The Harbour Bridge and Opera House are iconic – they are what the city is all about. The best way to see them is from the ferry between Circular Quay and Manly. People sometimes forget that Sydney is a harbour and it’s the ferries that make it unique. Sydneysiders use them to commute to work, to travel to restaurants (where they really do order “smashed avo” on toast for breakfast), and to Manly, where you walk 10 minutes across the spit to the sea, ready to surf. To catch a ferry in really good weather, go between September to November.

Give yourself a couple of days, hire a car and go north to the Hunter valley. It has beautiful beaches such as Nelson Bay, and Stockton Beach – which is one of the longest in Australia – where you can ride horses on the dunes. Apparently, sand from Stockton dunes was exported to Hawaii, and there are sacred sites there [the beach is part of Worimi national park and the area is also home to the Worimi Conservation Lands]. Some scenes from Mad Max were shot there, too.

My favourite view is from the Sebel Manly Beach hotel. Early in the morning, from your balcony, you can see pine trees, people swimming, surfers and also the sun coming up. Then you can turn around, go to the harbour and jump on a ferry into Sydney.

An ideal Saturday would include the food hall at Tramsheds Harold Park. Lots of chefs have stalls and cafes there and it’s a great way to try fantastic Sydney food on a budget. Chat with the chefs, and ask them what they like to eat and where – whatever they recommend will be good.

For a drink with atmosphere, I’d head to the Opera Bar for a cold beer or a glass of rosé. Lighter rosés are becoming popular in Sydney. The Baxter Inn whisky bar on Clarence Street and the Shady Pines in Darlinghurst are good fun, too.

I can’t visit without going to the Fish Market in Pyrmont. I’ll sit outside with a cold beer or two, watching the water and ordering prawns and oysters with cocktail sauce and Tabasco.

Sydney has the world’s best swimming pool. Walk through the Botanical Gardens and you come to the Andrew “Boy” Charlton Pool on Mrs Macquaries Road, with incredible views of Finger Wharf and the Harbour.

• John Torode’s Korean Food Tour is on the Good Food Channel from 17 July