Where to stay in Sydney

The most eclectic street in Sydney: King Street runs through Newtown with bookshops, Thai restaurants (the best Thai food in Australia is here), vegan cafés, vintage shops, and live music venues. The demographic ranges from University of Sydney students to tattooed musicians to elderly Greek immigrants who've been here since the 1960s. The best cheap eat in Sydney is a $12 pad see ew from a Newtown Thai cash-only place.

A 30-minute Manly Ferry ride from Circular Quay delivers you to a beach suburb that feels like a separate city. Manly Beach faces the Pacific; the harbor side has a calm swimming beach and a promenade of Norfolk Island pines. The Manly Corso is pedestrianized and lined with cafés. The Fairy Bower rock pool (free) and the North Head headland walk are excellent additions.

The place where Sydney begins: the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, and the colonial precinct of The Rocks — the oldest neighborhood in Australia. The Rocks weekend market is excellent. The MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) overlooks the quay from the ferry terminals. Every walk in Sydney eventually leads back here: the view of the harbour at night is the city's defining image.

Sydney's best dining neighborhood: Crown Street runs for a kilometer with Thai, Italian, Japanese, and modern Australian restaurants at every price point. Darlinghurst is the LGBTQ heart of the city — vibrant, welcoming, and home to the best brunch in Sydney (Bourke Street Bakery, bills restaurant). Oxford Street connects to Paddington's Victorian terrace houses and excellent galleries.

The world's most famous urban beach: a 1km crescent of sand where backpackers, wealthy Sydneysiders, and Olympic swimmers share the same water. The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk (6km, free) is the best thing you can do in Sydney. The Icebergs tidal pool at the south end is a Sydney institution. Saturdays at the Bondi Farmers Market are excellent. Expensive but worth experiencing once.

The wealthy harbor suburbs north and east of the CBD: Double Bay's village high street (Bay Street) has independent boutiques, European delis, and waterfront dining. Mosman, across the harbor, has the Taronga Zoo (with cable car views over the harbor) and the most expensive real estate views in Australia. Both are accessed by ferry from Circular Quay — always worth taking the scenic route.