For visitors to Sydney (and those of us who like to Staycation)

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The Underground has done detective work on anything and everything worth doing in Sydney. This list comes with full credit to my seat mate on a flight from LAX where he pulled out a wonderful 3 page document that was written by a friend of a friend who lived in Sydney. It was so palpable, so real, I had to have it.

And…given that the Underground has a mobile app… you can rate all of these venues on your iPhone by downloading BoomVox.

Here goes (and all credit goes to Tom’s friend’s friend)

During the day:

• Take a Ferry from Circular Quay to Manly. Beautiful beach, nice restaurants, walk along the cliffs from Manly to Shelly beach
• Day trip to the Hunter Valley wine country (3.5 hours north of Sydney). Plenty of companies do a shuttle pickup with wine tour and lunch
• Bondi Beach - Bondi to Bronte walk along the cliffs. Beautiful but far- never make it past the first few beaches before I turn back and head to the pub!
• Hyde Park Barracks Museum –Australian Convicts History.
• Thumbs down on the Australian Museum as it is an absolute bore and a waste of money, unless of course you go to the Jurassic Lounge on a Tuesday night for drinks, DJs, Live music, art demonstrations and Performers all amongst the dinosaur exhibition and other rooms throughout the museum.
• Picnic on Observatory Hill or the Botanical Gardens (Both in The Rocks area)
• Blue Mountains - If you have time, but they are more like hills. Nice views and about a 2 hour train ride from Sydney or you could take a guided tour to the Three Sisters and Jenolan caves.

Rugby Match:

• Check out upcoming events at ANZ Stadium.

Theatre/Opera:

• Sydney Theatre Company
• Sydney Opera House

Pubs:

• Harts Pub – the Rocks has the old world limestone feel, quaint and brew their own beer which is absolutely delicious.
• The Clock - In Surry Hills (Favorite area in Sydney) with a wrap-around balcony great for people watching and drinking beer in the sun on a lazy afternoon. Best crowds are Saturday/Sunday Afternoons or Mon-Thursday evenings
• Shady Pines Saloon - Western Bar with bowls of peanuts that you crack and discard on the floor, friendly bartenders and bouncers, and believe it or not it is BYO food. Smells like Whiskey Barrels.

Live Music:

• The Commons - In Darlinghurst has Live Blues and Jazz in their limestone basement Tuesday- Saturday evenings
• La Bodeguita Del Medio - Cuban Bar and Restaurant Live Cuban Music 7 nights/Week
• 505 - Surry Hills- Performance venue with Live Jazz Monday- Saturday night

Bars:

(Thurs – Sat all times will be packed):

• Small Bar
• Stitch
• Grandmas Bar
• Grasshopper

Meat Markets:

• The Ivy – CBD
• The Establishment – CBD

Cafés/Restaurants:

Avoid the urge to eat in Darling Harbour if possible. These restaurants generally look good, taste bad and are over priced. The same goes for restaurants in The Rocks and Circular Quay as well. Actually, Sydney can be quite expensive for tourists so I’ve included some reviews on cheap but good restaurants.

Cheap Eats:

• Cheap Eats 2011
• Bang for Buck

Thai:

• Long grain - Surry Hills – just added on another floor with a new bar
• Sailors Thai - The Rocks

Malaysian:

• Mamak (Cheap and Cheerful) – Haymarket, China Town – really quick walk from Darling Harbour. Always a queue but moves very quickly. Worth the wait as the food is incredible, but get there by 6pm to get straight in.

Mexican:

• Mad Mex (Cheap and Cheerful) - Darlinghurst- Similar to Qdoba or Chipotle

Good luck. Enjoy Syd. Avoid the bike lanes and guano at the Botanical Gardens.