TO celebrate the Sydney Festival's 40th anniversary program, Destination NSW has prepared a list of unmissable experiences to be had in the harbour city this summer.
Get involved in a day of construction at Darling Harbour on January 7 with Olivier Grossetete's The People's Tower and help construct two gigantic cardboard buildings by the water.
Treat your ears to one of Beethoven's monumental symphonies with the Sydney Festival's exclusive performance of Anima Eterna Brugge Beethoven's Symphonies at the City Recital Hall on January 25.
Visit Sydney's new creative playground, the Cutaway at Barangaroo Reserve, and get involved in community event The Ephemeral City and help construct a temporary city using cardboard boxes.
Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art to explore Grayson Perry: My Pretty Little Art Career as part of the Sydney International Art Series and see his critically acclaimed ceramics, sculptures, drawings, prints and tapestries.
Be a superhero for a day and visit The Powerhouse Museum to explore the world-exclusive The Art of the Brick exhibition that uses thousands of LEGO bricks to create large-scale sculptures of superheroes and villains including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and The Joker.
Discover the stories of ordinary people who became extraordinary explorers at the exclusive-to-Sydney exhibition Trailblazers: Australia's 50 greatest explorers at the Australian Museum.
Don't miss Collette Dinnnigan: Unlaced, an exclusive exhibition of the work of the acclaimed Australian designer's label over the past 25 years. Visit the Powerhouse Museum and take a walk down The Goods Line afterwards.
Experience an extraordinary presented showcase of some of the world's most revered Old Master paintings and drawings by the greatest names in European art including Botticelli, Da Vinci and Monet at The Greats: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland at The Art Gallery of NSW as part of the Sydney International Art Series.
Celebrate Australia Day at Yabun, Australia's largest indigenous festival in Victoria Park, Glebe.
Take a gallery walking tour of Chippendale and discover the area's edgy art scene. Tours take place on the first Saturday of every month.
Pack your swimmers and seek out a secluded patch of sand at Milk Beach in Vaucluse, one of Sydney's secret harbour beaches.
Catch a ferry to Manly and take on the waves with a surfing lesson at Manly Surf School.
Soak in postcard views while swimming laps at North Sydney Olympic Pool with the flexed bicep of the Harbour Bridge overhead, and Sydney Opera House across the water. Or spend the afternoon at Sydney institution Wylie's Baths, a historic sea pool at the southern end of Coogee Beach.
See Australia's best marine life without getting wet at Sydney Aquarium and meet its two amazing resident dugongs, Pig and Wuru.
Get your serve of world tennis with the stars of the game in town from January 10 at the APIA International.
And last but not least, food!
Try the strawberry watermelon cake that has foodies in an Instagram frenzy at Black Star Pastry.
Taste the world's best gelato at Enmore's Cow and the Moon. Their mandorla affogato saw them take out first place at the world gelato championships in Italy last year.
Familiarise yourself with the lobster roll craze and treat your taste buds at Waterman's Lobster Co in Potts Point.
With spectacular ocean views, spend an afternoon in the sun at one of Sydney's best rooftop bars, The Coogee Pavilion. Try the daily sashimi platter and Pavilion pina colada.
