3 Best Sights in Sydney Harbour, Sydney

Sydney Harbour is spotted with many coves, but perhaps the most famous is Sydney Cove, an inlet better known as Circular Quay. With the Sydney Opera House and Bennelong Point offering stunning restaurants and incredible views to the east, The Rocks to the west, and Harbour Bridge looming over it all, this spot really captures the essence of the city of Sydney. A walkway loops around the cove and is busy no matter what time of day.

This massive park is made up of 958 acres of separate foreshores and islands, most of them on the north side of the harbor. To see the best areas, put on your walking shoes and head out on the many well-marked trails. The Hermitage Foreshore Walk skirts through bushland around Vaucluse's Nielsen Park. On the north side of the harbor, Bradleys Head and Chowder Head Walk is a 5-km (3-mile) stroll that starts from Taronga Zoo Wharf. The most inspiring trail is the 9½-km (6-mile) Manly Scenic Walkway, which joins the Spit Bridge with Manly by meandering along sandstone headlands, small beaches, and pockets of rain forest, and past Aboriginal sites and the historic Grotto Point Lighthouse. You can take day tours of two harbor islands, Fort Denison and Goat Island, which have interesting colonial history and buildings. Call The New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service for tickets. You can also visit Shark Island (off Rose Bay) on a cruise with Captain Cook Cruises (A$28) departing daily from Jetty 6 at Circular Quay.

Established as a military base and fishing settlement in the colony's early years, Watsons Bay is a charming suburb, with a popular waterfront pub, that has held on to its village ambience despite the exorbitant prices paid for tiny cottages here. Unlike Watsons Bay's tranquil harbor side, the side that faces the ocean is dramatic and tortured, with the raging sea dashing against the sheer, 200-foot sandstone cliffs of The Gap. Amenities: food and drink; toilets. Best for: walking.