Manly, just above North Head at the northern mouth of the harbour, is doubly blessed with both ocean and harbour beaches, plus bushwalking in the nearby stretch of Sydney Harbour National Park, and a cycling track heading in the other direction.
When Captain Arthur Phillip, the commander of the First Fleet, was exploring Sydney Harbour in 1788, he saw a group of well-built Aboriginal men onshore, proclaimed them to be "manly" and named the cove in the process. During the Edwardian era it became fashionable as a recreational retreat from the city, and the cheesy slogan of the time "Manly - seven miles from Sydney, but a thousand miles from care" still rings true today. The area has become quite a travellers' centre in recent years, with some of Sydney's best backpackers' hostels. An excellent time to visit is over the long weekend Jazz Festival in early October.
A day-trip to Manly, rounded off with a dinner of fish and chips, offers a classic taste of Sydney life. The ferry trip out here has always been half the fun: the legendary Manly Ferry service has been running from Circular Quay since 1854, and the service comes complete with a kiosk dispensing the ubiquitous Aussie meat pie. Ferries terminate at Manly Wharf in Manly Cove, near a small section of harbour beach with a netted-off swimming area popular with families. Like a typical English seaside resort, Manly Wharf has always had a funfair: although it has now been modernized into a sort of two-storey shopping mall, a colourful Ferris wheel and merry-go-round still light up the waterfront.
The Manly Visitor Information Centre (daily 10am-4pm; tel 9977 1088) is by South Steyne where a six-kilometre-long cycle path (shared with pedestrians and rollerbladers) runs north to Seaforth, past North Steyne Beach and Queenscliff. You can rent bikes from the Australian Travel Specialists at Manly Wharf (half-day $15, full day $25), though their rates are expensive.
Many first-time visitors mistake Manly Cove for the ocean beach, which is called South Steyne (shading into North Steyne) and is recognizable by the stands of Norfolk pine which line the shore; it in fact lies on the other side of the isthmus, 500m down The Corso, Manly's busy pedestrianized main drag, lined with shops, cafe, pubs and fish-and-chip shops. The waterfront Esplanade has a host of more upmarket cafe, while Belgrave Street, running north from Manly Wharf, is Manly's alternative strip, where you'll find some good cafe, interesting shops to browse and the Manly Environment Centre.
For a more idyllic beach than the long stretch of South Steyne, follow the footpath from the southern end of the beach around the headland to Cabbage Tree Bay, with two very pretty, green-backed beaches at either end - Fairy Bower to the west and Shelley Beach to the east.