Things to do in Sydney

The studio of the late Sydney painter, preserved more or less as he left it when he died in 1992. Free entry, small, and the single most intimate art space in the city.

The saltwater pool that the 5-ringed club has used since 1929. AUD 9 for a swim (non-members welcome), or AUD 400 for the full-restaurant Icebergs Dining Room above it — wrap-around Pacific view, modern Italian, and the bar until late.

The original — running since 1985, the one that teaches most of the city's kids. Two-hour lessons from AUD 85, boards and wetsuits included. Beginners-only area at the south end of the beach.

The Paddington gallery that launched the careers of most serious contemporary Australian artists (Del Kathryn Barton, Tracey Moffatt). Free entry, rotating shows. The Sullivan+Strumpf and Olsen galleries are adjacent.

Georgian sandstone army barracks from 1848, still partly operational. Public tours every Thursday 10 a.m. give you the full 8-hectare walkabout and the small museum.

Lennox Hastie's entirely wood-fired restaurant — no gas, no electric, every dish cooked over Australian hardwoods he specifies. Perennially in Asia's 50 Best. Seasonal tasting menus built around whatever the fire suits that week.

Argentine-style parrilla on Cleveland Street — wood-fire lamb shoulder, malbec list, exceptional provolone starter. The loud, busy, happy Argentine restaurant every Australian city has tried to copy.

Crown Street on a Saturday morning is Sydney doing the lazy brunch better than anywhere else. Reservoir, Bourke Street Bakery, The Dolphin, all within three blocks and mostly walk-in.

The 25-year-old Italian that has survived every Bondi rebrand — same family ownership, same pasta, same AUD 36 mains. Old-Sydney-Italian done well, in contrast to the more fashionable newer openings.

Pub on Crown Street with a rooftop overlooking the terraces. Friday knock-offs are dense; the Sunday afternoon session, with the sun on the rooftop, is the quintessential Sydney pub afternoon.

The five-road intersection where Broughton, Glenmore, Cascade, Heeley, and Gurner meet. Victorian pubs (The Royal, Gaslight Inn) on three corners make it one of Sydney's genuinely beautiful drinking triangles.

The Reservoir Street roastery that anchored Sydney's third-wave coffee movement. Small café at the roastery, strong filter programme, and the Australian flat white at its unpretentious best.

Café-bookshop on Hall Street — a 27-year-old independent that's also a reading room. The coffee is good and the breakfast menu is better than it has any right to be. Go in, buy a book.

6 km sandstone cliff trail, five beaches, three cemeteries-with-views, takes 2.5–3 hours at a sightseeing pace. Start at Bondi at 7 a.m. for the best light and fewest people; finish with coffee at Coogee.

189 hectares directly south of Paddington, opened 1888 on the centenary of colonisation. Running loop, horse paddock, duck ponds, and the Sunday picnic culture of Sydney at its most pleasant.

Running Saturdays since 1973 in the forecourt of Paddington Uniting Church. 150 stalls, 200,000 visitors a year, strong in handmade jewellery, emerging Australian fashion, and vintage. Open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.