Anyone can swim in Sydney’s beachside pools year-round for free. Often attached to the local lifeguard club, these saltwater pools are for sunbaking, laps and showing off your Crossfit-honed abs.
Sydneysiders spend every summer weekend in water – and a fair percentage do this while lounging on oversized inflatables shaped like fruit (complete with pineapple drink holders).
Some of Australia’s best beer is accessible by foot across a one-kilometre-square patch of warehouse brewpubs in Sydney’s Inner West. Check out Grifter , Willie the Boatman , Wayward , Batch and Young Henrys .
A dive bar where you can wash down provolone-and-truffle pizza with its signature Bloodsucking Geeks red IPA to a soundtrack of Fleetwood Mac and the Steve Miller Band. Afterwards, there’s a room full of 1990s pinball machines to attend to.
Fly in Sydney Seaplanes ’ De Havilland Beaver from Rose Bay to Jonah’s restaurant at Whale Beach for a long lunch and even longer view.
This story was originally published in November 2017 and updated in September 2020. Hero image: Andrew Watson / Lonely Planet Images / Getty Images
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