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No trip to New South Wales is ever complete without visiting its magnificent capital, Sydney. In fact, almost two-thirds of visitors to the state never leave it. While most of the state's natural highlights lie outside the Greater Sydney region, there are still many great places that you can visit without having to venture out too far.

Regions

By far, Sydney and its suburbs that extend kilometres out forms a vibrant "region". It's the starting point for not just most visitors to the city or even state, but it's the main gateway to Australia. Thanks to Sydney's extensive albeit dated train network, many of these destinations can be reached via train within 1–2 hours. All regions but the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra are connected via a freeway, though the Western Motorway (M4) ends right at the foothills of the Blue Mountains and the Princes Motorway (M1) starts at Sydney's very southern border.

Map of Sydney and surrounds — switch to interactive map

Map of Sydney and surrounds

Sydney The vibrant capital of the state and largest city in Australia.

Blue Mountains A world-heritage region immediately to the west of Sydney lies a region of unique scenery and wilderness.

Central Coast Immediately north of Sydney, a region of bush, waterways and beaches.

Illawarra Just south of Sydney: beaches, bushwalking, and the coastal cities of Wollongong and Shellharbour

Southern Highlands A day trip or a weekend away just to the southwest of Sydney where bushwalking, forests, country pubs and cafes, antiques, crafts and country communities overshadow the region.

Cities

• 1 Sydney – the vibrant busling state capital and the largest city in Oceania
• 2 Bowral and 3 Mittagong – the childhood home of cricketer Don Bradman
• 4 Gosford – the centrepiece of the Central Coast
• 5 Katoomba – a tourist-oriented town at the peak of the Blue Mountains with an elevation of over 1000 metres
• 6 Lithgow – perched at the very edge of the Blue Mountains
• 7 Shellharbour – the 'gong's satellite city centred around a fairly large lake
• 8 Wollongong – NSW's third largest city
• 9 Wyong – a city halfway between Sydney and Newcastle

Other destinations

A foggy day at the Three Sisters in Echo Point

• Blue Mountains National Park
• Budderoo National Park
• Cockatoo Island
• Dharug National Park
• Jenolan Caves
• Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
• Royal National Park
• Sydney Harbour National Park
• Wollemi National Park

Get around