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Featured Artisan: Andrew Fallshaw

Overview

The real foragers aren’t in San Francisco or Copenhagen. They’re tromping through Morocco’s mushroom-gilded forests.

Here’s a taste of how the Land Down Under’s classic cake experienced a modern revival.

A cocktail connoisseur shares six of his favorite bars in Australia’s creative city.

Food Experiences Worth the Trip from Five Well-Traveled Chefs

Let’s face it: Sydney wouldn’t be half the world capital it is without its beautiful views of Sydney Harbour. The site of exploration, commerce, recreation, and billions of tourist photos, the harbor should remain as close as possible during a trip to Sydney. Take it in from your hotel or a coastal trail, a park or a lighthouse. Or climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge at sunset and discover one of the best views on the planet.

It wasn’t so long ago that Sydney offered either fine dining or chips and burgers, but not much in between for foodists. Culinarily speaking, the city was just a bit jealous of its cosmopolitan peer, Melbourne. But Sydney visitors can now rejoice. In recent years the harbour city has really upped the gastronomic ante, with a raft of new restaurant openings. While a dinner out in Sydney can often induce sticker shock, you get what you pay for—meaning fantastic meat, seafood, and produce prepared with a playful Australian spirit.

Three days will only scratch the surface in Sydney, but the city offers enough variety that a traveler can get a good taste of Australian life and culture here. Sydney is world famous for its intricate waterfront, so visitors should prioritize a coastal track like the Bondi to Coogee walk. Otherwise, as much time should be spent on Sydney Harbour as possible. Climb the Harbour Bridge, hit happy hour at the Opera Bar, and meet the residents of Taronga Zoo.

Australians didn’t invent drinking but they may have perfected it. The national love of a good drink meets the sunny climate and lively culture of Sydney and is elevated beyond a tin of Foster’s into something magical. We’re talking sunny warehouse spaces devoted to beer worship and harborside terraces serving experimental wines and sophisticated cocktail lounges full of enthusiastic patrons. Cheers, mate!

Everyone knows the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour, but when it comes to sorting out Bondi from Bronte, visitors may feel lost. We’ve gathered some of our favorite neighborhoods, from old standby inner suburbs to up-and-coming cultural districts.

The most high-adrenaline way to see Sydney Harbour, BridgeClimb has been dressing up locals and travelers in jumpsuits and safety harnesses to ascend “The Coathanger” since 1998. Along the way, they learn fun facts about the Sydney Harbour Bridge, like how it was built using six million rivets, which bridge workers tossed to each other when they were white hot and ready to weld. You’ll also gain a new appreciation for the Sydney Opera House as well as the world’s deepest natural harbor, which just so happens to be the birthplace of European Australia. At the top, strike your favorite Zoolander pose, or try “the koala,” which Ben Stiller invented during his climb.

I love finding Love Locks all over the world. Sydney did not disappoint with a collection on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with a perfect view of the Opera House.

Chiseled from a sandstone-and-brick wool factory on the site of Sydney’s first hospital, the Harbour Rocks Hotel is one of the most historic accommodations in the Rocks—and maybe the most haunted. Hotel staff say part of the building, named Scarlett’s Cottages after a well-known lady of the night, is watched over by Eric, a man who once lived here and who still searches for Scarlett in the labyrinthine corridors after she swore her love to him and then disappeared. Ghosts aside, the hotel’s 59 rooms are peaceful, with high ceilings, Georgian arched windows, brick walls painted dark gray, Old West–style textiles, and wool carpeting that recalls the building’s former life. The place is filled with fun artifacts, too, from the ancient luggage lift to old maps and letters framed on the walls. The early-20th-century history that pervades the building is also found in every direction outside its doors.

It doesn’t get more quintessentially Australian than this: waking up to a symphony of kookaburras and the heady scent of eucalyptus, the sight of kangaroos roaming freely about the 7,000-acre nature reserve. You might be tricked into thinking you’d slept under the stars—if it weren’t for the four-poster bed, flicker of a warm fire, and sunrise reflected from the glittering private pool. A three hours’ drive west of Sydney, this luxury ecolodge feels worlds away, surrounded by sandstone bluffs and sweeping plains filled with leafy gumtrees and Wollemi pines. It has 40 homestead-style villas that are as eco-friendly as they are indulgent: materials sourced within a 60-mile radius, solar panels for hot water and lighting. Highlights include the Aussie cuisine, mostly grown and sourced within 100 miles of the resort (and included in the all-inclusive rate, along with a premium minibar). A fruit orchard and edible garden supplies organic herbs, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.


The most intriguing aspect of the property is an original farmhouse, built around 1832, that hosted Charles Darwin in 1836. Today, the homestead functions as a museum that highlights the Indigenous, settler, and agricultural history of the valley. The comprehensive program of activities gets guests off the homestead: There are peaks to climb, glowworms to ogle, and horses to ride. Following a landslide in 2022, Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley has faced access issues. It is temporarily closed.