Ready, set, snap. Experience Sydney in a new way while exploring the New South Wales capital through your camera lens. Here are eight best photography spots in Sydney to add to your itinerary.
Uncover the city’s best angles as you navigate from the city’s urban heart to its sparkling beaches, capturing dazzling vistas and hidden details along the way.
Get the money shot at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair
Revel in the magnificent views of Sydney Harbour, the Sydney Opera House, and Sydney Harbour Bridge all in one frame at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.
Set on a peninsula east of the Sydney Opera House in the Royal Botanic Garden, this bench chiselled into rock is a serene spot to pause for a quiet moment after filling your camera roll.
Soak up the calming setting for longer over a mouth-watering meal at Botanic House, where modern Asian cuisine designed by top chef Luke Nguyen ignites all the senses.
Admire the opulence of the Queen Victoria Building
Be transported to 19th-century Sydney at the Queen Victoria Building, a fantasy of elaborate Romanesque architecture on George Street in the heart of the city.
Focus in on photogenic details in every corner of this heritage-listed 1898 shopping centre, from the grand arches to the stained-glass windows and the soaring domed ceilings.
Then indulge in a decadent high tea served on Royal Albert fine china at the elegant Tea Room QVB.
Be seduced by Forgotten Songs in Angel Place
Follow the sounds of native bird calls to Angel Place, where a whimsical cluster of more than 100 birdcages suspended above this pedestrian lane in the heart of the city offers a delightfully unexpected photo opportunity.
Embrace the calming effect of the ethereal audio element of this striking installation by Michael Thomas Hill, which explores how Sydney’s birds have adapted to coexist with urbanisation.
Then discover another hidden treat on Angel Place in the form of lauded wine and pasta bar Ragazzi.
Enjoy the serenity of Wendy’s Secret Garden
Step into a real-life fairytale in Wendy’s Secret Garden, a fantastical tangle of plants, trees and flowers webbed with paths and dotted with artworks on the north shore of Sydney Harbour.
Created by Wendy Whiteley, the widow of famed artist Brett Whiteley, this gorgeous garden — part of the Lavender Bay Parklands — comes with plenty of hidden coves for picnics and quiet contemplation, not to mention photo opportunities.
Drink in more garden vibes at The Botanist, an atmospheric bar and restaurant just a 10-minute walk away in harbourside Kirribilli. Or cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge to gaze back across the water towards Wendy’s Secret Garden from Pier One Sydney Harbour, a stylish heritage hotel nestled under the southern pylon of the iconic bridge.
Find refuge at Paddington Reservoir
Imagine you’ve stumbled into ancient Rome at this hidden garden in Paddington, tucked away in heritage-listed Paddington Reservoir.
Decommissioned in 1914, the reservoir has been transformed into a Romanesque green refuge, sunken from the street and replete with a lake of contemplation, wall of edgy art and hanging floral canopy.
Explore the photo opportunities proffered by the dramatic backdrop of towering archways, and brick and iron structures before flopping by the serene pool at Oxford House, a stylish new boutique hotel in Paddington with plenty of cool angles of its own to uncover.
Be awed by Bondi Icebergs, Bondi Beach
Feel enlivened by the energy of the ocean as waves crash up alongside Bondi Icebergs, an idyllic 50m ocean pool tucked into the southern corner of Bondi Beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Whether you’re lining up a shot from the sparkling turquoise water as locals dive in for their morning laps, or enjoying a bird’s-eye view from Icebergs Dining Room and Bar as you savour a modern Italian seafood feast, you’ll soon understand why Bondi Icebergs is widely considered to be the most photogenic pool on the planet.
Soak up the beauty of Bronte Baths
Be mesmerised by the coastal views as you follow the popular Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk to Bronte Baths, a historic ocean pool built into the sandstone cliffs between Bondi and Coogee.
Admire the dreamy contrast of the golden sandstone against the aquamarine water as you frame the perfect shot, then dive in for a refreshing swim.
Continue on to Coogee, where elegant seaside restaurant Mimi’s sets the scene for a memorable Mediterranean lunch as the sun streams in through the wide, arched windows.
Uncover the mysterious Manly Wormhole
Channel your inner urban explorer on an excursion to the Northern Beaches to snap one of Sydney’s best-kept secrets. Officially named the Queenscliff Tunnel, the ‘Manly Wormhole’ is thought to have been dug by fishermen a century ago as a shortcut between Freshwater Beach and Queenscliff Beach in Manly.
Follow the 50m-long passage as it burrows through the cliff, and clamber over boulders to reach the uplifting end: shimmering views over the ocean, perfectly framed by the tunnel’s mouth.
Extend your visit with a stay at the beautifully refurbished Manly Pacific hotel, revelling in its exclusive location just steps from Manly Beach.