The zoo opens 9.30am to 5pm from September to April, closing at 4.30pm in winter. Catch the Free Flight Birds show, with birds soaring over Sydney Harbour. Little legs can ride the Taronga Wildlife Express through the zoo for $5 each way.

Luna Park has run rides beside the Harbour Bridge since the 1930s. Coney Island, the heritage-listed funhouse, has mirror mazes, spinning barrels and giant slides, and kids from 85cm can go in with an adult. Big rides such as the Big Dipper need riders 132cm or taller.

Balmoral's harbour water is about as calm as a pool, yet you can still snorkel, kayak or sail. Kayaks and stand-up paddleboards are for hire on the sheltered bay. Bring a picnic for the parkland beside the sand, or join the queue for fish and chips.

Koala Park opened in 1930 to protect koalas from the fur trade. Entry includes seven free animal encounters a day and a photo next to a koala after the shows. It opens daily 9am to 5pm except Christmas Day, and a family pass for two adults and two kids was $99 in October 2026.

A gentle bush track leaves Taronga Zoo wharf and rounds Bradleys Head to Chowder Bay, 4km one way. The headland's amphitheatre looks straight at the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Allow 1.5 to 2.5 hours, with a stop at heritage-listed Athol Hall for a drink.

The heritage pool opened in 1936 and is open again after a major renovation, between the Harbour Bridge and Luna Park's entrance. There's a heated 50m outdoor pool open all year and an indoor 25m pool. Little ones get their own kids' pool and splash pad.

Statues of May Gibbs' characters stand in the garden of her harbourside home in Neutral Bay. A 30-minute guided tour shows the house as it was in the 1920s and 30s, and there's a kids room too. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 3pm; a family ticket is $50, and staff can help prams down the stairs.

Entry to this 123-hectare bushland garden in St Ives is free, 8am to 5pm daily. The upgraded Banks Track boardwalk, one of its most popular walks, is now open. Lamberts Clearing picnic area is due to close from October 2026 while a nature play space is built.

Bobbin Head has barbecues, shelters and a children's playground beside the water in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The Gibberagong track starts here and crosses a mangrove boardwalk where herons and spoonbills feed. The whole walk to a waterhole is 8.3km return, so younger kids may turn back after the boardwalk.

This 5km track follows the river's southern bank past a string of picnic areas, two to three hours one way. Pack binoculars for kookaburras, egrets and spoonbills, and watch for swamp wallabies. Lane Cove National Park charges $8 a car and opens 9am to 7pm in daylight saving.