Weekend escapes in the Blue Mountains
Cliff top lookouts, canyon walks, warm cafes, and cold mountain air. The classic Sydney weekend escape, and still one of the best.
Getting there: about 90 minutes from Sydney
The Blue Mountains are not really mountains: they are a sandstone plateau carved into canyons, which is why the views hit so hard. You stand on a clifftop at Govetts Leap and the ground simply stops, a kilometre of blue haze between you and the far wall.
The towns string along the highway and the train line, each with its own job. Wentworth Falls is the quiet one with the best short walks. Leura is polished: bookshops, gardens, long lunches. Katoomba is the big one, home to Echo Point, Scenic World, and the art deco pubs. Blackheath, one stop further, is where the walkers get off.
It works brilliantly without a car. Trains run from Sydney's Central Station roughly hourly, take about two hours to Katoomba, and drop you ten minutes from the cliffs. Come in autumn for the colour, winter for open fires and cold clear lookouts, spring for the gardens.