner Sydney, with a strong presence in other waterside areas like Woolloomooloo and McMahons Point. Newtown and Stanmore also have a smattering of legal professionals due to the gentrification of these once-working class suburbs.  In less obvious news, medical professionals like to settle down in Strathfield; it's home to big portions of GPs, cardi

Each year, Spotify delivers its Wrapped – and Time Out delivers ours. Want to know what Time Out Sydney readers got most pumped about in 2024? Jump on in, and add these top hits to your bucket lists. Here’s the round-up of the most-read subject matters in 2024 on timeout.com/sydney, across the categories of events, restaurants, new venues, concerts and natural wonders. All these top-topic lists are based on our website traffic from this year. In 2024, Sydneysiders were most excited about these happenings: The Sydney Metro: Who knew that fresh public transport would be the most exciting thing to happen to Sydney in 2024? Head On Photo Festival: This photo fest definitely got you looking. Ramadan Nights: You love this festival of food, held each evening during Ramadan in Lakemba. (But did you know it's changing in 2025?) Tekno Train (@ Vivid Sydney): Toot! Toot! This new addition to Vivid booked out quick. Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival: This Auburn event is always one of the best things about spring in Sydney. Photograph: Supplied | Transport for NSW  These are the eateries Sydneysiders enjoyed reading about most:  Saint Peter (2.0): The opening of the new iteration of Josh and Julie Niland's fish restaurant has gone swimmingly. The Grounds of Alexandria: The most Instagrammed eatery in Australia is a perennial fave. Prefecture 48: What's not to love about this new six-in-one Japanese precinct with four restaurants, a patisserie, and a whisky bar? The Gidley: Everyone w

In October, plans were revealed to increase the housing capacity of Sydney Olympic Park by 479 per cent in the next 25 years. The future Olympic Park is still a way off, but recent progress has been made, as the two Metro tunnel boring machines (TBMs) have broken through at Sydney Olympic Park. The hardworking TBMs, named Beatrice and Daphne (cute), have excavated more than 2 million tonnes of material – enough to fill 316 Olympic swimming pools – over an 18-month period, carving out two 11-kilometre tunnels from The Bays in the Inner West to what will become a brand-new Metro station. (It will eventually join these existing Metro destinations.) This new part of Metro line will make living along this stretch – and in Olympic Park itself – more convenient to the rest of Sydney, and it will also mean the precinct will become a more thriving community itself. Photograph: Supplied | NSW Government The new Sydney Olympic Park precinct (given the tick of approval by the Department of Planning, Housing & Infrastructure) will feature three new residential buildings ranging from 21 to 45 storeys, and will include more than 300 new homes, with plans in the pipeline to increase this to 490 homes. The area will also be propped up with a mix of commercial and retail spaces, so it will not only be a liveable neighbourhood, but also a buzzing destination for sport, entertainment and events. “Sydney Olympic Park metro station will have sports and entertainment fans cheering when it provi

You head out for your morning coffee and who’s this red-headed fella you keep bumping into? Why, it’s a brush turkey, and there’s a reason you’re seeing more and more of them popping up all over Sydney. The Australian brush turkey was all but extinct back in the 1930s, but recent research published in the Wildlife Research journal has found that these curious birds are having a huge resurgence in urban areas. Yup, Sydney is in its brush turkey era. Brush turkeys were hunted and roasted for dinner at a rapid rate in the Depression, yet since legislation declared the birds a native species in the 1970s, they’ve been rapidly increasing in population across Sydney. The resurgence has been a while in the making, but it's been a rather extraordinary bounce-back from near extinction. Dr Matthew Hall, an urban ecologist at the University of Sydney, said research shows when the brush turkey boom hit our city. He told the ABC they “became really common in northern Sydney in the 2000s and 2010s." Now, in 2024, they can be found in around 312 Sydney suburbs – which is most likely why you’ve bumped into a few on your daily constitutional. Besides becoming an official native species, ecologists have been keen to pinpoint exactly why these yellow-necked birds have had such a spectacular return from being all but gone. One such theory behind their resurgence is the fact that by nature they practice sustainability habits – they’re more than happy to scrounge for discarded food and they’re no