Sydney/Darlinghurst Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Darlinghurst is one of the best known of Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. In local and travellers' parlance, Darlinghurst is understood to include large parts of east Sydney (to the north) and Surry Hills (to the south) — it is also unclear exactly where Paddington starts, as an extension of Darlinghurst's outlook and lifestyle along Oxford Street. The main thoroughfare in Darlinghurst is Oxford Street, probably best known (together with the streets around it) as the biggest concentration of Sydney's large and vibrant gay community (other gay villages include the adjoining Paddington and Newtown. Oxford Street is well known worldwide as the primary route for the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. Unsurprisingly, Oxford Street is where any number of gay bars, nightclubs, cafes, and bookshops can be found. (For film buffs: Oxford Street is where Muriel/Mariel in Muriel's Wedding found work — and some love — in a video rental shop).
Darlinghurst is for straights as well, of course: the district is home to a large number of great restaurants, bars and stylish shops....
Contents |
Get in
By train
The most convenient station for Oxford Street is Museum. Alight there and walk southeast across Hyde Park, past the large Anzac Memorial and cross Whitlam Square into the western end of Oxford Street.
By bus
See
Do
Nightclubs
- Arq [1], 16 Flinders Street — one of the premier gay night clubs in town. Upstairs features trance and hard house on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, while downstairs has funkier music and shows on some nights. The venue often has short live performances in the middle of the night. Usually open from 10pm until dawn - often still going at 9am.
- The Midnight Shift, 85 Oxford Street is a gay venue that has a great upstairs for Friday and Saturday nights. Downstairs bar is open daily. Very popular with the Asian crowd
- The Stonewall Hotel, 175 Oxford Street - drag shows, dancing and cocktails. Attracts a young and beautiful gay / mixed crowd most nights
Buy
- the Bookshop [2], 207 Oxford Street, +61 2 9331 1103, open Mo–We 10am–10pm, Th 10am–11pm, Fr–Sa 10am–midnight, Su and public holidays 11am–11pm — trading for over 20 years, the Bookshop is one of Sydney's premier retailers of gay and lesbian books, magazines, calendars and DVDs. Great for a browse.
Eat
- The Pink Peppercorn at 122 Oxford Street (02) 9360 9922. Away from Oxford Street's carnival carry-on, Pink Peppercorn is all calm understated class. Chocolate-box pinks and creams match the mahogany furniture. Monks robed in orange smile down from the walls and hot-pink napkins colour tables. Its informal and minimalist, letting the food do the talking. Anouvong Kaseum's beautifully presented dishes fuse Lao flavours (think Thai with less kick) and Western influence.
- Betty's Soup Kitchen at 84 Oxford Street (02) 9360 9698. If soup is your thing, then Betty's is the place to have it.
Drink
- The Columbian Hotel at 117 Oxford Street (on the corner of Crown Street) is a popular gay bar every night of the week. The beautiful people sit at the open table facing the street to be seen.
- The Oxford Hotel on the corner of Oxford and Burke St is a great place to visit. The second floor contains Gilligan's, home to the famous Oxford Smash cocktail, and the third floor is Ginger's. Recommended!
Sleep
Mid-Range
- Sullivans Hotel [3], 21 Oxford Street, +61 2 9361 0211, fax +61 2 9360 3735, sydney@sullivans.com.au, standard rooms from $135 a night — great value hotel situated on the main drag between Paddington and Darlinghurst. Visitors suggest trying to get a courtyard facing room, as those facing Oxford Street can be noisy....
Contact
Cope
Fitness
- City Gym Sydney [4], 107–113 Crown Street — heading north out of Darlinghurst is one of the premier gyms in east Sydney
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