This Cycling Route Will Take You Past Six of Sydney Festival's Biggest, Free Moon-Themed Installations

For those who like cruising around on two wheels, this year's Sydney Festival could prove just as much a cycling adventure as a cultural one, thanks to the release of a nifty new hop-on, hop-off bike map.

Available via Google Maps, the free Sydney Festival Moon Map takes you past six lunar-themed installations and galleries that are part of this year's festival.

The 7.8-kilometre bike path stops at key sites like the Sydney Observatory, where punters can check out free attractions and visit the Planetarium, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which has its fair share of moons hidden throughout its collection.

Stick to the Moon Map route and you'll also get to explore an assortment of Sydney Festival installations. There's the Fly Me To The Moon at World Square — where cyclists can engage in some more pedal power on the Lunar Velocipede flying bike sculpture — as well as the mind-bending Moon Drops work at Darling Harbour, featuring super-sized bouncy droplets that'll send you floating through the air.

Moon Drop, Shake Lee.

And then, there's the series of eleven free artworks and interactive lunar-inspired experiences dotted through the Barangaroo Dining Precinct, as part of a city-wide homage to Apollo 11 and the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing.

To make your ride count, register at Love To Ride for Sydney Festival's Fly Me To The Moon challenge. You can 'donate' kilometres from individual bike rides, which'll count towards an attempted 384,400 kilometre cycling effort — the distance from earth to the moon — and put you in the running to win a prize. If you don't have your own bike, you could jump on one of the green Lime E electric-assist bikes dotted around the city.

Moon Map participants can also pick up a Lunar Passport at World Square, Darling Harbour or Barangaroo and tick off the stops — the first 100 to do so, and to present theirs to the World Square ticketing booth, will score a free Sydney Festival bag of treats.

You can check out more free things to do at Sydney Festival here.

Image: Fly Me to the Moon;  Apollo 11; Moon Drops, Shake Lee.