Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - What's open after 5pm in Sydney?

Hello all,

Coming from a neighborhood where virtually everything is open till 9pm and a lot of my usual haunts are open 24 hours, at first look I have not found anything open after 5pm (well, ignoring restaurants) in Sydney. Can anyone recommend tourist attractions or other worthwhile events/locations in Sydney that offer entertainment after 5pm?

And if I overlooked something obvious, my apologies, and thanks for your advice!

Wow... Hmmm... I need to put myself in PitFlyer's shoes... http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif

Go to Darling Harbour: See an IMAX film, grab a drink, check out the Aboriginal store where they give free 30-45 minute digeridoo concerts, grab another drink.

lots to do in sydney after 5pm, but not shopping. most shops close at 530pm, except on thursdays where they close at 9pm. you'll be happy to know, shops are also open on sundays till about 5pm.

entertainment wise there is plenty to do in sydney after 5, some memorable things;

- plenty of nice bars (try some in paddington, esp paddington inn)
- nightclubs (sydney has some of the world's best nightspots, from heavy techno to hip to swish, ie hemispheres at the establishment)
- concerts, plays, musicals - numerous choices, from mammia mia to the opera house to one of the niche theatre houses in sydney, new theatre, etc. you can also see the sydney ballet, sydney symphony, etc
- night cinema (usually held in 2 locations over the summer months (about 3 mths in total), one along the harbour, one in centennial park, bring a picnic lunch and wine
- the sydney tower tour doesn't close till about 10pm
- you can take a dusk walk up the sydney harbour bridge
- night markets - over the summer in chinatown every friday, great quality nick nacks, snacks, entertainment
- darling harbour often have fireworks or other activities, currently they are have the bacardi festival
- sydney festival on for about 3 months over the summer, plenty of exciting things to do in the evening
- sydney star city casino open 24 hours with plenty of entertainment too
- basketball you can watch a sydney kings basketball match in the entertainment centre next to darling harbour
- tennis - adidas international every january with evening sessions
- night football (aussie rules, rugby league, union)
- night cricket when it's on...
- australia's wonderland - sydney's fun / theme park is open on saturday nights till 9pm, with $10 entry i believe after 5pm during the summer months.

and hey... if all else fails, you could go to KINGS CROSS!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the information. Just my luck that my trip in Sydney is Friday-Wednesday http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif I read about the openair cinemas in the Qantas forum and on the websites, what's the closest one to Sydney CBD? Thanks for the tip about the tower tour, I'll leave that for later then.

Also, planned to hit Wonderland after 5pm on Saturday, do you know how much their shuttle is from CBD? I read it's 40 minutes away..

wonderland shuttle - i've seen this on clarence st, so u should catch it around there, unsure about the cost, but i wouldn't expect that much. have a look at http://www.cityrail.nsw.gov.au/fares/fare_5.jsp and http://www.wonderland.com.au/visitorinfo/html/howtogetthere.html

open air cinemas - closest one is near the opera house, near circular quay, just a walk from anyway in the CBD. For more info see - http://www.stgeorge.com.au/openair/