Have visited here on a couple of occasions. Cappuccino and iced coffees were very good. The Korean…read moreStyle Beef Bulgogi Burger is recommended too. Kids enjoyed the pancakes!

I religiously ran the 7km stretch of the Bay Run with faithful furry friend Fergus, several times a…read moreweek for a solid year. On the very first run we did, back before the new cycleway and second bridge, he got scared coming up onto the Iron Cove bridge pedestrian walkway and baulked on the lead. He was only a pup at that stage, and even though I was buggered, I ended up carrying him the full extent of the bridge - and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise (best pickup move ever!) To every girl that we passed I said: He's all tuckered out, and the responses they cooed could be summed up by "Awwwww he's soooo cute!" and out would come the smiles (and the numbers... ha!) To every guy that we passed I muttered gruffly: Hurt his leg, which produced knowing nods in response. The staffy breed is tough as nails after all they don't give up! This run is amazing for people-watching but also for spiritual awakening. I used it as a weightloss weapon to assist in shredding 17 kilos in 3 months. The reason it is so effective is because : - You can pace yourself with other walkers/runners fore and aft - You get an inspiring view the whole way around (water, sunshine, greenery, boats, grass, beautiful people) - You can start wherever you want - You can go in either direction When I was living in Drummoyne, my street backed out onto the 2 km marker, so I started there. My run back from the gym in Five Dock would spit me out at Nield Park (between 2nd and 3rd km mark) and I would shuttle back home in the opposite direction. Favourite starting point is the Drummoyne Rowers opposite Brett Park and heading away from Iron Cove bridge. You'll fly by Nield Park, Rodd Point, UTS Rowers, Le Montage Restaurant, the Psych hospital, Leichardt Park and King George Park, before rocking back onto the Iron Cove Bridge, then peeling off to jet past The Cove cafe, Drummoyne Swimming Centre and back to Brett Park. Wowsers it's good.

A park which overlooks Pirrama Park and Sydney Harbour on the cliff end of Point Street in Pyrmont…read more I think I have only been here a few times but I think that's something I should fix by going here more. It has fantastic views of the harbour and of the Sydney Harbour Bridge which is good for picnics, taking a nap or watching the fireworks. There are a number of benches located around the park which are carved from sandstone which is a nice touch and something different compared with other places. Good for people who lives around Pyrmont to go relax and enjoy the breeze, and its also good for people in general to go have a picnic or just to enjoy the views.

A great location to get out of the hustle and bustle in the city and reconnect next to the Harbour.read more

First of all, I'm going to say this park is great. Yeah I know, you could say that about many other…read moreparks but here you should expect good views and a peaceful atmosphere for your enjoyment, and as a local park in Pyrmont it's not so crowded. Ah then again, you might see a lot of local residents walking their dogs. The park has a couple of BBQ areas which is great if you want to have a party or just feeling hungry. As I've been here quite a few times, I can say that this park is quite good for having a BBQ if you want to relax and enjoy with your friends. At the back of the park there's a large open space if you want to play some ball games, run around or just want to relax on the grass. Nearby one of the BBQ areas there's a very small playground which is a great way to spend the afternoon with the kids. So this park is great if you're in the area and you want to take a rest or you just want to have a BBQ if you feel hungry. Also for dog owners out there, this park is an off-leash park, so another good reason to go.

Sydney has a lot of beautiful parks, but the expansive Callan Park has to be one of my favourites…read more Home to and starting point of Sydney's Bay Run (http://www.bayrun.com.au/?page_id=33), Callan Park is the perfect setting for exercise, dog walking and water-side strolls. Plus, as it was once the grounds of Callan Park Hospital for the Insane, it has bucket loads of eerie history. Heaps of off-leash dog areas means that any trip to Callan Park will often involve puppy encounters. The bays here are great for taking your pup for a swim as well (although locals say not to let them venture out too far due to lurking giant dog eating fish i.e. sharks) and double as a nice place to pop your own feet in the water. There's one inlet in particular that is my favourite spot to clear my head, a rock jutting out over the glittery water with five or six old wooden boats propped up on the shore. The bay run is a beautiful exercise backdrop, but if 7kms is a little daunting then the Callan Park Oval is an equally nice spot and committed crowds come here to prove it. If you prefer to escape the heat of middle-of-the-day exercise, the sports field lights are switched on at night, meaning you can get your night-time run in without tripping on an exposed root cloaked by the night. Callan Park Hospital for the Insane is now home to Sydney's School of Contemporary Arts (SCA). Many of the original wards remain, and a trip to the grounds at night time make for a particularly creepy experience (especially if you have a great story-teller in your midst). The history is worth checking out, but if it's not your kind of thing then the buildings are quite beautiful none the less. In summary, Callan Park is a) Beautiful b) Water-side c) Picnic friendly d) Exercise friendly e) Dog friendly f) Historical g) Interesting/Eerie h) Beautiful

Another one of Sydney's fantastic parks is Callan Park, located South-East of Rozelle and North of…read moreLilyfield. It's a very large park situated on the former location of the Callan Park Hospital for the Insane. It was part of the Rozelle Hospital complex with lines Iron Cove. I'm not sure if there may be some institution buildings still being used, but you can definitely see them scattered across the land. Now, it's filled mostly with empty ovals where people run laps, play with their dogs, or picnic. There are also lovely paths to jog or bike along (including the Bay Run, which passes right by), kids' playgrounds, and a playground designated for "cardio," with chin-up bars, benches, and poles. According to the Sydney City Farm website, the park was actually designed using 19th century landscaping meant to be therapeutic. For me, a run along the cove was definitely therapeutic.

This is one of my favorite open spaces in the inner west ..... it's full of life ..... wild and…read moreotherwise ....... full of history too .... Did you know this is where 'Bradman' scored his first ..... first class century ..... no ! ..... well now you do. It's a place to chill ..... exercise..... have kiddie parties ..... take your pet for a walk ..... or watch a cricket or baseball match ..... also perfect for a picnic with some special or anyone at all !! ...... it's Green and looks great !!! Please keep it in a great state and it will be around for many many years for another generation to enjoy. Ps ..... a great swimming pool is incorporated in the park too ..... !!! ..... bring your swimmers !!

Also known as Petersham Park, this is a great park to have a picnic, watch a cricket match, or go…read morefor a swim. It is the biggest open space in the area and you'll find lots of people exercising and playing with their kids and dogs. It almost deserves five stars, but the people using the park don't take especially good care of it. After a weekend of heavy use, there is rubbish everywhere. I take my kid to the playground here almost daily and spend a good portion of my time picking up broken glass -- I've come to the conclusion that if somebody breaks a bottle anywhere in Petersham, they pick up the pieces to distribute across the playground. Pick up after yourselves, people!!!

Gladstone Park is a beautiful place to lie in the sun or sit in the shade of their big, beautiful…read moretrees. Situated opposite The Little Marionette, a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop off Darling St in Balmain, Gladstone Park is the perfect place to enjoy a coffee/bite to eat without having to sit in a noisy or cramped cafe. Across the road on Darling St you'll also find a pizza shop, a Thai restaurant and a Vietnamese restaurant, making it the perfect location for early dinner picnics too. What's more, the Park's location opposite the Balmain Hospital makes it a nice escape from the hospital walls (this is coming from someone who hates hospitals, so having a park directly across the road is perfect for me). The Gladstone Park Bowling Club shares the park's turf, and the neighbouring primary school seems to also, making it less of a peaceful escape around lunch time. Often filled with Mum's Clubs and lunching locals, Gladstone Park provides a giant green and grassy mattress/lounge chair, ideal for sun soaking and coffee sipping. NB: Dogs on-leash only.

Gladstone Park sits atop an old reservoir. Once upon a time developers wanted to turn the reservoir…read moreinto an underground parking lot, which might have made this park less enjoyable ... but so this has not happened. This is a good flat park, with a nice mix of big trees for shade. There are the obligatory palm trees too, now getting very old and rather tall. There's an old basketball court, some rudimentary looking play equipment, and a few old brick relics. Gladstone Park is adjacent to Balmain Primary. The Park also has its very own bowling club (Gladstone Park Bowling Club) right in the middle of it. That effectively means you can be inside Gladstone Park, drinking a cold schooner, watching the old folks in their whites. Not bad. These days Gladstone Park is looking a tad dry and brown (but then again, so is everywhere). They have recently added an accessible ramp on the Darling Street side (for a long time this park was inaccessible from most sides, so this was long overdue). Gladstone Park gives you a feeling of being up high, elevated off the main drag of Darling Street. It's not super lush, but it has a great community vibe. One drawback, as Rachel said - it's on-leash only, which sucks, if you're a dog. (So - not a great dog park.)

The War Memorial Park in Lilyfield is the perfect distance from my house to make it a comfortable…read morerunning target and destination in which a) I can replenish my drained water resources at their bubbler, and b) I can carry out the rest of my training. This training occasionally consists of playing with puppies. The War Memorial Park is constantly jumping with puppies, both on and off lead. Thus, the park is suitably fitted with doggie deposit bags and wheelie bins. At the back of the park is a kids playground, around which dogs must be on lead. My favourite feature of this park is its central and dominant feature, The Magic Faraway Tree. Although this tree is, as I've mentioned, not too far away from my house at all, this huge, majestic tree conjures up memories of Enid Blyton. Every now and then when I'm sitting beneath the umbrella of its leaves, I catch myself looking for glimpses of Moonface or Silky the fairy in the topmost branches of the tree.