Sydney

Sydney 5-day itinerary

5 days in Sydney on foot. The plan moves through City, City, City, starting with Mrs Macquarie's Chair, Belvoir Theatre, Sir Henry Parkes. No car.
Best for
A first visit to Sydney with room for one extra neighborhood.
Pace
Four walking days and one day trip.
Base
City
Estimated budget
$400–$1,400

Day-by-day plan

Follow the stops in order. Walk times are estimates between nearby places.

  1. Day 1

    City

    Walk City in Sydney. Start at Mrs Macquarie's Chair, then Belvoir Theatre and Sir Henry Parkes. Stay on foot.

    1. Stop 1

      Mrs Macquarie's Chair

      Mrs Macquarie's Chair is an exposed sandstone rock cut into the shape of a bench, on a peninsula in Sydney Harbour. It was hand carved by convicts in 1810, for Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales. The peninsula itself was known to the Gadigal as Yurong Point, and is now widely known as Mrs Macquarie's Point, and is part of The Domain, near the Royal Botanic Gardens.

    2. Stop 2 · 46 min walk

      Belvoir Theatre

      theatre venue in Sydney, Australia

    3. Stop 3 · 31 min walk

      Sir Henry Parkes

      Historic: monument.

    4. Stop 4 · 38 min walk

      St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church

      St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church on OpenStreetMap within walking or short-transit range.

    5. Stop 5 · 82 min walk

      Aboriginal rock carvings

      Historic: archaeological_site.

    Eat · Singapore Famous BBQ Pork: Singapore Famous BBQ Pork listed on OpenStreetMap near the walking centre.

    Browse Sydney tours
  2. Day 2

    City

    Walk City in Sydney. Start at Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church, then St. Brendan's Catholic Church and State Theatre. Stay on foot.

    1. Stop 1

      Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church

      Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church on OpenStreetMap within walking or short-transit range.

    2. Stop 2 · 4 min walk

      St. Brendan's Catholic Church

      St. Brendan's Catholic Church on OpenStreetMap within walking or short-transit range.

    3. Stop 3 · 50 min walk

      State Theatre

      theatre and cinema in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    4. Stop 4 · 6 min walk

      Hyde Park Obelisk

      The Hyde Park Obelisk is a heritage-listed obelisk that served as a sewer vent and is now a monument located in Hyde Park at the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Bathurst Street, in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed and built by the NSW Department of Public Works. It is also known as The Obelisk and Obelisk Sewer Vent. It is also jokingly referred to as Thornton's Scent Bottle after mayor George Thornton.

    5. Stop 5 · 4 min walk

      St. George's Presbyterian Church

      St. George's Presbyterian Church on OpenStreetMap within walking or short-transit range.

    Eat · H Pantry: H Pantry listed on OpenStreetMap near the walking centre.

  3. Day 3

    City

    Walk City in Sydney. Start at St. Peter Julian's Catholic Church, then Church in the Market Place and Justice & Police Museum. Stay on foot.

    1. Stop 1

      St. Peter Julian's Catholic Church

      church in New South Wales, Australia

    2. Stop 2 · 56 min walk

      Church in the Market Place

      Church in the Market Place on OpenStreetMap within walking or short-transit range.

    3. Stop 3 · 62 min walk

      Justice & Police Museum

      police museum in Sydney, Australia

    4. Stop 4 · 23 min walk

      Coca-Cola Billboard

      The Coca-Cola Billboard in Kings Cross, Sydney, is an advertising billboard erected in 1974 by Coca-Cola. It is more often regarded as an iconic landmark than as an advertisement and is considered to be the premier billboard in Sydney and is the second largest billboard in the Southern Hemisphere next to the Glebe Island silos billboard.

    5. Stop 5 · 30 min walk

      Darling Harbour

      recreational and pedestrian precinct on the western edge of the Sydney central business district

    Eat · Centennial Homestead: Centennial Homestead listed on OpenStreetMap near the walking centre.

  4. Day 4

    City

    Walk City in Sydney. Start at St Marys, then ANZAC memorial statue (Australia) and Campbell Street Presbyterian Church. Stay on foot.

    1. Stop 1

      St Marys

      St Marys on OpenStreetMap within walking or short-transit range.

    2. Stop 2 · 20 min walk

      ANZAC memorial statue (Australia)

      Historic: memorial.

    3. Stop 3 · 16 min walk

      Campbell Street Presbyterian Church

      Campbell Street Presbyterian Church on OpenStreetMap within walking or short-transit range.

    Eat · Saint Germaine Patisserie: Cuisine: french;cake;sandwich;coffee.

  5. Day 5

    Day trip toward Blue Mountains

    Leave Sydney for the day. Come back to the same bed.

    1. Stop 1

      Blue Mountains

      Listed as a next stop from Sydney. Check the regional train or bus the night before.

    2. Stop 2

      Jenolan Caves

      Listed as a next stop from Sydney. Check the regional train or bus the night before.

    3. Stop 3

      Royal National Park (New South Wales)

      Listed as a next stop from Sydney. Check the regional train or bus the night before.

    Eat · Pack snacks from town. Do not count on a full menu at a small station.

    Browse Blue Mountains day trips

Where to stay

Sleep near the walking base. Pick an area, then search hotels by neighborhood.

  • The centre

    First-time visitors

    Stay inside walking range of the first-day stops in Sydney.

Full where-to-stay guide →

Things to book

Tours and tickets that match this plan. Book anything that needs timed entry.

Budget

Rough mid-range spend for 5 days in Sydney, excluding long-haul flights. Hotel nights drive most of the range.

  • Budget: about $400 (hostel/budget hotel, transit, street food)
  • Mid-range: about $700 (3★ hotel, sit-down meals, a tour or two)
  • Comfort: about $1,400 (nicer hotel, taxis, paid attractions)

Trip budget calculator →

Transportation

Get in

250px|thumb|right|Sydney Airport with city skyline in background : Main article: Sydney Airport Sydney Airport ( ) is Australia's busiest airport and the main gateway to eastern Australia. It is 9 km from the City centre in Southern Sydney on the northern shores of Botany Bay. Sydney Airport is the oldest continually operated commercial airport anywhere in the world. There are direct flights to Sydney from all the other inhabited continents, as well as some sight-seeing flights over Antarctica.

Get around

The public transport system consists of train, metro, light rail, ferry, and bus services, and can get you virtually anywhere in the city as well as the outer regions. Public transportation in Sydney can be complicated, even when travelling solely in the CBD and inner suburbs. For short distances in the CBD it can be faster to walk than taking public transport. Smartphone applications such as Google Maps, Citymapper, and TripView use live transit information for all modes of transport are very useful for public transport trips within the Sydney region.

Where to eat

Simple meal ideas near the day’s walking route.

  • Singapore Famous BBQ Pork

    Singapore Famous BBQ Pork listed on OpenStreetMap near the walking centre.

  • H Pantry

    H Pantry listed on OpenStreetMap near the walking centre.

  • Centennial Homestead

    Centennial Homestead listed on OpenStreetMap near the walking centre.

  • Saint Germaine Patisserie

    Cuisine: french;cake;sandwich;coffee.

  • Bytes @ ATP

    Bytes @ ATP listed on OpenStreetMap near the walking centre.

  • Bobby's Cafe

    Cuisine: coffee_shop.

  • Basket Brothers

    Cuisine: australian.

  • Hydeaway

    Hydeaway listed on OpenStreetMap near the walking centre.

Optional alternatives

Add one if a walking day finishes early. Don’t stack them onto the same afternoon.

  • Manly to Spit Bridge Walk

    Along the foreshore of Sydney Harbour.

  • Bradleys Head

    Take the ferry to Taronga Zoo wharf and then head to your right along the promontory. There's pristine bushland (almost unchanged from the time of European colonisation), quiet beaches, and knockout views across the harbour, and in the warmer months you'll spot plenty of Eastern Water Dragons, a type of large lizard.

  • The Rocks Aroma Festival

    A homage to Sydney's love affair with coffee during a cold winter's day. Lots of artisan coffee stalls throughout the Rocks area.

Before you go

Questions

Do I need a car in Sydney?
No for this plan. The days stay inside walking range, then local transit to SYD. The public transport system consists of train, metro, light rail, ferry, and bus services, and can get you virtually anywhere in the city as well as the outer regions. Public transportation in Sydney can be complicated, even when travelling solely in the CBD and inner suburbs. For short distances in the CBD it can be faster to walk than taking public transport. Smartphone applications such as Google Maps, Citymapper, and TripView use live transit information for all modes of transport are very useful for public transport trips within the Sydney region.
Is 5 days enough?
Yes if you want Sydney plus one nearby trip. Use the 3-day plan if you will not leave town.
Where should I stay?
Base near City so the first walking day starts at the hotel. Hotel Hacienda is a listed option, not a ranking.
Where do I eat?
Each day names one sit-down stop. Singapore Famous BBQ Pork is on the list. Keep the rest as bakeries and market counters.

Other Sydney trip lengths

Daily stops compiled from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA), Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, and OpenTripMap. Updated 2026-08-25. Edited by Lina Varela.