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Sydney West
Newtown
Newtown's energetic 24-hour street life attracts visitors to its eccentric speciality stores and intriguing antique and artisan showrooms. Eat affordable ethnic cuisines and take in some avant garde theatre or live pub music.
Balmain
A harbourside village of former workers' cottages, Balmain is now home to some of Australia's well-known writers, actors and entertainers. Browse the bookshops, recycled art and contemporary galleries and enjoy the best coffee in Sydney.
Leichhardt
Leichhardt is home to Sydney's Italian community. Stroll down Norton Street for great pasta, excellent coffee, authentic gelato and Italian pastries in alfresco bars and restaurants. Shop for Italian fashion, homewares, gifts, and food and wines.
Sydney Olympic Park
Sports enthusiasts and nature lovers will enjoy the many faces of Sydney Olympic Park. There are guided tours around the venues and a bike tour of Bicentennial Park.
Penrith
Situated on the Nepean River at the base of the Blue Mountains, Penrith is known as an exciting outdoor playground. White-water rafting, canoeing, horse riding, bushwalking and abseiling are on offer. Visit the Muru MitigarAboriginal Cultural Centre on the lakes.
Paramatta
In 1788, Paramatta was established to supply fresh produce to the new settlement at Sydney Cove. Explore excellent examples of early colonial architecturea well as theatre and bike ridesaround the park or along the river.
A fine example of a living museum ...
Shortly after the arrival of the British First Fleet in 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip established Parramatta as a market town to supply fresh produce to the new settlement at Sydney Cove. Parramatta then outshone Sydney as a cultural and social centre for a time.
As a result Parramatta has some excellent examples of early colonial architecture including Old Government House, Elizabeth Farm, St John's Cathedral, the Lancer Barracks and the Linden House Museum. Today's Parramatta is a modern city with a range of cafes and restaurants exploring cuisines from around the globe, large shopping centres, cinemas, theatre and the Rosehill Racecourse.
Parramatta is best a understood with a visit to the visitors centre which features Parramatta: People and Place, a major exhibition that traces the development of Parramatta, and can then be explored following a walking map.
Located just 6km west of Sydney Olympic Park, Parramatta is easily accessed on a picturesque Rivercat ferry ride up the western arm of Sydney Harbour. Stroll along the Harris Park Heritage Walk that links the Rivercat with historic properties in East Parramatta. The Riverside walk features Aboriginal artwork inviting you to explore the story of the Parramatta river.
Penrith
Situated on the banks of the Nepean River at the foot of the Blue Mountains, Penrith is conveniently located 50 minutes west from Sydney along the M4 Motorway and 40 minutes north on of the Campbelltown exit of the M5 Motorway (Hume Highway) from Canberra and Melbourne.
In Penrith you can enjoy viewing spectacular scenery like Nepean Gorge. Or a picnic at one of our superb riverside picnic areas or by the lovely lake where the world’s rowing, canoeing and canoe slalom champions will battle for supremacy in the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
You can also enjoy over 50 tourist attractions in the Penrith area. World class entertainment, unique museums, vintage wineries, arts and crafts and indoor and outdoor sporting facilities. And new attractions are opening for business all the time, including Australia’s first white water canoe facility and the first attraction devoted to Aboriginal culture in greater Sydney.
There’s night life with discos, live entertainment, theatre restaurants, cinemas and woolshed dancing. There are cultural attractions including art galleries, live theatre and music.
Penrith has good quality accommodation in a range of styles including caravan parks, budget hotels and three and four star motels and resorts.
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Parramatta highlights....
- Visit the Parramatta Heritage and Visitors Information Centre, the perfect starting point to experience the area known as "Sydney's Living Museum".
- Catch a performance at the Parramatta Riverside Theatres, offering drama and comedy shows.
- Have a flutter at nearby Rosehill Gardens, home of the famous Golden Slipper.
- Step back in time at Old Government House (1799) home to the early governors and see some of the finest Australian colonial furniture in the country.
- Experience life in the early colony at Elizabeth Farm (1793) and Experiment Farm Cottage (1834), built on the site of the first private land grant issued to ex-convict James Ruse.
- Visit Australia's oldest Christian cemetery next to St Johns Cathedral to see headstones of early convicts. You can also tour the cemetery at night on a Whispering Bones torchlight tour.
- Visit Parramatta Park to experience the many historic sites such as the Governor's Bathhouse and the Dairy Precinct.