It's a restaurant/bar on the fifth floor of the old Customs House (which also includes a library with a scale model of Sydney under a glass floor). It's not that expensive and you get a fantastic panoramic view from the Bridge to the Opera House & beyond.

It's not open that late, however only until about 11pm.

31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay, NSW 2000
Telephone: 02 9242 8551
www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/customshouse/index.html or
www.cafesydney.com

Neraest Station/ bus stop/ ferry stop is Circular Quay.

Google map: tinyurl.com/qmqk8h

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Another recommendation to add to the 'used by Bondi locals' list. Full breakfast here comes on two plates for the really serious to keep your toast free of egg or tomato leakage. This is the king of breaky that keeps you going all day - the veggie one comes highly recommended as well... Mmmmm.

The menu for the rest of the day is pretty good too, but in Bondi breaky is king - after a swim and before a trip to the Sunday markets.

Gould Street Plaza (leads onto Campbell Parade), Bondi Beach

Google map: tinyurl.com/pfh6yn

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Take a 30 minute ferry from Circular Quay to the surfers’ community of Manly! Away from chaotic downtown Sydney, there’s a bit more privacy and great views over the ocean. It’s still vibrant though – from the Quicksilver shops to the busy Manly Beach.

For the views, go right along the beach from the Corso around Fairy Bower to Shelly Beach.

Google map: tinyurl.com/lgoplc

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The restaurant Forty One at the top of Chifley Tower has private dining rooms. You can enjoy breathtaking views of Sydney Harbour and the city’s impressive skyline, and the food is also excellent – there's a six-course dinner menu with wines chosen by the sommelier.

www.forty-one.com.au

Google map: tinyurl.com/lsk3tz

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Take a boat trip along the harbour. You get the most spectacular views.

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This is a restaurant in Manly, a ferry ride away from Sydney's Circular Quay. Despite its name, and the fact that I am a vegetarian, I can definitely recommend it for meat eaters and non-meat eaters alike.

My husband - a meat eater - tells everyone he meets about the steak that he had there, whilst I - a non meat eater - can say that the meal I had there was the most generous and varied vegetarian meal I have ever tasted.

It consisted of every type of vegetable imaginable, fresh and beautifully cooked. Add to this, the fantastic view overlooking Manly Beach and the ocean and the buzzing atmosphere; yes, I would definitely cross the world to eat there again!

Manly, New South Wales - a ferry ride away from Sydney Circular Quay

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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.

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In Sydney it’s hard to imagine there’s a water shortage. This beautiful city grew up around the natural harbour of Sydney Cove and its neighbouring bays, and their sparkling blue waters are a stunning backdrop to the icons of Sydney harbour bridge and the opera house. Our first view of this well-known pair, from Mrs Macquarie’s Point is one of my five most magical memories from our adventure in Oz.

We arrived there, aboard the Sydney Explorer bus (hop-on, hop-off as many times as you want for the duration of your ticket – 3,5 or 7 days in 7) and were blown away by the view. We walked around Farm Cove on our way to a close-up of the giant sails, the botanical gardens on our left, the water to our right, the Sydney skyline in front. These were moments beyond magic.

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During a trip to Australia in 1997, I was lucky enough to have been invited to have dinner at Doyle's on the beach in Sydney.

One of the enduring images and impressions I have of that very warm February evening, was to see the sun set over the harbour looking towards the city far away in the background.

The sun was sinking fast behind the skyscrapers - it was an amazing sight, and at that moment I had the urge to call home. I took the mobile out of my pocket, and rang to speak to my mum and brother. It was early in the morning in the UK (11 hours behind Sydney at that time of year) and I said to them, "Has the sun come up over there yet?". They replied: "Yes, just about. Why?"

My response was: "I just realised this is about the only time of the day we can see the sun at the same time from opposite sides of the world."

www.doyles.com.au/
11 Marine Parade, Watsons Bay

Google map: tinyurl.com/lmym9c

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There's very little in this life for free and this has got to be one of the best of them. A breathtaking walk taking in some of the city's most amazing beaches.

Bring your walking shoes though, it's a good 90 minute walk along the coast so stilettos are not advisable!

Oh, and for accommodation for when you're in Sydney, look no further than www.hostelworld.com. I use it all the time and love it.

Enjoy Sydney.

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Bar and cafe; amazing location, good food and drink (reasonably priced considering its location) and the most breathtaking views from the terrace. Great flathead and chips, risotto, wine, cocktails etc. Also, if you happen to be around on a Sunday afternoon they also have live jazz.

Terrace below Opera House, nearest station Circular Quay.
www.operabar.com.au

Google map: tinyurl.com/pgmxfy

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Glorious Sydney suburb with excellent pubs, bars, cafes, restaurants and harbour views. Recommend drinks in the Welcome Hotel, the Exchange, the William Wallace, the Bald Rock and for any homesick Cockneys a beer on the balcony of the London with the harbour bridge in the background. Birchgrove Oval is probably the best place to kick a football (Association) or chuck a few balls down in the nets.

10 mins by ferry from Circular Quay to East Balmain, Balmain Thames street or Birchgrove. Any bueses from the Queen Victoria Building - 441 or 442.

Google map: tinyurl.com/pcktaf

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It was exciting to visit such a beautiful harbour, including the Opera House, especially as I had come all the way from Europe. The rest of the city though is quite ordinary and has no real history unlike the great cities such as London, Paris, St Petersburg and Rome to mention only four. The Blue Mountains nearby are not really worth a visit. The mountains of the south island of New Zealand are far far better. My visit to Australia overall was a case of been there, done that but I am glad I went.

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In 1789 the lora Aboriginals of Gap Bluff, a tranquil jut of land facing out to the South Pacific Ocean, were devastated by either smallpox or chickenpox. Since then this part of the Sydney Harbour National Park has seen incredible change: the building of Hornby Lighthouse after the wrecking of the Dunbar, the establishment of the Royal Australian Navy Radar School, use of the land as a transit depot for officers serving in Vietnam, and the construction of gun batteries along South Head.

Away from the blustery Gap Bluff, back down the hill and west across the head of the land lies Camp Cove. I walk around South Head, past the nudist Lady Bay and Hornby Lighthouse, before returning to Camp Cove and wandering further south to Watsons Bay.

Camp Cove’s west-facing coast is stunning in its elegance. Spiders on silky sheet-like webs hang between trees. They watch. And these yellow orbs aren’t even dangerous. Think daddy long legs with longer, thicker, yellower legs. I keep a distance in case a gust of wind lifts an orb from the comfort of its web onto the slope of my shoulder.

Boats and yachts sail around the glimmering harbour at Sydney’s regatta. The evening's drawing in but that doesn’t stop countless tourists snapping photos or sharing a cold VB in a ‘stubby’ at the hotel. Children feed the squawking gulls as their grandparents sit back and absorb the sea breeze.

Buses 324 and 325 both go from Circular Quay to Watsons Bay. Ask the bus driver where to get off - it's very near the end of the route.

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The Opera Bar, situated under the Opera House, has the most stunning views in the world. It could therefore serve bad food and drink and charge a premium for the pleasure, but it doesn't.

Food is bistro-style, very reasonably priced and of decent standard. Bar staff are friendly and knowledgeable. Cocktails are mixed without pretension but with care. My bloody mary was the best I've had outside my house.

Lower concourse level, Sydney Opera House;
tel: 9247 1666;
www.operabar.com.au

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Some visitors to Sydney would prefer to see the city from the Harbour Bridge for free, along the public walkway, but the Bridgeclimb tour takes you much - MUCH - higher.

The ascent right up to the aviation light, at the apex, is surely as good as an exposure treatment for vertigo as it is for the views. I had forgotten, or put out of mind, my fear of heights, and although much of the climb was, for me, dominated by mortal terror, I also could not ignore the vista.

The view from the top gives you a nice sense of the layout of some of the beaches in Sydney as well as how the whole city gradually expanded outwards from the harbour.

The fainthearted might think twice about the climb, although the organisers have obviously made safety a primary concern.

Bridgeclimb:
5 Cumberland St, The Rocks
61 2 9255 8210

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Fantastic restaurant in North Bondi overlooking the famous beach. Used to be more of a breakfast haunt but now a classy restaurant with amazing food and location to match. A must for anyone spending a bit of time on Sydney.

North Bondi, Campbell Parade.

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The best views in Sydney for the price of a travel card. You won't want to get off at Manly!

Circular Quay/Manly

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For quintessential Sydney I would recommend Icebergs it really is a must go to place. It has stunning views overlooking Bondi beach and a really good vibe - great if you fancy a night of cocktails and champagne - this is where all the beautiful people go. Try to get there early before sunset so you can take in the amazing views. The restaurant is very good here and great for either a lunch or supper but equally you can just enjoy a cocktail here. The food is fab although it is the view that is king.

Bondi Icebergs Club
1 Notts Avenue
Bondi Beach
www.icebergs.com.au

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This 'climb' is good fun but massively overpriced. Prices start at $165 and you'll find yourself signing your life away on insurance waiver forms, donning silly blue jumpsuits, participating in safety drills and eventually climbing up, chained to the side lest you fall off! It has to be said that the 'climb' (more of a gentle stroll) comes as bit of an anticlimax. The view from the top is amazing, but a lot of places in Sydney offer fabulous views for free!

www.bridgeclimb.com

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