The best free (and cheap) dates you can go on across Sydney

Slinging back boozy bevs is more often than not the key to Sydneysiders' hearts, but in a city where a cocktail can set you back $26, getting blitzed in the name of love can be a luxury reserved only for the biggest ballers on the block. Now, with our list of the city's best happy hours, you can snuggle yourself into a nifty bar establishment, feeling just bubbly enough to keep the evening swingin'. 

This is taking love to a whole other level. For those who like a little bit of fleshy adrenaline while romancing, look no further. It just so happens that there are several beautiful Sydney beaches where you can go skinny dipping without scandalising other sun-seekers or risking the wrath of the po-po.

When Wendy Whiteley lost her husband, Australian artist Brett Whiteley, in 1992, she funnelled her love and grief into transforming a disused, derelict train yard space into a garden of epic proportions. This testament to love in Lavender Bay has been nurtured by Whiteley and two gardeners over the past 25 years. Explore this secret paradise in Lavender Bay with your lover, finding time to sit on hidden twisted benches, gaze out at the water, and snuggle in the shade of twisted fig trees. 

This night out on the art town is one of the best dates Sydney honestly has to offer. It's free. It's intimate. It's cool. And you will almost always walk away feeling both refreshed and surprised. Head to the Art Gallery of NSW for an epic mid-week art date filled with cheap wines, free guided tours, celebrity talks and mind-blowing exhibitions that are all perfect for a first, or five-hundredth, date. Plus, if conversation ain't flowing, there are plenty of distractions. You're welcome. 

Everyone knows that those movie montages where a cute couple go to a vintage shop and pose in various 'adorable' and 'ridiculous' outfits to a boppy backing track are some of the best moments in cinematic history. Period. That's why, for all lovers who want to frolic with their beaus in ambient op shops (while possibly nailing some epic bargains in the process) we have compiled a list of the best op shops in Sydney, so that you can do exactly that. 

Honestly – is there anything more romantic than finding a waterfall in an isolated oasis? No. There isn't. Thankfully for all Sydneysiders who understand this irrefutable love truth, our city is very able to deliver. Grab your significant other, a picnic basket (and tell TLC where to go) as you chase down one of our chosen best waterfall locations, in Sydney and beyond.

A tiny cove that you can only find by following a beaten bush track from Manly, Collins Flat is a well-known lovers' escape. With its glassy flat water, lush rainforest foliage and resident waterfall, this secluded beach is a perfect date spot, both for its epic views across the harbour and for its natural seclusion. Keep your eyes peeled for fairy penguins.

Australia's last women-only saltwater swimming spot, this perfect swimming hole has been a haven away from the patriarchal gaze for hundreds of years. You can go hang out there in various states of undress with a lover for only $2.50, for as long as you want. Even if it's too chilly to go for a swim in the resident ocean pool's crystalline waters, the epic views of the sea and the dappled grassy sitting spots all provide the perfect backdrop to any budding or established romance between women. 

For all those culture lovers who want their history with a considerable side of spice, we recommend you head to this little-known gem deep within Sydney Uni. Art, science, history and ancient cultures meet under one roof at the purpose-built Chau Chak Wing Museum, whose collections are 150 years in the making. The museum has Egyptian mummies, a Tasmanian Tiger and an exhibition of love, sex and death all in one space. Plus, it's totally free. That's hot. 

A gentle rounded hill with jaw-dropping views across the harbour, this perfect lookout is within easy walking distance of the Sydney Harbour foreshore and surrounds, with its sweeping views over the city allowing you to feel like you are both in and above all the action. With a romantic gondola and consistently beautiful light, this place is one of the most popular wedding photo and proposal spots in town for good reason. This is free Sydney romance at its absolute finest. 

White Rabbit is a state-of-the-art, four-floor temple to 21st-century Chinese art gallery hidden on a back street in Chippendale. Showcasing groundbreaking contemporary Chinese art, this totally free museum also has a gift shop full of cheap, cheerful and colourful gifts, and a ground-floor tea house that also serves dumplings. That's a date. 

Sydney's Royal National Park is less than an hour's drive from the CBD, yet so many Sydneysiders haven't stepped foot in the pristine 15,091 hectares of bushland that lines the coast south of Sydney. Whether you want to swim, trek, picnic, bike ride or just GTFO of Sydney for the day, the Royal National Park will provide an outdoors, adventure-filled day out that will turn you and your date off the ol' movie number for good.  

With the plethora of deliciously cheap street foods, bargain finds, free live music and all-round good times on offer, a weekend jaunt to one of the many market stalwarts across Sydneytown is a solid-gold date option that always ticks the affordable box. Have a geeze at our list of the very best ones our city has to offer. You and your date will thank us.

Do you and your lover possess freakishly accurate knowledge of the Simpsons oeuvre? Do you know your Australian cricket captains better than you know your own uncles? Are you totally up to date on current affairs and '90s pop culture? Use all the weird, wonderful and utterly useless facts in your arsenal to win cash, booze and glory at one of Sydney's best pub trivia nights, where knowledge really is power. 

Long walks on the beach are so 2007. Nowdays, all the coolest daters on the block take to secret coastal cliff walks, where the views are better and the pathways less congested with seaweed and hysterical Nippers. Here, you'll find a list of the best secluded coastal cliff walks on offer in Sydney, so you can take your sugar on a wild stroll that you're both (probably) guaranteed to remember. 

For an ultimate night of starry-eyed passion that doesn't cost you your left arm, there's only one thing to do: look up. Stargazing should be easy, but light pollution and high rises make it less so. For an ultimate cheap date that sings with romance, bundle yourselves up in 16 scarves and take off to one of these excellent stargazing spots around and beyond Sydney. 

Those who want to treat their lovers right but don't have the cash for a serious culinary delight, stress no more. We have put together an ultimate guide to dining finely on a skint budget. 

Strolling through the Royal Botanic Gardens takes all walk-through-the-park dates to a whole other level. With the wilderness of lush mammoth trees, water features, fruit bats, art deco glass houses and brilliant flowers, this totally free experience screams romance. You can walk, you can sit, you can canoodle – the possibilities are endless, and the best bit? It doesn't cost a dime. 

For most of the world, getting to sail across a glittering expanse of ocean for under 10 bucks is pretty much unheard of. Here in Sydney, we are spoiled with how very easy that is. A jaunt across the high seas (pref: at sunset, or night – or anytime really) is both highly doable and extremely cheap. If you're after a low-cost and high-reward moment of lovin', we recommend you check out our list of the best ferry trips available to everyone in the Emerald City.

For a bazillion dollar view that truly can't be beat, take your main squeeze up to North Head in Manly for an evening rendezvous. Take some cheap snacks, park up in the first carpark and gaze out at the entire glittering expanse of Sydney Harbour and city skyline. If you're lucky, you may sight a whole bunch of the cute local bandicoots who call the first carpark/ lookout home. There ain't nothing more romantic than that. Friendly note: make sure you're out by 9pm, because they lock the gates – which could be awkward if your date isn't going as planned.