Seven Out-of-the-Ordinary Valentine's Day Dates in Sydney

Impress your other half by tucking into a picnic basket of goodies, all while watching the night descend over Watsons Bay beach. Packed ready to go, this takeaway feast contains your usual picnic essentials plus a bottle of bubbly and selection of canapes. There’s also a candlelit dinner option for those not enamoured of sand-in-the-pants informality.

From the creators of La Soiree comes Club Swizzle, a place for the most depraved souls in show business to call home. Incorporating a melee of cabaret, acrobatics and infectious merrymaking, the show is set to the soundtrack of ARIA-, APRA- and AFI-winning band Mikey and The Nightcaps.

Graze like a sheep (it’s their year) down Sussex, Campbell and Pitt Streets from dusk till late for the first Lunar Streets. There’ll be long alfresco tables set up for the occasion, so you can commune while chowing down on your dim sum/noodles/curry/sashimi/some glorious mix of the four. Performances by roving entertainers and a mix of Asian pop hits courtesy of PopAsia top off the night, a new high on Sydney’s Chinese New Year calendar.

It’s not what you think from the title, promise. Cock is a smash hit play about love both lofty and physical, the Off-Broadway production of which prompted Variety to write, “With the precious exception of literati like Oscar Wilde and his beloved Bosie, quarrelling lovers are never as articulate and entertaining as they are [here].” Playwright Mike Bartlett explores sexual identity through the love triangle that results when a boy loves a girl as well as his old boyfriend.

Take a deep breath and smell the sexual tension at Freda’s Love Tunnel. Featuring Simon Caldwell with Turpin, Easy Access and Wild Sunset, Freda’s Love Tunnel is sure to get everyone in the mood for a night full of shenanigans. With Valentine’s Day activities include Spin the Bottle, Strip Twister, love song dedications and more to be announced, Freda’s have got you covered if you’ve left booking that favourite restaurant too late. The venue is set to be decked out in all things romantic (think candles, velvet and roses as well as a grand entrance to the Love Tunnel), so this should be a Valentine you won’t forget.

For one very special night the renowned Yangjiang art collective will be taking over the Chinese Garden of Friendship. With DJs throughout the evening and food and drinks by the Grasshopper Eating House, the Yangjiang group will be putting you at the centre of their art with calligraphy, face-painting and intimate performance pieces. In their trademark After Dinner Calligraphy, they will use food scraps from the event to create a large-scale work, and the night will finish with the artists feeding guests an array of tea designed to spark a shift in your physical and spiritual perceptions.

Become starry-eyed this Valentine’s Day at the Sydney Observatory with their astronomical, stargazing event, coupled with delicious canapes and seductive jazz music. Catch a glimpse of Venus (weather permitting), the planet of love, through the North Dome telescopes, and get lost in the night sky through the various courtyard telescopes.