The map above is centered on Sydney, Australia, near Sydney Town Hall, with a default 15 km radius. Drag to move it, search for a different address, or change the radius and unit using the controls.
Sydney sprawls — the metropolitan area extends over 12,000 km², and a 15 km radius from the CBD covers the inner suburbs out to Bondi, Burwood, and Manly. Parramatta, the metro's second CBD, sits at 23 km. The city is shaped by water on three sides (the harbour, the Pacific, the Parramatta River) and the Blue Mountains to the west, so radii are heavily constrained by geography. Use the Drive Time Map for honest commute planning across this geography.
Sydney spans more than 70 km from the Pacific coast to the Blue Mountains foothills and covers over 12,000 km². A 15 km radius from the CBD covers the inner suburbs but stops well short of Parramatta — the metro's second CBD — at 23 km.
Also known as: Greater Sydney, Eora Country (Aboriginal name).
Real coverage at the most-searched radii, including notable places that fall just outside the circle. Use these as ground truth before relying on a circle for real-estate, retail, or service-area decisions.
A 1 km radius from the Town Hall covers Sydney CBD — the historic core, Circular Quay's southern edge, Hyde Park, the QVB, Town Hall Station, and the eastern half of Darling Harbour.
A 5 km radius from Town Hall covers the entire CBD, the inner east (Surry Hills, Paddington, Woollahra), inner west (Glebe, Newtown), and Lower North Shore (North Sydney, Kirribilli). Captures most of Sydney's walkable, transit-rich inner ring.
A 10 km radius from the Town Hall covers most of inner and middle Sydney — Bondi, Coogee, Maroubra (just inside), Mascot, Sydney Airport, Marrickville, Burwood (just inside), and Manly across the harbour.
A 25 km radius covers most of Sydney's urban basin — Parramatta (just inside), Hornsby, Cronulla, Manly, the Northern Beaches inner edge, and most of the Inner West. Penrith and the Blue Mountains are still outside.
A 50 km radius from Sydney CBD reaches Penrith's eastern edge, the lower Blue Mountains foothills, the Royal National Park, the Central Coast's southern edge (Gosford), and parts of the Sutherland Shire and Hawkesbury.
City-specific scenarios where a radius is the right tool — and the typical radius sizes professionals use.
Sydney renters who want walkable, transit-rich, café-lined neighbourhoods typically target the 10 km radius from the CBD — Bondi, Surry Hills, Newtown, Manly, North Sydney. Beyond, neighbourhoods become more car-dependent.
Typical radius: 10 km for inner-ring lifestyle filter
Eastern beach suburbs (Bondi, Coogee, Bronte, Tamarama) sit within 7–10 km of the CBD. The Northern Beaches require the harbour crossing and stretch from 10 km (Manly) to 30 km (Palm Beach). Tourism and real-estate catchment work uses these distances as a quick filter.
Typical radius: 10 km (eastern beaches), 30 km (Northern Beaches)
Sydney has a polycentric economy: the CBD and Parramatta. Real-estate and retail planning often uses dual radii — 10 km from each CBD — to capture distinct catchments. Some western Sydney residents work in Parramatta and never go to the city CBD.
Typical radius: 10 km each CBD (overlap acknowledged)
The Northern Beaches sit across the harbour and are accessible via a few key crossings (Spit Bridge, Roseville Bridge, Sydney Harbour Bridge). A straight-line radius of 15 km reaches Manly but hides the fact that the actual journey can be 40 minutes via Spit Bridge.
Typical radius: 15 km straight-line, but always validate with drive-time
Local geography and infrastructure that change how a radius behaves here. Skipping these is the most common reason a radius decision goes sideways.
Sydney Harbour cuts the city in two from north to south; the Pacific Ocean closes the eastern edge; the Parramatta River cuts west. Any radius drawn from the CBD loses 30–40% to water, particularly on the east and north arcs.
About 50–70 km west of the CBD, the Blue Mountains rise abruptly. The escarpment is a natural city boundary — beyond it the metropolitan area thins out rapidly. A 50 km radius reaches the foothills but not the main mountain towns.
Parramatta sits 23 km west of the CBD — outside a 20 km radius. Western Sydney residents often work, shop, and socialise in Parramatta and rarely go to the harbour CBD. Treating Sydney as a single radius market underestimates the western half.
A 10 km radius from Sydney Town Hall covers the CBD, Bondi, Coogee, Surry Hills, Newtown, Marrickville, Mosman, Manly (across the harbour), and Sydney Airport. Parramatta, Cronulla, and the Northern Beaches main strip are outside.
A 25 km radius covers Parramatta (just inside), Hornsby, Cronulla, Manly and the inner Northern Beaches, most of the Inner West and Bankstown, and Sydney's middle-ring suburbs. Penrith, Wollongong, and the Blue Mountains main range are outside.
About 23 km west — outside a 20 km radius but inside 25 km. Parramatta is Sydney's second CBD and a substantial market on its own; many western Sydney residents work and shop there without commuting to the harbour CBD.
Three reasons. First, the harbour cuts the city in two and limits north-south distance with few crossings. Second, the Pacific Ocean caps eastern reach. Third, the Blue Mountains escarpment 50–70 km west creates a hard boundary. Sydney radii lose more area to water and terrain than most major cities.
A 15 km straight-line radius around your workplace is a reasonable first cut for "under-30-minute commute" — but always validate with the Drive Time Map. The Spit Bridge and Sydney Harbour Bridge are major time-of-day chokepoints that radius doesn't see.
Neither, fully. A 50 km radius reaches the lower foothills of the Blue Mountains (around Penrith's western edge) but not Katoomba (~95 km) or the main mountain towns. Wollongong is 70 km south and outside. The Royal National Park and Gosford's southern edge sit just inside.