Blu Bar on 36

Forget touristy pretenders: Blu Bar is the best place in Sydney to down a cocktail while floating up in the clouds. Embedded high in the Shangri-La tower, it has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the best bits of Sydney's great expanse. During the day the blue harbour takes centre stage while at night the lights are dimmed and the shimmering skyline sparkles around you. Pull up a squishy couch or perch at the glass-top bar and sink into your surroundings. The drinks here are carefully concocted by a team of crack mixologists. They also serve a list of cocktails spanning the ages, so you can drink yourself through time. On busy nights, you might have to haggle your way down the cocktail list as ingredients become scarce, but you can't go wrong with a velvety Harbour Serenade, which fuses passionfruit vodka with raspberry and lemon juice and comes with a floating rose petal. The Burnt Heart, served with a campari-dust blowtorched pineapple, is also pretty special.