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Fashionable Sydney

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Traipse around the trendier suburbs of Sydney, from beautiful Palm Beach to Bondi. Day one tours the inner city's bohemian enclaves, day two heads North of the Harbour, while day three is spent checking out Sydney's exclusive Eastern suburbs.

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Author: JHN

Day 1 - Sydney, Bondi

Start your day by wandering up busy Oxford Street, pa*t the Victoria Street Barr***s. Oxford Street is nothing really to write home about - a highway lined with all kinds of stores. However, a* you head further away from the city, it starts to have more and more interesting stores and cafes, and many of the cross streets have their own little growths of fa*hionable stores. This is the trendiest part of Sydney, and the streets of Paddington can be simply gorgeous once you're back off the main drag. Take the chance to just wander around, under the shade of the great old plane trees, amongst all the pretty renovated Terrace houses. A hundred years ago, this area wa* quite poor, but in recent years it ha* gentrified, and it is now strictly a home for successful creative professionals and lawyers. There are literally dozens of art galleries in this area. Take the time to check some out, including, amongst the better known, The Sherman Galleries, the Tim Olsen Gallery, and Roslyn Oxley9 (centre of a recent censorship scandal). Back on the main drag there is the excellent Australian Centre for Photography, too. Now, having emptied your purse in the boutiques, tempted your ta*tebuds in the cafes, and dazzled your eyes in the galleries, it's time to look after your soul. Head off further up Oxford Street and you'll reach stunning Centennial Park, a ma**ive urban parkland filled with gra** and trees and lakes and ducks and ponies and.... everything a park should have really. Its a lovely place to relax for a while to regain your breath. Once you're starting to grow a little restless, jump on the rea*onably frequent 352 bus down Oxford Street and tell the driver to tell you when you're approaching Newtown. This is the bohemian capital of Sydney, filled to the brim with every kind of youth culture you can imagine. Goths and punks and drunks and thousands of uni students breeding a vibrant culture and spawning many great little boutiques and indie joints, along with great food. In the evening, its a good place to catch a show. The Enmore Theatre is one of Sydney best known venues. You might want to grab a feed at one of the dozens of resturants; most are pretty good. Than Bihn, for instance, is an excellent Vietnamese resturant. If you're after a beer, the Courthouse Hotel on Australia Street is a good locals pub, while the Bank on King Street is ea*ier to find, if a bit of a beer barn. When it comes time to lay down your head, there are many options. Newtown isn't a great place for hotels, although there are slightly grungier or boutique places about the area. If you're after somewhere fancy, head towards the CBD. The Hilton is a great big spacious place, with good rooms, many of which have spectacular views. For something a little edgier you might try one of the recent conversions in the previously down-at-heel inner-city suburb of Wooloomooloo - you'll count Russell Crowe a* a neighbor. The Waters Towers Hotel is highly recommended.

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Victoria Barracks

Location:

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Oxford Street
Paddington
2021 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

+61 (0)2 9339 3303

Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery

Location:

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8 Soudan Lane
Off Hampden Street, Paddington
2021 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

+61 2 9331 1919

Sherman Galleries

Location:

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16-20 Goodhope Street
Paddington
2021 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

+61 2 9331 1112

Australian Centre for Photography

Location:

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257 Oxford Street
2025 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

+61 2 9332 1455

Enmore Theatre

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Location:

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130 Enmore Road
Newtown
2042 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9550 3666

Thanh Binh

Location:

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52a John Street
Cabramatta
2166 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9727 9729

New Theater

Location:

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542 King Street
Newtown
2042 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9519 3403

Tim Olsen Gallery

Location:

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63 Jersey Road
Paddington
2021 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

+61 (0)2 9360 9854

Centennial Park

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Location:

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Between Oxford St & Alison Rd
Paddington
2021 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

+61 (0)2 9339 6699

Harbourside Serviced Apartments

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Location:

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2a Henry Lawson Avenue
McMahons Point NSW
2060 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9963 4300

Bondi Beach House

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Location:

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28 Sir Thomas Mitchell Road
2026 Bondi, Australia

Phone:

0412 33 4654

Ultimate Apartments Bondi Beach

Location:

2026 Sydney,

Phone:

61 29 3657969

The Sebel Manly Beach

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Location:

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8-13 South Steyne
2095 Sydney,

Phone:

61 2 99 77 88 66

Sydney Hilton (The)

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Location:

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488 George Street
2000 Sydney, AU

Phone:

61 2 9266 2000

Ravesi's

Location:

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118 Campbell Parade
(Bondi Beach)
2026 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9365 4422

Four Seasons Hotel Sydney

Location:

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199 George Street
2000 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9238 0000

African Feeling Cafe Restaurant

Location:

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1/501 King Street
Newtown
2042 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9516 3130

Bank Hotel

Location:

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324 King Street
Newtown
2042 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9565 1730

Bay Tinh

Location:

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316-318 Victoria Road
Marrickville
2204 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9560 8673

Satellite Expresso

Location:

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Shop 8, 80 Wilson Street
Newtown
2042 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9557 8698

Day 2 - Sydney

This is your day to explore the lovely North Shore. This area is known for its affluent, conservative population; likewise it is known for its pretty, tree-lined streets, its jagged bush-lined coves, and, of course, for its lovely beaches. it is not, however, known for its public transport, so to fully enjoy the day it will help a great deal if you've got wheels. Otherwise you'll spend a considerable amount of time sitting staring out of bus windows. This being a tour of fa*hionable Sydney, we'll start in Neutral Bay and Mosman - two particullarly snooty, rich, and slightly older parts of town. This is a great area to cruise poking through boutiques, especially if you've got a bit of money, the main streets being lined by little boutiques stocking exclusive brands. You can grab a bite here - there's no point directing to any particularly eatery, a* the streets are lined with them. Later head off North towards the beach. This is Sydney after all! In the far North there are a couple of beauties - Palm Beach and Whale Beach, both of which come highly recommended, and both of which are pretty fla*h area* - lots of cla**y, beautiful and rich people strolling around. The beaches of course are stunning - long stretches of white sand out into blue skies, with strips of green parkland behind them. This is a much more human environment than the sometimes alienating urbanisation that hems in the more famous Ea*tern suburbs beaches. It's also a great area for scrabbling over rocks, looking for cute crabs and poking amongst the seaweed in the rockpools - if that's your thing! Alternatively, if you're feeling active, you might want to mix things up wiith a walk - the Spit to Manly walk is lovely, winding along the Harbour through bushland to the bustling Beach-side suburb of Manly, packed dense with tourists, resturants and shops. There is plenty of good accomodation to be found around Manly, too, if you fancy relocating to the Northside of the harbour (though we think that it's probably better to ba*e yourslef somewhere nearer the city - the transport links are much better). Later, heading back towards the city, you might be tempted to stop at Blues Point to soak up the atmosphere. It's a lovely place to stop off with a picnic and a bottle of wine - it's just by the Harbour Bridge and there are spectacular views of the city at sunset, a* the city lights start to shine over the water. The views are lovely, and if it's a nice evening there'll be plenty of Sydneysiders there to keep you company. Alternatively you might want to drop by your hotel and get all tarted up for a dinner at one of the cla**ier Surry Hills resturants you missed yesterday - Longgrain, which does wonderful modern Thai; or Billy Kwong, which does modern Australian and fusion cuisine. A good way to end your evening is by drinking with the bohemians locals in a Surry Hills pub like The Hopetoun Hotel (a seedy rock venue where many a big Australian band ha* blooded itself -cnr Bourke and Foveaux Street); or with the beautiful kids at The Cricketer's Arms (near cnr Foveaux and South Dowling Streets) or Ga*light (nr Crown and Oxford).

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Blues Point Reserve

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Location:

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Blues Point Road
McMahons Point
2060 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

+61 (0)2 9255 1788

Palm Beach

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Location:

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Ocean Road
Palm Beach
2108 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

+61 (0)2 9977 1088

Spit Bridge (The)

Location:

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Spit Road
Middle Harbour
2088 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

+61 (0)2 9255 1788

Whale Beach

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Location:

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Whale Beach Road
Whale Beach
2107 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

+61 (0)2 9977 1088

Billy Kwong

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Location:

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355 Crown Street
Surry Hills
2010 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9332 3300

Anahita Restaurant

Location:

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7/54 Burns Bay Road
Lane Cove
2066 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9428 5812

Just Hooked

Location:

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236 Military Road
Neutral Bay
2088 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

61 2 9904 0428

Redleaf Pool

Location:

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New South Head Road
Double Bay
2028 Sydney,

Phone:

+61 (0)2 9255 1788

Taronga Zoo

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Location:

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Bradley's Head Road
Mosman
2088 Sydney, Australia

Phone:

+61 (0)2 9969 2777

Day 3 - Sydney

The final day of your trek through fa*hionable Sydney is for exploring the Ea*tern Suburbs. Like yesterday, we'll start in a pretty tree-lined suburb - in this ca*e Double Bay. Once again, this is a good place to look through boutiques. A warning though - there's no point coming here if you're traveling on a budget; this area is for the seriously rich. Later, it's time for Bondi! This area is a real melting pot - the Jewish area of Sydney; capital of the backpakcing scene; filled with the flesh of the beautiful young things, with more models than you can poke a stick at; sports stars - the streets of Bondi throng with all kinds, making it an extremely area to hang about. The beach itself is impressive - a huge expanse of sand. If you get a chance, take a look a photos of what the beach looked like one hundred years ago, and be startled at the pace of change. What wa* once a beautiful wind-swept vista of dunes is now built up to sand's edge. After you've soaked up some sun, take the spectacular stroll along the clifftops towards Bronte. Each of the coves along this way is home to its own enclave of artists and marketing executives, and each ha* it's own personality. 'Glamarama' is perhaps the snootiest, Bronte ha* the reputation for being a little more laid back, Clovelly is positively middle cla**, while Coggee is the roughest of the lot, and is in many ways a more proletarian Bondi. Later in the evening, you can try to get a table at the exclusive Icebergs Club, which is right on Bondi beach. If you fancy something a little more laid back, you might want to try Laurie's Vegetarian takeaway, on Bondi Road (about 10 minutes walk from the beach). This place is very cheap, and very good. Later, Ravesi's is a bar where you can while away some time with fa*hionable young (rich) Bondians; alternatively, join the heaving ma**es at the Beach Road Hotel, a huge pub with a room to suit most ta*tes.

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