Things to do in Sydney today

If Westpac OpenAir Cinema is the world’s most beautiful outdoor cinema (and with its waterfront location featuring the Opera House and Harbour Bridge as a backdrop, it truly is), then chef Danielle Alvarez's Summer House Dining, a waterfront dining experience located next to it, has got to be one of the world’s most beautiful pop-ups. The former founding chef of Fred’s, cookbook author (Recipes for a Lifetime of Beautiful Cooking is our absolute fave), and current culinary director of the Sydney Opera House events is behind Summer House Dining by Danielle Alvarez. It’s a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant located right on the harbour and the perfect place to enjoy dinner before catching a flick under the stars. View this post on Instagram A post shared by avriltreasure (@avriltreasure) Menu highlights include fresh bread with parmesan, olive oil and vinegar dip; prawn cocktail with avocado and a tomato and chilli relish; yellowfin tuna crudo with green chilli, coriander, ginger and pickled cucumbers; tagliatelle with rocket and basil pesto; grilled swordfish and courgette spiedini with lemon, white beans and salsa verde; and grilled and marinated skirt steak with chimichurri and fire-roasted peppers. Whatever you do, finish with the white-chocolate tiramisu. Three courses cost $99 per person, or you can opt for four courses at $125 per person, plus drinks. As well as Summer House Dining, there’s a great selection of other dining options...

Well Frodo, we’re not in The Shire anymore.  Sydney is in for a great big year of musical theatre, and it’s already off to an epic start with the Australian debut of The Lord of the Rings - A Musical Tale, which seeks to bring the Middle-earth of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy series to the State Theatre for one month to rule them all (cough cough) before embarking on a national tour. This tour commemorates the 70th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring hitting the shelves in 1954, which is of course the first book of the trilogy that inspired Peter Jackson’s blockbuster films in the early 2000s.  For elder Millennials like me, the franchise conjures memories of a simpler time: a time when movies were treated more like a coveted form of storytelling rather than just another option in an endless barrage of ‘content’ to ‘stream’. A time when I would go to the local cinema to watch each new instalment in the adventures of my favourite beardy boys club with my dad, who even loaded my sister and I into the car for a day trip to Sydney to check out an epic exhibition about how those epic movies were made across the ditch in New Zealand. (So many used prosthetics! So cool!) I believe that there’s elements of LOTR lore that are so inescapable that you need not have watched the movies or read the books to get it. (Am I right, Preciousss?) There have been several attempts to realise the story of Frodo and the One Ring on stage, as musical theatre fanatics and Tolkien die-hards...

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...

The Australian Museum’s blockbuster summer exhibition, Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru, is landing in Sydney with one of the most impressive gold collections to ever tour the globe.  Open from November 23, this blockbuster exhibition will take you back in time with over 130 artefacts showcasing the daily lives, spiritual practices and extraordinary achievements of societies in ancient Peru. In addition to the stunning gold collection, you’ll find other priceless treasures on display, including exquisite jewellery and funerary objects unearthed in royal tombs. The exhibition explores civilisations that predate the Incas, including indigenous groups who lived in the Andes mountains and the desert coastal strip of Peru as far back as 10,000 BCE. The exhibition dives into their rich history, including their fascination with natural life cycles, birth and death. (Our team dived deeper over here, and in the video below.) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Time Out Sydney (@timeoutsydney) Upgrade your visit with a thrilling VR experience that takes you on an expedition to the Incan city of Machu Picchu for an add-on fee. Using cutting-edge technology, you’ll explore this UNESCO World Heritage site from the comfort of 360-degree motion chairs, immersing yourself in the sights, sounds and sensations of this mysterious city in the sky—all without leaving Sydney. If you want to delve deeper, an exciting series of expert-led talks and...

Somebody pop the Champagne, because Sydney’s most stunning outdoor cinema is back by the harbourside. Westpac OpenAir is taking over Mrs Macquaries Point again this summer, with panoramic views of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge as its staggering backdrop.  Running over 41 nights from January 9 to February 18, the film program includes the first Australian screenings of A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Bob Dylan; the Nicole Kidman-starring Babygirl; Luca Guadagnino's Queer starring Daniel Craig; and The Count Of Monte Cristo, direct from Cannes Film Festival. Other highlights include We Live in Time starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield; Robbie Williams biopic Better Man; Maria starring Angelina Jolie; Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy; Gladiator II; Wicked; Elton John: Never Too Late; Nightbitch and Conclave.  Meanwhile, there’s more than iconic views and the latest blockbusters in store. This year’s ‘Festival of Film’ is accompanied by an equally glittering ‘Festival of Food’, with three of Sydney’s best chefs setting up shop at the harbourside cinema. Film fans can fuel up before the credits roll with a bowl of excellent pasta from the pop-up ‘Fabbrica at Chandon Garden’ curated by Scott McComas-Williams, or a selection of Vietnamese fusion sharing plates from ‘Luke Nguyen at The Point’. If you’re looking for a refined full-service affair, then ‘Summer House Dining by Danielle Alvarez’ will be brought to life by Alvarez...