An Art Lover's Guide to Sydney While Checking Out All the Exhibitions in November

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Over the next month or so, Sydney is absolutely the place to be if you're the type of person that considers an art gallery their happy place. Not only is the Art Gallery of NSW showing the highly anticipated Japan Supernatural exhibition, featuring Takashi Murakami, but there's also a Cornelia Parker retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art, White Rabbit's decade retrospective Then, and Step Into Paradise at the Powerhouse Museum, which spotlights Aussie fashion legends Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson.

There's a lot going on, so you better start planning how and when you're going to hit them all quick smart, you art fiend. Planning a staycation so you can condense them all into one very artsy long weekend is a no-brainer — as is reserving a luxe room at the new West Hotel on Sussex Street, part of the Curio Collection by Hilton. It's right in the heart of the CBD and close to everything you'll want or need — including all the eateries and activities we've put together below, so you can spend less time in transit and more time gazing deeply at the newest work on show in your happy place, whichever gallery it may be.

Leticia Almeida

EXPERIENCE THE WONDERS OF A MODERN JAPANESE OMAKASE MENU

If you've spent the day meandering around the visual decadence of Japan Supernatural at the AGNSW, it might be time to sit down to an equally decadent meal. Since you're walking through The Domain back towards Hyde Park, you won't be far from Sasaki, a truly immersive Japanese experience that pays homage to chef Yu Sasaki's hometown of Shimane.

Sasaki offers an omakase menu (the term means "I'll leave it up to the chef"), which includes dishes featuring treasured Japanese ingredients like shiso, yuzu, chawanmushi and aosa nori. Walking through those traditional noren curtains into the simple, intrinsically Japanese dining room is like being transported to another world, and it'll be hard to leave — luckily your boutique West Hotel room is just five minutes away.

Step Into Paradise, Zan Wimberley

WITNESS THE DEBUT COLLECTIONS OF AUSTRALIA'S FUTURE OF FASHION

Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, the designers spotlighted in the Powerhouse Museum's gorgeous exhibition Step Into Paradise, are two of Australia's most beloved fashion legends. Kee and Jackson's contribution to the Australian fashion landscape is so great that they've both been honoured as Officers in the Order of Australia.

But we also have some unbelievable talent starting out in the industry, so after you've spent the day marvelling at the work of the greats, you can head to the Whitehouse Institute of Design's 2019 Graduate showcase, where you'll find debut pieces from the designers that represent the future of the Australian fashion industry. We're cheating a little bit here as the showcase is happening next month, on December 3, but if you love swooning over fashion, we guarantee it'll be worth the wait.

Steven Woodburn

TRY ONE OF SYDNEY'S MOST CHERISHED DISHES

White Rabbit has true legacy status in Sydney, so it makes complete sense that after seeing its decade anniversary exhibition Then, you eat something that has a similar god-tier status in our harbour city. While XOPP in Darling Square is brand new, it is borne of legends — it's headed up by Billy Wong, the son of Eric and Linda Wong, who are the owners of legendary late-night joint Golden Century.

The signature dish is the XO pipis (which is where the name of the new eatery comes from), a dish which is spoken about in deity-like tones throughout the city. This plate of sweet and sour goodness is so highly regarded, that even celebrity chef David Chang has called it 'the best dish in the world'.

There are plenty more exquisite dishes to try on this extensive Cantonese-focussed menu, and it would be easy for your eyes to be far larger and louder than your stomach can handle. If you do make this all-too-common mistake and have to be gently rolled out of door, take solace in the knowledge that your hotel room is only six minutes away.

SIP COCKTAILS AND TURN EVERYDAY OBJECTS INTO GORGEOUS ART AND CRAFT

If you've spent the day at the Museum of Contemporary Art gazing in awe at all the marvellous installations, embroideries, sculptures and more by the inimitable British artist Cornelia Parker, then you might be feeling inspired to get a bit arty yourself. Parker is renowned for her ability to turn ordinary, everyday objects into an extraordinary piece of art, and you can channel that energy by attending a 'Boozy Crafternoon' at Redfern's Work-Shop. Working with a textile artist, you'll learn how to create very handy, charming mini-artworks from some everyday materials — and you'll get to enjoy some delicious cocktails while you're at it.

Kimberley Low

GET YOUR UMAMI FIX WITH A BOWL OF JAPANESE PASTA

Japanese interpretations of Italian pasta dishes are a delightfully muddled culinary genre of their very own, and Pasta Wafu in Sydney's newest food hall caters to all your Japanese pasta cravings.

Taking classic pomodoro or bolognese sauces and making them with miso, mentaiko (spicy cod roe) soy and nori in order to majorly up the umami ante, Pasta Wafu is the perfect place for a quick but energising carbo-load lunch in keeping with your Japan-themed day, before you head to the Japan Supernatural exhibit at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Daniel Boud

SEE THE STREETS OF CHINATOWN COME ALIVE AT THE NIGHT MARKETS

If you're sitting in your room at West Hotel wondering what to do on a Friday evening after an art-filled day at White Rabbit, it's highly recommended that you visit the Chinatown Night Markets which are just a 15-minute stroll down Sussex Street. Sydney's Chinatown strip on Dixon Street turns into a bustling, vibrant, somewhat magical place on Friday evenings, with stalls filled with an unbelievable amount of bewitchingly fragrant food, as well as those offering all sorts of off-kilter fashion, souvenirs and trinkets.

The food is the main attraction though; you can grab an assortment of mouthwatering small plates from all different cuisines and create your own little yum cha experience on the street. It's honestly worth a visit even if you've already had dinner, simply for the energy and happiness radiating around you. The tantalising aromas floating past your nose will probably get you though, and you'll likely end up having some kind of post-dinner snack. But it'll be worth it.

Letícia Almeida.

SHOP FOR QUIRKY VINTAGE FASHION IN THE SUN

The first thing you feel like doing after seeing a bold and eclectic fashion exhibition like Step Into Paradise at the Powerhouse Museum is, of course, shop. Luckily, Sydney is brimming with some absolutely incredible markets that are chock-a-block full of quirky vintage clothing and secondhand designer pieces (and plenty more, including antiques, food and drink, books — you name it). You just have to know where to look.

Some no-fail options are the Surry Hills Market, held on the first Saturday of every month in Shannon Reserve on Crown Street, or the enormous and much adored Glebe Markets, which are on every Saturday on the grounds of the public school on Glebe Point Road. You'll be decked out in some gorgeously eccentric vintage pieces à la Jenny Kee in no time.

Alana Dimou

VISIT SYDNEY'S MOST TRANQUIL PLACE

You've had a busy weekend exploring Sydney's streets and eats, and traipsing up and down the stairs to hit all four stories of White Rabbit's Then, which is showcasing important pieces from the gallery's past decade of incredible exhibitions of contemporary Chinese art. So, it's understandable if you're in need of some R&R — and there's no place in Sydney better to do that than the Chinese Garden of Friendship.

This inner-city oasis is located right near Darling Harbour, so it's just a short walk back to West Hotel on Sussex Street. The tranquil garden, designed in 1988 to adhere to the Taoist principle of 'Yin-Yang', is filled with swaying willow trees, a glittering koi pond, waterfalls, and plenty of peaceful spots to sit and properly relax. There's also The Gardens by Lotus if you want to refuel with some dumplings.

LEARN KINTSUGI, THE JAPANESE ART OF FIXING BROKEN ITEMS WITH GOLD

Kintsugi is a traditional Japanese practise of repairing broken pottery with gold, and the philosophy behind it focuses on the idea that something's usefulness doesn't end simply because it is broken; it can repaired, and it can be a thing of beauty.

If the Japan Supernatural exhibit has left you feeling inspired for some Japanese craft (or if you've by chance broken all your plates recently), then heading to a beginner's kintsugi class from Class Bento will be a surefire success. You'll learn the new skill from Jun, who has been teaching since 2015 and will have you adding gold to your kitchen crockery soon enough. Plus, the class is just a few streets over from your hotel, so you can pop back there and drop off your new kintsugi plates home safely before heading out for the evening.

Destination NSW

VISIT SYDNEY'S OLDEST HOTEL FOR A PINT

Cherished British pub The Lord Nelson in the historic suburb of The Rocks is a little over five minutes walk from the MCA, and it serves up some lovely pub fare as well as offering more substantial and sophisticated dinner options in the gorgeously 'ye olde worlde' restaurant upstairs. This historic pub is Sydney's oldest continually licensed hotel, and its interior still showcases much of the original design and architecture. Today, it's the home of The Lord Nelson Brewery range of ales, which you can see on taps and in shops all around the country.

So, if a pint and a Ploughman's is what you need after a big afternoon walking around the survey exhibition of UK artist Cornelia Parker, then, fortunately, this beautiful historic pub is just a hop, skip and jump away. And if you try a few too many of the brewery's delicious ales, jump in a taxi and you'll be back at West Hotel in just a few minutes.

Make your artsy staycation easy by booking at West Hotel to be right on the doorstep of all the city's best happenings.

Top Image: THEN at White Rabbit Gallery.