Holiday information, Australia, Sydney City & East, NSW

Sydney is Australia’s oldest and busiest city, the economic powerhouse of the nation and home to the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House.
Surrounded by water, from the magnificent harbour to the sensational beaches, and blessed with a sunny mediterranean climate, Sydney is a great holiday destination for families, with plenty to do and fun for all ages.

20 Things to Do in and around Sydney with the Kids

1. Spend the day at Luna Park (Milson's Point), with 17 fantastic rides to choose from there is non-stop fun for the kids and the kids-at-heart.

2. Visit Taronga Zoo (Mosman). Make sure you see the chimpanzee exhibit and gorilla forest, you can also get up close and personal with the cuddly Australian animals.

3. Discover natural history at the Australian Museum (College St. Sydney), check out the 'More than Dinosaurs' exhibit and let the kids dress up in an insect costume!

4. Visit Australia Reptile Park (Somersby) with its huge alligator lagoon, you will also see lots of different reptiles, spiders, marsupials and birds. Look out for celebrity crocodile Eric - he weighs over 500kg!

5. See science in action, by creating electricity or learning about chocolate’s unusual properties at the Powerhouse Museum (Ultimo), great fun for all ages.

6. See the awesome display of sharks, fish, eels and turtles as they swim over your head at the Sydney Aquarium (Darling Harbour). There are over 650 species of marine life in 1.5 million litres of water.

7. Visit the National Maritime Museum (Darling Harbour) and climb a 19th century lighthouse. With a whole host of interactive maritime exhibits, both indoors and outside, the kids will be busy for hours.

8. See koalas in their natural environment at Koala Park (West Pennant Hills). You can walk through the rainforest and watch the koalas eating and sleeping. There are also kangaroos that you can hand-feed, a favourite for the younger kids.

9. Walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and watch the busy bustling city as it goes about its daily life. Not for the faint-hearted!

10. Go bushwalking in Bouddi National Park, this park has a series of small, beautiful beaches beneath forests, steep hills and cliffs; it is a lovely national park suitable for the whole family.

11. Visit Fairfield City Farm, it's a 580 acre working sheep and cattle farm, you can see the cows being milked, sheep-shearing, working dogs and much more.

12. Take a ferry ride on the magnificent Sydney Harbour, this is truly the best way to see the city’s favourite playground.

13. Go to the beach ... Bronte, Balmoral, Nielsen Park and Shelley Beach are all great kid-friendly beaches. Don’t forget to take the buckets and spades or your boogie boards.

14. Feed the pelicans at The Entrance. Pelican feeding is the Central Coast's most popular tourist attraction and operates at 3.30pm daily, 365 days a year come rain, hail or shine.

15. Visit Vera's Water Garden (The Entrance) - every child likes to dangle their feet in water, run through water sprays and climb all over things, and Vera's Water Garden has all this and more.

16. Picnic at Bicentennial Park (Homebush), the park has bbqs, lovely picnic areas, 2 children’s playgrounds, boardwalks and cycle ways.

17. Take a walk on the wild side at Sydney’s newest attraction, Sydney Wildlife World, (Darling Harbour) you can see nine unique Australian habitats – from a spectacular rainforest to the iconic red centre with more than 6,000 of Australia’s furry, scaly, hairy and spiky creatures.

18. Catch a movie on the big screen at IMAX theatre (Darling Harbour). IMAX is the largest and most exciting film format in the world. The IMAX experience draws you in with pictures so real you want to touch them, so powerful you can feel them.

19. Go for a paddleboat ride on the harbour! paddleboats are available for hire from Darling Walk at Darling Harbour. Lots of fun and great exercise for your legs.

20. Take a ride on the Metro Monorail, this unique transport system is one of the most popular ways of getting about, with 8 stops along its 3.6km route around Darling Harbour, Chinatown and the city.

This article is courtesy of Sandy Prosdocimo, Editor of Smart-Mums - everything Mums need...