Visit Sydney Australia

When you are a visitor to a place, there is nothing like the knowledge of a local to take you to some of the lesser known but equally interesting corners of a city. Sydney has plenty of fascinating nooks and crannies, many of which a lot of the locals don't even know about. So if you are a visitor or a local and eager to do a little exploring on or off the beaten track, here are hundreds of suggestions to get you going.

Over a hundred walks of varying lengths to a variety of destinations, including in and around the city centre, the suburbs, bushland, waterfalls, the harbour, and coastal Sydney.

Where was that movie or television series shot? Where did Sydney's rich, famous and infamous people live? Which schools did they attend as youngsters? Where did that historic event take place? All is revealed.

Have you ever looked on a map, seen a lookout marked and gone there, only to find the view has been obscured by trees that have grown up, or buildings erected since the lookout was built? We've checked out the lookouts and vantage points around Sydney, and share with you the best of them.

The story of Sydney begins in prehistoric times with the occupation of the district by Australian Aborigines, whose ancestors came to Australia between 15,000 and 45,000 years ago. The modern history of the city began with the arrival of a First Fleet of British ships in 1788 and the foundation of a penal colony by Great Britain.

It is believed that the Aborigines of Australia first arrived on the continent some 25,000 years ago from southeast Asia, either by canoes, or by the now submerged Saul Shelf which once joined Australia to mainland Asia. At the time of the arrival of the first white explorers, the Aboriginal population was in the vicinity of 300,000. Each tribe had its own language, with dialects of a common language being common where a tribal area was vast.