What's a good 3-day itinerary for Sydney?

Day 1 stays tight around the harbour. Get to the Opera House forecourt by 8 AM — the eastern sun hits the roof shells at a low angle and the tour groups haven't formed yet. Walk south through the Royal Botanic Garden to Mrs Macquarie's Chair for the harbour view back across Farm Cove. That walk is flat, mostly shaded, and takes about forty minutes. By 10 you're in The Rocks, where the sandstone lanes still carry the bone structure of a working port and the roasters fill the air with coffee smoke. Lunch at the Glenmore Hotel rooftop — the food is pub-standard but the terrace view over the harbour justifies the A$28 fish and chips. After lunch, walk across the Harbour Bridge on the eastern pedestrian path. Free. Twenty minutes. The steel deck vibrates when trains pass below, and the wind sharpens once you clear the pylons. End at Wendy's Secret Garden in Lavender Bay — a terraced garden beneath the bridge approach that most visitors never find.

Day 2 heads east. Train to Bondi Junction on the T4 line from Martin Place — about 15 minutes — then a connecting bus down to the beach. Arrive by 8:30 while the surfers still outnumber the sunbathers. The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk runs six kilometres along sandstone cliffs, through Tamarama and Bronte, with the morning light turning the rock faces copper and gold. Budget ninety minutes if you stop at lookouts. Lunch at Coogee Pavilion — wood-fired pizza overlooking the water, about A$25 for a margherita and a cold lager. Afternoon, bus back toward the city and spend an hour in Centennial Parklands — 189 hectares of open green where the traffic noise drops to nothing. Dinner in Surry Hills at Spice I Am on Wentworth Avenue — a tiny Thai place, usually a queue out the door, the soft-shell crab and massaman are the picks. About A$25 a head.

Day 3 belongs to the ferry. The F1 from Circular Quay to Manly takes 18 minutes and costs about A$4.80 off-peak. The harbour opens up as you pass Bradleys Head, and on a clear day you can trace the Blue Mountains haze on the western horizon. At Manly, walk the Corso to the ocean beach, then follow the headland south to Shelly Beach — a sheltered cove where the water sits a degree or two warmer and the snorkelling is good for a city beach. Lunch at the Boathouse Shelly Beach if you can get a table, otherwise fish and chips from one of the shops on South Steyne. If your legs have anything left, the North Head walk gives you the harbour mouth from a hundred metres up, container ships sliding through the gap below. Ferry back by 4 PM, then walk the Barangaroo waterfront and settle in at Barangaroo House for a drink before dinner.

A few things worth knowing. Sydney's Opal system covers trains, buses, ferries, and light rail — tap a contactless Visa or Mastercard directly, no separate card needed. The daily fare cap is A$17.80 on weekdays and A$8.90 on Sundays, so schedule your Manly ferry for a Sunday if the dates work. Late May and early June sit in Sydney's autumn-to-winter transition: expect 12-18°C during the day, clear skies more often than rain, and sunset before 5 PM. Pack a windproof layer for the harbour crossings — the breeze off the water drops the felt temperature by four or five degrees. The three days total about 25 kilometres of walking, with the Bondi to Coogee stretch as the longest sustained block. Comfortable shoes matter more than anything else you bring.