The Harbour is the pulse of the city and the people of Sydney are proud of the polyglottal, multi-cultural melting pot that has grown up around this sometimes blue, sometimes green, shimmering central organ

We are talking about a young city, a bright, eclectic and sometimes confused place. The old boys, who fought for King and far distant country in World War Two, drink their lager beside gay Mardi Gras revellers decked out in more feathers and spangles than you could shake a stick at. This is a water city, a series of peninsulas stretching their fingers into Port Jackson. This Harbour is the pulse of the city and the people of Sydney are proud of the polyglottal, multi-cultural melting pot that has grown up around this sometimes blue, sometimes green, shimmering central organ.

The real identity of the city has been shaped by the influences of geography, immigrant cultures and the hot three: sun, sea and surf. But be warned: as hosts of the 2000 Olympics, the people of Sydney are going through a period of pubescent pride and vanity, thrusting their chests and national egos at the Olympic deal.

Because of its eclectic heritage Sydney has emerged from the fairly arid culinary landscape of Australian restaurant land, leading the way with its New World cuisine; a slight misnomer bearing in mind that it draws much of its inspiration from the Mediterranean food-loving immigrants and their cherished cook books, handed down through the generations. Add to this the fact that Sydney has probably the best fresh ingredients available. Some of the most rapidly running bries and camemberts wing in from King Island, fruit and vegetables grow in every shape and variety because of New South Wales’ hotchpotch of micro-climates, the seafood markets glisten with the best-dressed scales, molluscs and crustaceans around and, we all know about good Australian wine. The wise locals, like the French, keep the good stuff for themselves. Best of all the Sydney chefs really know what to do with all these goodies. Thus restaurant heaven has been conceived.

Accommodation is a problem in Sydney. At last count there were just over 66,000 beds available across the range, from 13 five star-hotels down to the backpacker dormitories. Book ahead. During the peak season (from November to May) you really have to book with attitude if you want to stay in the place of your choice as many of the good hotels have full occupancy most of the time.

While there are still reminders of the colonial past, Sydney is a city, in human terms, in the teenage years. It is enamoured with itself but is constantly checking its youthful complexion for spots in the reflection eternally on view in its harbour heart.

Neighborhoods
Do not be fooled by the caricature that so often comes with the Australian package, the larrikin image of ‘no worries’ and slapping shrimps on barbies amidst a sea of beer cans. Sydney is often felt to be too far off the beaten track to play in the high-tech playpen with the other gadget kiddies of the global business world. Mobile phones and laptops just did not seem to fit in with the ‘slip, slap, slop’ ethos of suntan cream, ice cream and beer, beer and just a bit more cold beer. But, remember this is the caricature. Whilst Sydney has benefited from being out of the metropolitan fast lane, so preserving its gentler lifestyle, the CBD (Central Business District) has been gearing up for the 21st century, grabbing for its position within the mushrooming markets of the Asian-Pacific region.

In contrast to the throb of the high rises and sharp suits of the business district, the rest of Sydney seeps out into the surrounding mountains and national parks in one of the largest urban sprawls in the world. The immigration waves that have shaped so much of the city’s personality have created a series of villages. The lace-filigreed balconies of the Eastern Suburbs are redolent of a Victorian time of tight corsets and fearful Britishness constantly burnt by the heat of the sun. Now the yuppies freewheel in these shaded streets discussing politics and fashion over cappuccinos and designer beers. In newer than new contrast, the reclaimed waterfront of Darling Harbour presents sparkling architecture, courtesy of one Australia’s leading architects, Philip Cox, and shopping malls for every taste and nation, courtesy of global greed. Then there is the antithesis of King’s Cross; Sleazeville Sydney style, a sad hangover from the R&R days of the Vietnam war when hordes of US boys turned up with fistfuls of dollars and the desperate need to party away the horrors of war. At the other end of the scale, and the other side of the harbour, are the serious money suburbs of the North Shore. Every house is a shrine to serious design. Thickly flowered gardens, like frilly knickers, tumble down to The Harbour where the boat is parked sur l’eau, naturellement darling, to complement the sporty number and the family planner in the double garage up at the house.

Sydney, for many of the above reasons, is going through a property boom at the moment, though there is the fragile feeling that the bubble will burst at any time. Prices are high and interest rates low. Popular spots still include Bondi.The Beach has serious property staying power and it is also going through a renovation with the hangover 70s tat being swept away in favour of chrome-with-everything cafes and restaurants. The central area beaches of Bronte and Tamarrama are moving up the scale, as are inner-west suburbs like Balmain, Roxelle and Glebe with the hotter new restaurants opening in Balmain and Surry Hills, the former poor relation central area now taking on a glossier lease of life.

Accommodation
At the top end of the scale the Inter-Continental on Macquarie Street has it all. It was the former treasury and has been craftily transformed to retain the colonial flavour whilst being right up to five-star scratch. It looks out over The Harbour, the Botanic Gardens and the symbolic, serrated sails of The Opera House. Also riding on the colonial ticket is the Observatory Hotel on Millers Point. It looks the part until you hear about the anti-jetlag flotation tank and the everything-with-bells-on gym. It was actually only built four years ago so you get the fast track perks like the complimentary flotation, a fax in your armoire (sounds faintly erotic) along with a CD player and a VCR, a 20-metre indoor pool with the whole Antipodean star map above your head. Four things that make the Park Hyatt very expensive and very worth every cent: location, location, location, right on The Rocks, nestling so that you could spit from your bedroom window onto the decks of The Bounty. Number four is the 24-hour butler who unpacks your luggage (only take your best underwear), fixes a mean ‘gin and thing’ and soothes the soul. The visiting rock and movie stars’ favorite is the Sebel overlooking Rushcutters Bay, probably because it is out of the city mainstream and for the discretion of its service. If you want small but perfectly formed try L’Otel on Darlinghurst Road. French provincial blue and white chic meets groovy retro with the slightly odd bonus of a kitchenette with every room, a constantly changing modern art exhibition downstairs with a trendy cafe that has some of the best breakfast goodies in town. A good alternative if you are after the novelty factor is Pasadena on Pittwater. It is an hour by ferry from the centre of town but, if you want the real experience then go for the sea plane ride from Rose Bay for four people. Sydneysiders are famous for their B&B hospitality. There is a huge range of them but the top notch is probably Tricketts in Glebe, a Victorian mansion where you can now loll in the former ballroom on Persian rugs, warmed by underfloor heating.

Restaurants
Sydney’s top ten rate among the best in the world if your tastes are for fresh ingredients, unpretentious culinary achievement and clean tastes. Value for money-wise the most expensive will probably set you back about $A240 for two for three courses, a couple of bottles of good wine and coffee. That is less than the equivalent would cost you for eating the same on your lonesome in Paris or New York. There are three predominant schools of ‘in’ cooking, ModOz , ModMed (the family recipe books from Southern Europe in their Austalian re-incarnations) and ModJap (Asian influence with the proliferation of great seafood making sushi heaven). Top of the ModOz school comes Bennelong run by Sydney’s culinary queen, Gay Bilson, in Sydney’s architectural queen (The Opera House of course). If you can only eat once, eat here. In the centre of town and up at the top of the Chifley Tower (vertigo sufferers forget it) is Forty One. The food and the views are white hot. Fish wise the top two are probably Rockpool and The Pier. The Rockpool kitchen takes sidelong glances at both Asian and Mediterranean influences in a setting so cool as to be horizontal. The Pier in Rose Bay again is high up on the list of supreme views in town. The fish is just as good. ModOz with ModMed thrown in are on show at Claude’s on Oxford Street. This is the ultimate in BYO (bring your own wine). Bel mondo in The Argyle Department Store is about the hippest place in town. The seat of the best Italian food in Australia, so they say. The buzz is Manhattan woolshed in party mode. You eat at tables set below the raised kitchen, the ultimate ‘in cucina’ experience with Stefano Manfredi, the patriarch, at the pass between kitchen and consumer, choreographing the transition between the two. Cicada on Potts Point is a low key, airy Victorian Terrace house done up in Italian style and offering very classy ModOz. Vulcan’s is a bit of a way out in Blackheath, one of the Blue Mountains townships. This alone makes it worth the trip just to see one of New South Wales’ most glorious national parks, all bushwhacking 617,750 acres of it. Phillip Searle, the owner and another guiding light in the Sydney foodie scene, has shifted down in pace with this out-of-town venture but the food is still outstanding. As someone said of the unique Tetsuya Wakuda of Tetsuya’s in Rozelle, ‘What do you call a Japanese chef French-trained in Australia? Bloody brilliant.’ Many claim it to be the best restaurant in Australia. A lot of the top chefs eat there. For sheer hip and happening buzz The Bayswater Brasserie in King’s Cross is hard to beat. Not only is it full of the young and beautiful but the food is very good. The drawback to the above ten Wizards of Oz is that with most of them you have to book very well in advance, up to six weeks in the case of Tetsuya’s, Bennelong and bel mondo. If you just want to take in the huge views without the linen and credit card strain there are some very good food-to-go joints just off the tourist beat. Try Bondi Surf Seafoods on Campbell Parade to pick up fresh oysters and fresh grilled John Dory with crispier than crisp fries. Then hit Bondi for that sunset moment. Or try Oporto Portuguese Style Chicken also on Campbell Parade for al fresco with a difference; flattened chicken spiced up with crunchy chilli skins.

Sightseeing
It is all in your face; rising out of the water or just hanging out on the wave on a surf board in a suntan. Beyond the bright sun are the myriad galleries of Sydney, charting the city’s artistic evolvement from Aboriginal art to modern greats such as Arthur Boyd and Brett Whiteley. The ones to try are Art Gallery of New South Wales for the sweep of the colonial art scene, Hogarth Galleries and Aboriginal Art Centre in Paddington where the serious collectors go to part with big money for the ultimate Tiwi pole and The Powerhouse in Ultimo, which is the largest museum in Australia and the big interactive experience of pop culture. The Museum of Sydney stands on the sight of the first Government House and is one of the few mainstream museums to dig into the murky pit of colonisation. It has an outstanding café and museum shop. The Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery is a trendy as it sounds. Buried deep in the heart of Paddington just off Hampton Lane, the gallery is famous for being a beautiful space and the venue for great parties, showing appropriately fantastical artists during the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras at the beginning of March. Vaucluse House is the oldest house museum in Australia. It is charming and gentile and a good bolthole for a hot afternoon. There have been so many sightings of the resident ghost, Charlie the Redcoat, that some soldiers refuse to guard at the house at night. The Royal Botanic Gardens cover 74 acres of lush, tropical verdance. This is where Governor Arthur Phillip planted his big yams, creating Australia’s first veggie patch 200 years ago.

Shopping
The big relief of shopping in Sydney is that it is not the contact sport that it is in London or New York. Whilst the glam crowd are coming to town with DKNY, Armani and Versace, the core of Sydney fashion is a gang of local designers who are now selling into the US and Asia. This means you can fill a suitcase with clothes a season ahead of the Northern Hemisphere. The main drag for the fashion hankerer is Strand Arcade in the heart of town. Big sale time is the end of summer and winter (Oz seasons) with David Jones, the bastion of department stores, having a twice yearly clear-out after Christmas and at the end of June. There is a huge shopping complex in the centre of town giving you free rein of the CBD in a network of arcades and malls. The best of these is the Queen Victoria Building, built in 1898 resembling a Byzantine Palace to celebrate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee. Paddington is BoHo land, and the home of the most famous street market, but it is mayhem at weekends. The shops of the area give a good cross section of young designers with arty cafŽ stops thrown in. Double Bay is Sydney’s answer to Rodeo Drive, though the difference is that people here drink their cappuccino with whole milk rather than decaf with skinny and hold the chocolate LA style.

And finally…
On a still evening when the light is thick and gold, take a basket to the delis in Five Ways in Paddington. Fill it with fresh baguettes, King Island brie, olives, dried figs and a bottle of Hunter Valley chardonnay. Make your way to Neilsen Park in Vaucluse. Go for a late swim in the peaceful and shark-netted bay, untroubled by the surfy waves of the big beaches. As the crisped sunbakers head home, slip up into the park and make your way to the edge looking out over The Harbour. This is about as exclusive as you can get; Sydney has a talent for syrupy light seduction numbers.

(originally on BizTraveler.com website)