Suggested combinations:

Circular Quay area - Ferry ride, Sydney Opera House, Customs House - lower ground floor has a model of Sydney under the floor - its free and worth a look - good toilet facilities are in this building too, free busker type entertainment on weekends, Dendy Cinema for a movie perhaps, restaurants, Royal Botanic Gardens (Small train ride for kids or free guided walks or just walk around yourselves), Justice and Police Museum may be worth a look.

The Rocks - shops and restaurants, Ghost walking tour, Discovery Museum, undercover markets on weekends, children may enjoy eating at Pancakes at The Rocks, in the area Observatory Hill

Hyde Park Barracks, the Australian Museum and Lindt Cafe in Martin Place for a snack.

Darling Harbour - walk over Pyrmont bridge, IMAX theatre, Australian National Museum (Check out Kids Deck), Sydney Aquarium, Powerhouse Museum, Chinese gardens, Tumbulong park for kids to run around, Sydney Wildlife World, M9 laser Skirmish - plus there are two ten pin bowling places and plenty other activities there.

Chinatown, Paddys markets

Taronga Zoo - allow one day

Jenolan Caves - allow one day

Blue Mountains - allow one day

Kiama Blowhole - allow one day

Sydney Harbour national Park

Lane Cove national Park or Kuringai National Park

A Sydney beach - Manly, Bondi beach, Coogee or Balmoral (highly recommended)

Art Gallery of NSW - great art and fab cafe with great views.

Sydney Tower - wife can shop unpesterd in Westfield below - whilst you have fun upstairs.

Hyde Park - ANZAC Memorial, Queen Victoria Building, Department stores, The Strand

Walk across the Harbour Bridge and along the Luna Park foreshore.

North Head, Middle Head or South Head

Hawkesbury River

Hunter Valley

Central Coast

Manly Scenic Walk

Bondi Coogee Scenic Walk

Ferry to Watsons Bay for fish and chips

Maybe go and see a footy match with the locals.

Check out world flavours in these suburbs - Newtown, Glebe, Paddington, Leichardt, Chinatown, Cabramatta

Lots of the above suggestions are covered in the Travellers Articles. So check them out.

@MacKnee ..

other members of my family are women (my sister+My sister in Law) so if they go shopping ill be alone with the kids

we can split into smaller groups , but thats only if the young ladies wanted to go somewhere alone ...

@xiantraveller

very interesting , ill have alot to do then :)

THANKS ALL FOR THE HELP ..

hi,

im a new zealander & live in melbourne. i just had my first trip to sydney about a month ago. on my own i got most of the things you listed done in 6 days. in 3 weeks you have heaps of time with 2 kids in tow.

the children will love the monorail that runs around the city. the views of the city are fantastic.

i just wanted to comment on the shopping for your wife. i was really looking forward to shopping in sydney, however i found there was shopping mostly chain stores. i had been looking for individually owned sydney shops with items special to sydney. the best shopping i found was the markets. the sydney lonely planet guide is excellent & lists all the markets. the Rocks Market on saturdays was my favourite & i spent plently of money there.

enjoy your trip, also circular quay is amazing & has a fantastic atmosphere at night with the lights reflecting onto the water.

If your wife really wants to clothes shop there are other areas to visit - not all are in the CBD - places like Mosman, Surry Hills, Paddington, Double Bay, Bondi, Glebe, Newtown, Balmain. She will find boutiques in this area plus of course The Strand in the Sydney CBD has numerous Australian designer boutiques.

Just to reassure you about the Blue Mountains, it's easily accessed by train, car or there's plenty of bus tours to take in the area. If there's a few of you it might be worth hiring a car for the day; considering how much time you have you could even consider staying up there for a night?

Many lookouts are easily accessed by road and have good fences to stop the kids going over the edge! Of course, there's also plenty of walks too, ranging from easy to very hard.

One thing to keep in mind is that in July it can be very cold in the Blue Mountains - it can snow, but rarely.

hello Kavedas.

all things mentioned prev are good.. you should definately go to the Blue mountains.. my suggestion would be to even stay there for 2 nights. you have plenty of time. you could hire a cottage perhaps.. Blackheath is my favourite place.in the mountains. it is very deferent to the city..i live in sydney and every year we visit the mountains for a weekend .the views are amazing.

Prices in Australia are quite high so that might be a limiting factor. I would recommend the 7 day ferry/bus and train pass. You can take the ferry to Watson Bay, have lunch at Doyle's, feed the seagulls or play in the sand, have a Gelatissimo ice cream and take the bus back to the city. You can take the bus to Leichardt (Little Italy) and stroll around the forum shops and have lunch. The bus takes you to Oxford street for shopping or get off at Bondi junction for more shopping. If you take a tour to the Blue Mountains you most likely will see kangaroos in the wild and the tour guide will show you how to throw a boomerang. I haven't been to Taronga Zoo or Luna park but I have seen many happy children coming back from both places. Darling harbor is a place to spend many hours. There is the aquarium, the wildlife park, the IMAX theater, Lindt chocolate store, a tiny train that takes you around the area, a naval museum, a mall, a children's play area, restaurants, the monorail etc.. You can do as much or as little as you like in one day. On Saturday and Sunday is the street fair in the Rocks. We just enjoy riding around on the ferries. The ride to Manly is nice and there are many shops, restaurants, beach, a shore walking path and more ice cream shops for the kids. Three weeks will go by quickly.

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