Like most major cities around the world, Sydney has countless activities and sightseeing opportunities to explore, and everyone has their own personal favourites. These are the choices of Alison Surrurier, when she visited Sydney a few months ago..

Spend some time wandering around the weekend market in the Rocks area. This market is open air but under sail-like canopies, should the weather be inclement, and sells everything from hand-made leather goods, paintings, native and Australian art, jewellery, craft kits and edible items. The Rocks market can be likened to Covent Garden in the style and variety of items on sale. I was in Sydney during November, when there is live music on Friday nights in the open-air market. area.

Try Santos for Sunday breakfast on the terrace, where food is cooked huge open griddles, and serve til noon. Apart from the market there are numerous galleries and boutique shops, such as Metcalfe Arcade, selling everything from designer jewellery to curious candles and artwork in a huge range of styles. A brisk walk or bus down George Street will reach the QVB (Queen Victoria Building ) which provides an alternative range of shops and department stores to the exclusive/designer stores around the Rocks.

Sydney Harbour Cruise

This is a ‘must-do', and tours depart practically every hour from the harbour. We chose the Captain Cook's Café Cruise that lasted one hour and included coffee and pastries. The boat was very comfortable and its commentary provided a good starting point to get an idea of the orientation and origins of the city. There are other tours departing which include stops at the City Zoo or further around to the beach areas.

Darling Harbour

The area around Darling Harbour has been renovated and old warehouse buildings are being refurbished to improve the area. We walked from the Powerhouse Museum, a converted industrial unit, to the run of hotels that overlook the harbour and found the back streets less than inspiring. However, the area on the harbour itself is a different matter - it is a lively tourist area created by recent redevelopment of hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and tourist activities. There were bands playing and plenty to watch around the harbour – a cart train trundles around from one side of the harbour to the other but this is purely for the gullible tourists. The familiar green and yellow harbour ferries call in to Darling Harbour after Sydney Harbour as a part of their round trip.

Sydney Opera House