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Australia
This is a wonderful intimate theatre in Kings Cross. It's the only theatre to produce all Australian work and has some of the most exciting new plays in Sydney. On Monday it has a Pay What You Can policy so anyone can afford to go.
Everyone wants to complete the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb, but at $180 a pop (around £90) each, plus paying for their photographs (you are not allowed to take a camera with you) not everyone can afford it.
An equally good option, but one which is little advertised, is the Sydney Pylon Lookout. This involves climbing the interior of the concrete tower of the Harbour Bridge and is the tower nearest the Opera House.
It has three floors of exhibits and a film show but best of all, the view from the open top is only a few feet below the top of the bridge and is equally as stunning.
You can stay as long as you like and take your own photographs. And it is only $9.50 each - under a fiver!
Use the 'Bridge Stairs' from Cumberland Street in The Rocks for access.
A good breakfast is a Sydney institution. From fresh fruit to slap up eggs and bacon with all the trimmings. Washed down with a cup of the best coffee to set you up for the day. Don't miss out, avoid the hotel smorgasbord rip offs and you won't blow the budget either.
The best cafes are in the Inner West (Glebe, Rozelle, Balmain), Eastern Suburbs and the sea side suburbs (Bondi,Bronte, Manly). The locals have their favourites and don't like to broadcast their location. But just head for the ones with a crowd and enjoy.
The Excelsior is just a short walk from the SCG and is one of two offical England supporters pubs for the Ashes. There are rooms available for $20 a night, but weekly discounts are given.It has great beer and superb food for pretty cheap prices. Plenty of screens to watch matches and live bands most evenings. Open late at weekends. *****
64 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills, Sydney
www.happychappytravellers.com
+61292114945 nearest station-Central
Indian restaurant in Randwick, not too far from the SCG, in case the Army are suffering from Indian cuisine withdrawal symptoms. Great food and nice price. BYO too, bottle shop near-by.
Bombay Bloomers Indian Restaurant
Randwick
NSW 2031
Australia
www.totaltravel.com.au/travel/nsw/sydneyarea/easternsuburbssydney/listing/cafes/10526781
This is a great value, B&B style, 19th century budget hotel. You can get rooms for less than $100, which is especially good value as it is short walking distance from Darling Harbour. Good option for families. Book in advance.
22 Allen Street
Pyrmont 2009
Sydney
Tel: (02) 9552 4773
members.ozemail.com.au/~woolbrokers/
This is the best pizza place in the inner city. No, I would go as far to say in all of Sydney. Hidden away behind the Star Casino in the revived suburb of Pyrmont, this place never fails. Pizzas are great, pastas excellent, salads fresh and large and it is BYO (bring your own alcohol). Nothing flash, and seating is limited, but Made In Italy always impresses.
104 Miller Street, Pyrmont;
tel: 9518 8182;
Fish Market light rail stop
An excellent institution, which sometimes confuses European visitors. The acronym means "bring your own", i.e. alcohol when you dine at a restaurant.
Formerly almost ubiquitous, the practice is becoming less common - some say even dying out - no doubt to the pleasure of many Sydney restaurateurs.
It makes dining far more affordable than when you have to include the restaurant's alcohol mark-up, which is usually greater than on anything else you consume.
It also means you can occasionally splash out on a very nice bottle - of Hunter Valley Semillon, say - to accompany a spread of Sydney seafood without worrying about your starving bank account.
BYO is more common at medium range and casual restaurants.
Having lived here for a year, you need to be aware that buying clothes, books, shoes and food at supermarkets is more expensive than the UK and customer service in supermarkets and banks is shocking. Australia does a good job in giving the impression it's cheap - trust me, it's not.
A Sydney icon. Harry's Cafe de Wheels has long been held in high esteem as the premium pie-lovers late night eatery. Open late into the night, the vaudeville-style caravan offers drinker, thinkers, and tinkers the best in baked and savoury goods.
Try the Tiger, the café’s house special. There’s a hearty serving of gravy in both layers, all served up with mash and mushy peas. Dynamite.
Cowper Wharf Rd, Woolloomooloo, Sydney
Go to this iconic pie stall after a night out, or even before, and have a 'tiger pie' while sitting on a log looking out at the sea - a great Aussie pie experience.
Woolloomooloo; Tel: 61 (0)2 9357 3074; inquiries@harryscafedewheels.com.au
This is a restaurant precinct near the University of Sydney, and home to lots of goths, gays, upwardly mobile africans, professors and students, and people who like to people-watch. There are some 60 restaurants in the 2 kilometres or so, all of which are reasonably cheap and usually good. You can get a good feed for about $20 a head. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Bring your tastebuds! Several pubs and a couple of backpackers' joints.
Take a bus from the city (438, 426, 423 ,422), go past the university and get off when you smell cooking and see weird folk walking around. Or take a train to Newtown.
This is for all the backpackers amongst you. Emre's is a tiny kebab shop next to Scruffy Murphys Irish Bar which is located just off George St. It does the greatest post-pub kebabs I have ever had. Chicken or meat with mountains of salad and loads of sauces to try. It just has to be done!
Goulburn St, Sydney
You can't go to Sydney without sampling (probably several times) the best Thai food outside of Thailand. Thai is to Australia what Indian is to the UK - usually decent, very affordable and everywhere.
For cheap as chips Thai made with the freshest of fresh ingredients, fight through the crowds at Tum Thai in Randwick (up the hill from Coogee Beach).
For more daring Thai with a view, Sailor's Thai, a Sydney institution is a must. The restaurant is not cheap but those in the know head for the more relaxed surrounds and reasonable prices of Sailors Bay Canteen, just upstairs.
Finally, for Thai food mixed with people watching, try Longrain, a bar/restaurant in trendy Surry Hills. The reason why the girl next to you looks like Kylie is proabbly because she is Kylie!
Randwick Tum Thai - 167 Alison Road PH (02) 9326 3261.
Sailors Thai Canteen - 106 George Street, The Rocks. PH (02) 9251 2466. No bookings.
Longrain, 85 Commonwealth Street, Surrey Hills, (02) 9280 2888, www.longrain.com.au
A small little bay with a beautiful sandy beach hugged by gorgeous natural vegetation and an amazing view of Manly. A little cafe provides the perfect lunch or dinner venue.
A great place to beat the crowds.
Get the boat to Manly from Circular Quay. Walk through to the beack and turn right and just follow the bay round to Cabbage Tree Bay.
The most awesome pizzeria, great food, great atmosphere, cheap, BYO.
potts point
Cabramatta is the centre of the Asian community in Western Sydney, most notably the Vietnamese. Here you can find the most eclectic array of asian food, from Vietnamese through to Laosian. The cost of eating here is amazingly cheap for the quality of food, too.
Up until recently the area was given a lot of bad press, but people have become to realise that the food and shopping (fabrics, ethnic supermarkets, electrical goods) make Cabramatta a different Sydney experience.
Cityrail to Cabramatta – about 30 minutes.
A great place to have a ocean feast. Loads of different stalls selling a vast aray of seafoos from Tuna Sashimi to fries fish and chip to live oysters. As fresh as it gets. Choose a selection and sit outside by the bay with the gulls and pelicans. Great food great place to eat. Very cheap too.
The Cafe at the NSW supreme court is open to the public and does gorgeous food. It's cheap and offers excellent views of the city from it's high level (can't remember which floor). Only available for lunch!
It is on the corner of Macquarie Street and Queen's Square opposite the Mint. Near St. James station.
Instead of paying ridiculous amounts of money to put on an ugly grey suit and be frog-marched up the bridge, why not walk across the whole bridge, and make your way up the pylon (200 steps) to visit the bridge's museum? The views are similar and the museum is interesting. Walking across the bridge is free, the museum costs around £3. Compare this to Bridge Climb that costs around £70.
If coming from the Rocks, enter from Cumberland Street. The other entrance is near Milsons Point or you can enter via Observatory Hill/ Kent Street.
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