A spectrum of the arts

Sydney's vibrancy and creativity is well played out in the visual and performing arts centres scattered across the city.

At the top of the list for visitors, of course, is the Sydney Opera House. A working building, not just a monument to style, the Opera House doesn't just feature opera performances. In fact, its five major performance spaces offer chamber music, symphonies, drama, dance and experimental music too.

Sydney's three most famous performance groups include the Australian Ballet - which is actually based in Melbourne, but performs at the Opera House from March to April, and from November to December. The Australian Chamber Orchestra performs at various venues around the city including the Opera House's Concert Hall and Angel Place in the centre of Sydney. Finally, Opera Australia performs at the Opera House from January to March, and June to November.

The excellent Australian Dance Theatre performs at the picturesque Wharf Theatre below the Rocks which is also a great place to see both classic and contemporary theatre.

Other great theatre venues include the gorgeously classical Capital Theatre, near Town Hall, which hosts international musicals as well as major rock stars. Her Majesty's Theatre, near Central Station, is known for its big budget musicals, and the Belair Street Theatre in Surry Hills offers powerful plays performed by Company B as well as experimental productions and Aboriginal performances and dance.

The Bangarra Dance Company is Australia's premier Aboriginal dance troupe. They seem to be able to perform anywhere - from the Olympic Stadium to small, informal spaces - without losing any of their powerful appeal.

As for visual arts, Sydney offers a wide range of small galleries. Many, such as Stills, Sherman's and Roslyn Oxley's, are clustered around Paddington and Woollahra. The State Library on Macquarie Street hosts regular displays of photos, prints and crafts.

To get an overview of the state of the art scene, drop into the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where the collection gives a strong sense of the Australian way of seeing.

Around the clock

Oxford Street, Kings Cross and the area around Darlinghurst is the part of Sydney that never sleeps. Around here you can find dozens of bars, cafes, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs, some of them open 24 hours.

The area between Darlinghurst and Kings Cross is the Victoria Street strip - by day a popular coffee venue. Try varieties of Italian sandwich at Bar Coluzzi or across the road at the Tropicana, also known for its annual short film festival.

The area around Taylor Square is the epicentre of Gay Sydney. Here, once a year, the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras passes by, a gaudy, giddy, gyrating parade that has become the focus for the lively arts and lifestyle culture created by the active and out-there gay community of the city.

See drag shows and dance late into the night at the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville. Otherwise try a local gay-orientated nightclub, like the Taxi Club or Midnight Shift on Oxford Street.

Non-gay nightclubs are also congregated along Oxford Street, as well as Kings Cross and Darlinghurst. One of the most popular at present is Home, at Cockle Bay on the city side of Darling Harbour.

If it's jazz you fancy then try Soup Plus on George Street, where you can tuck into bistro food while you listen to the sweet melodies coming from a sax. Another option is The Basement near Circular Quay, which manages to squeeze in blues, folk and funk as well as world-class jazz acts.

As for pubs and bars, Sydney's 24 hour drinking laws mean you'll always find one open somewhere or other. Popular areas for a drink or two include the city centre and The Rocks - where you can find Sydney's oldest pubs, the Hero of Waterloo and the Lord Nelson Hotel. Otherwise, try Oxford Street and Kings Cross, or the beachside suburbs of Bondi and Manly.

Australian Style

Sydneysiders love to strut their stuff. They head for the newest really good restaurant, cafe or bar, the grooviest new promenade, or the smartest, nearest beach. They love to meet friends to eat, drink and be merry. There's an energy and boldness here that is irrepressible and uplifting. It's urbane, but fresh and curious.

With its wonderful climate and carefree lifestyle, Sydney has inspired some stunning young designers who have taken the multi-layered cultural influences and translated them into fashion.

The Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in Sydney sets the stage and has proved to be a highly successful venture, marketing Australian fashion to the world. Designers such as Collette Dinnigan and Akira Isogawa have become globally acclaimed.

Stroll up and down Oxford Street, Paddington, to see the funkiest designers. For more formal fashion, Double Bay is the place to shop. A trawl through the city arcades and streets - Skygarden, the MLC Centre, Chifley Square, Martin Place, the new Grace Bros fashion floor - should bedazzle the shopper with alternatives.

Down at Bondi, view the best of Australian surf and beach wear that has blazed new trend trails internationally. If you can't find a 'cossie' (swimming costume) in Campbell Parade, there's something wrong. Don't miss the Mambo store for the ultimate in surf chic.

Sydney is a also an architectural dream. Many homes overlook the water or nestle in the bush, and are cantilevered over cliffs or dug back into the scenery (featuring light and space, layers of texture and looking outwards to the environment). This Australian architectural idiom was pioneered by Sydney architect Glenn Murcutt. It has been translated and adapted by many who have followed him.

Choice of hotels

Sydney offers a massive range of accommodation options from good-value five-star international hotels and boutique establishments, to cosy bed-and-breakfasts and budget backpacker hostels.

Hotels tend to be scattered in certain areas of the city, but all give good access to the main centres of shopping and entertainment.

Top class hotels are mostly located around the harbour at Circular Quay and The Rocks, in the city centre itself, or around Darling Harbour and the Kings Cross/Double Bay area. All these areas are well serviced by public transport.

The beachside suburbs, particularly Bondi and Manly, also have their fair share of places to stay. In both suburbs you can find top class hotels as well as smaller boutique accommodation. Manly is known for its backpacker hostels.

Backpacker hostels also congregate around Kings Cross and the student areas of Glebe and Newtown. One of the best is the Sydney Central YHA, near Central Station, which has its own pool and sauna.

Serviced apartments are concentrated around Circular Quay and The Rocks, though good-value apartment complexes run by Medina are located all over the city.

Finally, if you've arrived without booking anything then try the Sydney Visitors Centre - Sydney Airport desk, in the arrivals hall of the airport's International Terminal. It negotiates deals with many of Sydney's hotels (but not hostels) and offers discounts on rooms that haven't been filled that day - you can save up to 50 per cent on a room this way.

Fabulous fusion foods

Australian cuisine, heavily influenced by its extraordinary ethnic mix, is rapidly becoming well-known overseas and, along with its wines, is picking up sought after prizes at major international competitions.

Throughout the city you can find restaurants to suit all tastes and wallets - the inner-city suburb of Newtown has everything from cheap Vietnamese and Indonesian food through to African and French cuisine, while another inner-city suburb, Glebe, is famous for both sophisticated and down-to-earth eateries.

Some of Sydney's best restaurants are at Circular Quay, while a whole string of up-market restaurants dot the landscape in the historic Rocks area, the city centre and inner-city Kings Cross. Don't miss Doyles on the Beach, a ferry ride away from the city at Watsons Bay. It's one of the best seafood eateries and has a fabulous seaside setting. As for Bondi and Manly - they're almost bursting at the seams.

Recent developments include East Circular Quay, where up-market outdoor eateries line the boardwalk to the Opera House. Elsewhere there's a harbour-side feel to the quality restaurants at Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo, and at Cockle Bay and Darling Harbour, where you can sit inside or out, and enjoy the passing parade.

Sydney is fortunate too to have a healthy cafe culture, due in part to its many ethnic influences. Quality cafes are everywhere, with some of the most atmospheric scattered around the suburb of Darlinghurst, a short walk from Kings Cross CityRail station.

Superb city beaches

Sydney is positively awash with beaches. From the far northern suburbs to the those deep down in the south of the city a long string of ocean beaches welcome sunworshippers. As well, scattered around the harbour are hidden-away coves, sleepy bays and swathes of golden sand.

Bondi, a bustling mecca for locals and international tourists alike, is perhaps the most famous beach of all. Only minutes from the centre of the city its fine sweep of sand is known for its skimpily-clad surf lifesavers and topless bathers. Also here is a fine restaurant and cafe strip where you come to see and be seen.

Next along the coast is Tamarama Beach - also known as 'Glamourama' after its bathing beauties dressed in the latest skimpy costumes, followed by Bronte, popular with bathers.

Further south is Clovelly Beach, which sports a large pool carved into the surrounding rock and perfect for a dip if the sea looks too rough.

North of the Harbour Bridge you'll find Manly, a long curve of golden sand edged with Norfolk Pines which fill up at dusk with colourful flocks of lorikeets. Manly's best reached by a ferry from Circular Quay, or the rapid Jetcat, which will hurry you there in only 15 minutes. If you look out to sea to your right you'll spot tiny Shelly Beach, where you can snorkel safe from the waves.

From Manly, local buses lead to the northern beaches of Curl Curl, Dee Why, Narrabeen, Mona Vale, Newport and Avalon - all famous for their laid-back lifestyle and surf. Eventually you'll reach Palm Beach, a long and beautiful strip of sand edging onto a golf course and dunes.

Many beaches edge onto harbour waters, but the most popular of them all is gorgeous Balmoral. Strung with cafes and a couple of fine restaurants, Balmoral is a trendy and scenic north-shore suburb with a resident flock of sulphur-crested cockatoos.