48 hours in Sydney

Start your weekend right with one of the most breathtakingly beautiful walks in the city – the Spit to Manly coastal walk, which offers unbeatable views of the striking skyline from the north side of the harbour. The 10-kilometre track will take around three hours to complete if you keep moving, but you’ll likely want to stop along the way for a coffee from (Bosk Kiosk at Clontarf Beach is a good pick), and for regular swims in the secret coves and beaches that line the coast.

After the hike, you’ll have worked up an almighty appetite, and the beach-flanked suburb of Manly has an abundance of options to help you refuel. Our personal pick for a grab-and-go sandwich or a lazy wine-fuelled lunch is Norma’s Deli – a Greek-inspired deli and restaurant serving everything from loaded focaccia to three-course Hellenic feasts.

After lunch, take the easy four minute walk to Wharf Bar – a breezy harbourside bar with a delightfully extensive range of beers on tap, plus an excellent line in spritzes. 

For the journey back to the CBD, we’d suggest jumping on the ferry – we’re willing to go on record calling Sydney’s iconic harbour ferries the most beautiful form of public transport in the world. The trip across the water takes between 20 and 30 minutes (depending on if you opt for the fast ferry or the larger, slower vessel), and you’ll sail past the coastline you spent the morning traversing on foot.

Once you’ve arrived in Circular Quay, beeline for the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House. Underneath, you’ll find Opera Bar – an open-air space whose views of the Harbour Bridge from beneath Australia’s most famous building never fail to amaze, even if you’ve visited a thousand times. Conveniently, some of the city’s very best restaurants are located within walking distance of Circular Quay, but if you’ve done enough walking for one day, you can’t go wrong with Opera Bar’s seafood platter – you’re in Sydney, afterall.

So long as you’ve managed to sidestep Sydney’s late-night drinking dens, you’ll be in good shape to catch the spectacular east coast sunrise. Our favourite spot to see the sun come up in Sydney is from Bronte baths – a beautiful ocean pool on the corner of one of the city’s most-loved beaches. We can guarantee it will be stunning, but we can’t guarantee it will be quiet – a select group of locals come here for a sunrise dip every day, regardless of the weather.

With your lungs full of fresh briny air you'll be inspired to embrace the lifestyle of the Bondi brunchers. Beach side bites and tumeric-spiked morning drinks are popular accompaniments to ocean views. Grab a seat outside at Porch and Parlour and lap it all up. This little café up the north end is very popular, but also very good at dealing with the queues outside on weekends and the service is always friendly.

While Will Smith loves the green pea pancakes, anything you order up will be a winner. The portions are generous, the coffee is well made and the dog watching makes it all the more worth it. If there is an unfathomable wait time, you're spoilt for choice around Bondi cafes, we also strongly recommend the house-cured salmon from Harry's just up the hill after a dip.

Post swim, take the coast path north towards Bondi – past Tamarama, the disappearing beach (Mackenzies Bay), the ever-Instagrammable Bondi Icebergs and some of the most impressive coastal homes in the Eastern Suburbs. 

Once you’ve arrived in Bondi, you’ll be met with an overwhelming amount of brunch options. We’d advise steering clear of Campbell Parade (the road that runs parallel to the beach) and heading further into the suburb. The Shop and Wine Bar serves an unbeatable Japanese scrambled eggs if you make it there before 11.45, but if you’re there closer to lunchtime, we’d highly recommend making your way to Mami’s: an authentic Mexican spot serving some of the best (and most affordable) tacos in the city.

For an afternoon culture fix, either head to the Art Gallery of NSW – the most significant gallery in the city – or the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney’s destination for new age and left-of-centre art. While the former will situate you at least a ten minute walk from restaurants, the latter will land you within striking distance of one of our very favourite restaurants in the city: Le Foote. Settle in here with a bottle of wine and cheers to two days well spent.