Culture & Escapes Desk is a contributing editor at The Sydney Times, reporting on Greater Sydney and Australian affairs.
Barangaroo Reserve has opened six hectares of restored harbour foreshore parkland on the Sydney CBD waterfront, with native plantings, walking paths, cultural centres and views across the Harbour Bridge.
The Three Sisters walk in Katoomba is a one-hour return track through rainforest and past waterfalls, with the Echo Point viewpoint offering the most famous view in the Blue Mountains.
Carriageworks at Eveleigh is Sydney's largest contemporary art space, with seven railway workshop buildings housing visual art, performance, film and a popular farmers market.
The Hunter Valley is a two-hour drive from Sydney and offers cellar doors, fine-dining restaurants, luxury accommodation and day spas, making it the closest major wine region to the city.
Jervis Bay and Booderee National Park offer white sand beaches, clear water and whale watching from the NSW South Coast, with Murrays Beach and Greenpatch Beach the most popular stops for a weekend trip from Sydney.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia at Circular Quay has reopened its free permanent collection after a $12 million gallery refresh, with new dedicated spaces for First Nations and emerging artists.
The Royal National Park coastal walk stretches 29km from Bundeena to Otford along clifftops, beaches and heathland, offering one of the best day walks within an hour of the Sydney CBD.
Sydney Festival 2027 will present more than 120 events across the CBD and Parramatta from January 6 to 25, with the full program released in October 2026.
The Sydney Modern Project at the Art Gallery of NSW opened in 2022 and has doubled the gallery's exhibition space with a SANAA-designed building that connects to the original heritage structure and the harbour.
The Sydney Writers' Festival returns in 2026 with more than 300 events across Walsh Bay, the Sydney Town Hall and suburban libraries from May 3 to 11, with a program of authors, journalists and thinkers from Australia and overseas.
The 24th Biennale of Sydney runs from March to June 2026 across Cockatoo Island and the Art Gallery of NSW, with 69 artists from 36 countries presenting work under the theme of sovereignty and survival.