and there’s a glut of red wineIn a city where BYO is king – the peculiar institution of bringing your own wine to a restaurant – news of a wine glut has brought a smile to the face of every wine-lover. Another traditional pub that’s been given a major makeover is Woolwich Pier Hotel (2 Gale Street, Woolwich, 00 61 2 9817 2204), which sits on a finger of land poking into the harbour. A new niche market has opened up for Belgian beer in caf?such as Brabo in Bondi (100 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach, 00 61 2 9300 0969) – lots of mussels, chips, mayonnaise and more than 40 varieties of brew. The national oversupply of cabernet sauvignon and merlot in particular means that you can get a rather more than decent vin rouge for less than A$10.

Summer’s end is heralded by the Lesbian and Gay Mardi Gras on 5 March, with a parade and party that turns flimsy dressing into an art form ( .au).9 Lager goes upmarketSydneysiders love their pubs, never more so than when the sun is beating down. Hence the recent spate of refurbs and refits, turning down-at-heel boozers into desirable drinking holes. Top of the water-view list is Doyle’s Palace Hotel in the peaceful retreat of Watsons Bay, ( .au/palace.html), which after a multi-million dollar face-lift now has, as one local journalist put it, “more kitchens than the QE2″. The Coney Island-style funfair Luna Park takes care of the New Year’s Eve Harbour Party but more people than ever before are expected to turn out on and around the Harbour that night to view what has turned into a national event – the challenge to out-do the previous year’s fireworks. Here there are likely to be scorching temperatures and burnt skin as well as a red-hot line-up featuring the likes of Judge Jules, Jumping Jack, Nik Fish and Amber Savage ( .au/site2/index.html).

Eat it and weep.8 Party on downAs the weather heats up, Sin City starts partying like there’s no tomorrow. Oxford Street, the City and Darling Harbour now host the hottest clubs, including Cargo, 52-60, The Promenade, King St Wharf (00 61 2 9 262 1777), and the three-level Home, Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour (00 61 2 9266 0600). Elsewhere, expect the biggest events to hog the best-known venues with Bondi Beach hosting Sunlove! 2004 on Christmas Day (10am-10pm). Omega (161 King St, Sydney, 00 61 2 9223 0242) catapulted in as best new restaurant in this year’s Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, is a funkily decked-out basement with a seductively classy modern Greek menu from Peter Conistis.If Sydney’s winter was all about pork belly, this summer’s hard-to-escape dish is hiramasa kingfish, a beautifully succulent dish. A feast for the eyes as well as the table.7 Food with attitudeFor a city that prides itself on being one of the world’s great food centres, the high-end restaurant closures of the past 24 months have been hard to stomach. But belts are loosening once more, as some of the top chefs turn to bars, bistros and renovated pubs as venues for quality grub.Up at the top of the list is Moog Wine & Food (412 Bourke Street, Surry Hills, 00 61 2 8353 8201), a slick, sexy venue which more than makes up in quality what it lacks in size thanks to the guiding hand of much-awarded chef Mark Best. And don’t forget Sydney Fish Market (Blackwattle Bay, Pyrmont, .au) – open 7am-4pm every day except Christmas.

Expect the well-made arts, crafts and collectibles available here in The Rocks’ Saturday and Sunday markets. For general bargains there’s no beating the city’s biggest market – Paddy’s ( .au), located under Market City on the corner of Hay and Thomas Streets and open 10am-6pm Thursday; 9am-4pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The best of the rest include the trendy Paddington Markets on Oxford Street, which showcases young local designers (Saturdays, 10am-4pm, .au); the antique and craft-orientated Balmain Market in the grounds of the local church on the corner of Darling and Curtis Road (Saturday 8.30am-4pm); and the Bondi Markets (Sunday 10am-4pm, Bondi Beach Public School, Campbell Parade) where, if you are lucky, you might find some of the retro jewellery so beloved by this season’s hip designers. She launched Boost Juice ( .au) in Adelaide and hasn’t looked back. Allis now has more than 140 stores across Australia, 1,600 employees, a projected 2004-5 turnover of A$75m and an ever-growing range of competitors – mango-squeezing wannabes who are sliding into side streets and shopping centres across the country. The main players are Pulp, Kick! and Viva Juice and while the fruity war is a national one, Sydney – time poor, health conscious and body beautiful – is the main battleground. This summer, expect a city awash with juice bars sprouting wheatgrass from tiny pots on the counters.

A bewildering range of drinks is on offer – juice cocktails, smoothies (fruit, dairy and crushed ice) as well as “medicinal” drinks laced with the likes of camomile, passion flower and lemon balm. Allis has just been named Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year.6 Market mania Be it flea, fish or farmers’, Sydney’s market scene has never been stronger. The latest addition is a Market by Moonlight, running every Friday in November at The Rocks, a short stroll from Circular Quay along George Street ( ). Former judges include John Woo, Keanu Reeves, Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe. The latter two are due to be filming in Australia so don’t be too surprised if they find themselves wrangled into the event again ( ).5 The big squeeze Sydney is in the grip of a juice bar battle that began back in 2000 when mother-of-three Janine Allis decided that there was nowhere to buy a healthy drink. Next month, the Moonlight Cinema, which is opening up in Perth and Brisbane for the first time this year, takes over the lush, tropical groves of Sydney’s sprawling Centennial Park. The line-up: a mix of old favourites (Clockwork Orange, Dirty Dancing) and recent releases (11 November – 28 March, .au).