A world famous opera house, an iconic bridge, beautiful cliff side views and stunning beaches! Sydney is worth exploring even if you only have one day! This post covers how to spend one day in Sydney and cover all of its famous sites and highlights.
Note – This post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links, I get paid a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Table of Contents
Notes on the Itinerary
- Sydney is a big city and with just one day, you will have to make some decisions on what to see and do.
- Start your day early so that you have a full one day in Sydney
- You may have to use Ubers to go from place to place so that you are not wasting time, however, there is also walking involved so wear comfortable shoes.
One Day In Sydney
I am diving this one day in Sydney itinerary into 3 sections; city, beach and views.
City
With just one day in Sydney, you should probably see two iconic buildings in Sydney. Start your day around 8-8:30 am and make your way to St. Mary’s Cathedral. This church is actually quite impressive inside and out. The foundation for the first St. Mary’s was laid in 1821 but this church was destroyed by a fire. Construction for the present church began in 1868 and took 5 years to build.
After visiting the church, make your way to the Queen Victoria Building. Abbreviated the QVB, this beautiful building was built in the late 19th century. Today, this shopping mall attracts many visitors and is a considered a must visit in Sydney!
The Beach
From the QVB, take an Uber to Coogee Beach. If you are up for it, you can walk from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach. This is a 6 KM walk and I cannot recommend it more! People say it takes 2-3 hours to complete, but even after stopping multiple times and taking loads of pictures, it didn’t take me that much time! If you don’t want to walk the whole way, you can always take an Uber to Bondi half way.
The scenes are stunning and honestly this walk was probably my most favorite part of this one day in Sydney. If you have more than one day to spare in Sydney, I highly recommend taking the full day along this stretch, stopping at all the beaches and jumping into the water! There are public swimming pools at some beaches where the waves crash in. I truly wished I had more time here!
Once you get to Bondi, grab some food and a nice cocktail at Bondi Icebergs. You could also swim here but honestly, I don’t think you will have time with a few more things remaining to do in Sydney!
Views
Even with one day in Sydney, you do not want to miss some of its famous sites like the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House.
From Bondi Beach, make your way to Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair. In my opinion, I think this is one of the best places to see both the bridge and the opera house. From this spot, make your way to Observatory Hill via Uber. This is another great spot to you can see Panoramic views of Sydney Harbor and the Sydney skyline.
From Observatory Hill, walk up to South Pylon Lookout. As you walk along the bridge, you will see panoramic views of the Opera House! Once you get to South Pylon Lookout, you can climb the tower for almost 360 degree view of the city. See HERE for more information and tickets. To be honest, you may have to play this one by ear and skip it if you don’t have time. However, the walk to South Pylon Lookout along the bridge is still cool and gives you great views of the Opera House.
Once you are done here, make your day down to Dawes Point Reserve. This is probably one of the best spots to see the harbor bridge up close. From Dawes Point Reserve, walk along the pedestrian path to Circular Quay.
If you would like to take a ferry ride across the harbor, then take a ferry from Circular Quay to Taronga Zoo. This ferry gives you the best views in the shortest time. It takes 12 minutes to one way and ferries go every 30 minutes. If you are looking for a longer ride, then check out the tour below. You could time it for the 4:15 pm tour or the 6 pm. If you opt for the 6 pm you can easily walk around the Opera House prior to the tour. If you opt for the 4:15 pm, you may have to visit after (but you can play it by ear as needed)
You can only really go inside the Opera House on a tour. Tours run almost daily starting at 9 am to early afternoon. If you want to do this, you have to buy tickets in advance and you may have to switch this itinerary around (i.e., do the beach walk after this tour in the afternoon/early evening).
Darling Harbor is worth a gander but only if you still have time!
Close Out the Day
Check out an area called The Rocks. This area and its colorful lanes are packed with restaurants, cafes and shops. You could grab a coffee or cocktail or browse through some of the shops. Another amazing way to close out your day is to go to one of Sydney’s best bars! Maybe Sammy is a highly recommended and rated bar that you must visit even if you only have one day in Sydney. They have a super inventive menu or can even make you anything you like. It’s such a fun atmosphere inside! I recommend sitting at the bar to really see the mixologists at work! What they do is truly a form of art!
Alternatives Activities and Things to Do
Here are some more things to do if you have more than one day in Sydney or want to swap something from this itinerary.
- Spend a beach day at all the beaches along the coast
- Visit Luna park
- Royal Botanical Gardens
- Visit the Blue Mountains
Did you find this post useful? Please let me know by liking/commenting below or sharing this post on social media! Thank you!!
Pin this post for later!
Check out more of my one day itineraries HERE.
