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Sydney/Inner West Travel Guide

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Statue at The Hub, Newtown
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Statue at The Hub, Newtown

The Inner West is an extensive district of inner Sydney, stretching from the small inner city suburb of Chippendale (south of Central Railway Station) to the railway hub and business-retail centre of Strathfield, some distance to the west of the city and close to the Olympic Park. Areas of greatest potential interest to the traveller include the suburbs of Newtown and Glebe (heavily student-oriented and somewhat "alternative", owing to their position north and west of the massive University of Sydney Main Campus), the once-working class-now-fashionable Balmain peninsula and the Italian chic of Leichhardt.

Contents

Understand

The Inner West suburbs are amongst the oldest parts of Sydney. They have grown up along the line of the Parramatta Road, a road that links the City of Sydney with Parramatta, at the end of the Parramatta River. The architecture of the district - ranging from terraced houses to small mansions - reflects its era of main development in the Victorian (1840-1900) and Federation (1901-1914) periods.

The area is exceedingly diverse: its proximity to central Sydney makes it ideal for city commuters, it's an alternative base for business, the University of Sydney and the University of Technology each lend a "student" feel to the suburbs closest to the city centre and other suburbs are sleepily residential.

Get in

By bus

The main form of public transport to this district from the city is bus, with numerous and frequent Sydney Buses routes leading to the Inner West. Route numbers in this area of Sydney begin with 4 or 5; useful routes include the 431-434 to Glebe/Balmain, the 436-440 to Leichhardt, 422-428 to Newtown, the 480-483 to Strathfield Station and the 500 buses which travel up Victoria Rd past the suburb of Drummoyne.

By ferry

Ferries from the city provide a scenic route to the area via the inner harbour and Parramatta River, stopping at various wharves along the way. The most useful for travellers are the wharves at Balmain. Access to the ferry services is from Circular Quay.

By light rail

Another possible means of access to the Inner West is on the Metro light rail service, which travels from Central station via Darling Harbour to Glebe and Lilyfield (near Leichhardt). This is an expensive but interesting way to travel, as it follows the old goods (freight) lines which serviced Sydney's ports.

By train

Only the more southerly parts of the district are served by rail lines:

  • The Cityrail Inner West line passes through this district, stopping at Macdonaldtown, Newtown, Stanmore, Petersham, Lewisham, Summer Hill, Ashfield, Croydon, Burwood and Strathfield
  • The Cityrail Bankstown line stops at Erskineville, St Peters and Marrickville.

Both lines are served infrequently: about once every 30 minutes outside of peak hour, with services commencing at about 5am and ending at about midnight.

See

  • The Enmore Theatre, 130 Enmore Road, Newtown. ph 02 9550 3666. fax 02 9550 2990. email boxoffice@enmoretheatre.com.au. The Enmore Theatre is one of Sydney's premier smaller live venues. International acts who have performed here include Ani Difranco, Flaming Lips, Eels, the White Stripes and Asian Dub Foundation, Joe Cocker, Michelle Shocked, Dandy Warhols, Jethro Tull, and coming soon Mars Volta. http://www.enmoretheatre.com.au/
  • The Annandale Hotel Corner Parramatta and Nelson Roads, Annandale ph. 02 9550 1078 is another of Sydney's best pub venues. It hosts many of Australia's best known indie bands and international acts. Cult Movie night ('Sounds of Sinema') on Mondays.
  • Newtown's main street, King Street, is architecturally probably the best preserved Victorian high street in Sydney. Neglect preserved it in the first place - no money was to be made by knocking things down in the twentieth century, and now regulation more or less ensures that more is being conserved and restored than demolished. Along its length you'll find the usual mix of ships in a major city's boho zone: second hand book shops, over thirty (at last count) Thai restaurants, Vietnamese restaurants, cafes, clothing shops and an assortment of odd quirky little places.

Do

Newtown Festival http://www.newtowncentre.org/festival/ is held annually in November and features local bands, crafts, food and cultural activities.

Newtown and Enmore are also home to Reclaim the Streets, Under the Blue Moon http://sydneygothic.com/bluemoon/, zine and comic fairs, Walk The Streets, and other alternative festivals and activist events during the year.

Buy

  • The regular markets in Glebe and Rozelle (near Balmain) are a great place to shop with the locals and look for unusual bargains. The markets are usually held every weekend in the grounds of the local public primary schools.
  • Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe (new books) and 191 Glebe Point Road, Glebe (second hand books). ph 02 9660 2333 (new book store) and 02 9552 2526 (second hand). [1] For booklovers, Gleebooks is Sydney's premier independent bookshop catering for a wide variety of readers.
  • The shopping complex at Birkenhead Point contains a large number of designer factory outlets for fashion on the cheap. Most stores here leave a lot to be desired. It can be accessed by ferry or buses along Victoria Road.
  • Gould's Book Arcade 32 King Street, Newtown. ph 02 9519 8947. [2] Gould's is likely the most chaotic used bookshop in the world. Specialties include Marxism, Labour history, magazines, and Australian history. Open until midnight daily.
  • Birkenhead Point Shopping Centre, Roseby Street, Drummoyne. [3] Major factory outlet centre with clothing and other household products at discount prices.

Eat

The inner west has a number of different suburbs that have excellent eating: Glebe Point Road in Glebe has a variety of restaurants; King Street in Newtown also has variety, although it is slowly being taken over by Thai food; and Norton Street in Leichhardt is the home of Italian food in Sydney. Try also the Portuguese bakeries of Petersham for their famed custard tarts.

  • Green Gourmet, 115 King Street Newtown. ph 02 9519 5330. This is a specialist vegetarian/vegan restaurant.
  • Inferno, Broadway Shopping Centre, 2 Bay St, Broadway. ph 02 9211 4141. fax 02 9211 8044. This Inferno is one of a small chain of family friendly gourmet wood-fired pizza joints. Favourites include the Inferno pizza and the Rising Sun pizza. They have a nice brucshetta too. Keep an eye on them when they open wine for you: they're a bit cavalier about the cork. Mains $15-$20.
  • Kilimanjaro, 280 King Street, Newtown. ph 02 9557 4565. This African restaurant has good tasty meat dishes. Be prepared to squint a bit at the chalkboard menu when you go in, and be sure to order side-dishes: the mains are not very large. They don't really cater to vegetarians. Mains approx $15, sides $5.
  • Thai La-Long, 89 King Street, Newtown. ph 02 9550 5866. Thai La-Long has some of the spicier dishes among Newtown's many Thai restaurants. Their yellow curry is worth a special mention. The restaurant is not air-conditioned and can be a bit uncomfortable on hot Sydney summer nights. Mains approx $10.
  • Crispy Inn, 203 King Street, Newtown. ph 02 9557 3910. Across the road from yet another 7-11, and much more interesting. This bakery is open 24 hours, a fact many locals take advantage of. They're always baking, so there's always something fresh. They have a variety of pies, cakes, rolls, and loaves.
  • Badde Manors, 37 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe. ph 02 9660 3797. Cozy cafe with great desserts. Open late.
  • Bitton's Cafe, 37a Copeland St, Alexandria. ph 02 9519 5111. A small cafe opposite Erskineville Park & Oval, mixing French Cusine with Indian spices. Their homemade speciality jams are sensational. A popular breakfast spot for locals, expect to wait for seating on weekends. Mains $10-15. http://www.bittongourmet.com.au/
  • Thai Pothong, 294 King Street, Newtown. One of Sydney's premier Thai Restaurants with understated black and white decor and awesome food. This place won Thai Restaurant of the Year for several years running, and one taste of the food will show you why.
  • Ocean Foods, 154 Lyons Rd (Cnr Gipps St), Drummoyne. Some people claim (including the shop) that this is the best Fish and Chips around. Prepare for a queue if you come on a Friday night or the weekend.
  • Saigon Saigon, 97 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, ☎ +61-2-9660 3888. Saigon Saigon is a Vietnamese restaurant with a nice low-key atmosphere and soft lighting. Try the salt and pepper squid.


Drink

  • AB Hotel (formerly The Ancient Briton), 225 Glebe Point Road, Glebe. ph 02 9660 1417. This hotel has just undergone major renovations and is looking great with a russian theme inside. The AB claims to have Sydney's coldest beer on tap. It's a large and not terribly crowded local pub with pool tables, couches and a bar made out of a fishtank. Cajun food is served daily, about $15 mains including Jambalaya, fried chicken, fish cakes and sweet potato pie.
  • The Bank Hotel, 324 King Street, Newtown. ph 02 9557 1692. This is an enormous pub only 2 minutes walk from Newtown train station. It has a Thai restaurant as well as a bar. Wednesday night is lesbians' night. Closed for renovations at time of writing, but due to open again early 2006. Look out for half-priced cocktails early in the night and cheap jugs of beer. A great place to start off the night.
  • The Town Hall Hotel, 326 King St Newtown. ph 02 9557 1206. Dirty, noisy and seedy, this pub is otherwise known as The Townie and is the best place in Newtown. Older residents of Newtown and horse race punters drink downstairs, everyone else heads upstairs to Platform 8. Home to most of Sydney's indie band scene at one time or another.
  • The Imperial Hotel, Erskineville Road, Erskineville. The Imperial, 5 minutes from the heart of Newtown is a gay and lesbian pub which features weekly gay entertainment. This pub which featured in the opening scene of 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' hosts "BinGay", gay bingo on Tuesday nights; Grease - the drag show, from 10pm on Thursdays; and the Priscilla Queen of the Desert show on Saturday nights from 10pm. Be sure to check out Friday and Sunday nights for other drag events.
  • The Newtown Hotel, 174 King Street. The Newtown is a gay venue on King Street. Downstairs regularly features drag shows and music, while upstairs is an oasis of calm to sip a good drink, chat or play pool.

Sleep

  • Glebe Point YHA, 262-264 Glebe Point Road, Glebe. ph 02 9692 8418. fax 02 9660 0431. email glebe@yhansw.org.au. A backpacker hostel located on the major Glebe Point Road food area. Dorm beds $24-$28 per night. $68 per night per double or twin room. http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/details.cfm?hostelid=30
  • Dulwich Hill YHA, 407 Marrickville Rd, Dulwich Hill. ph 02 9550 0054 or 1800 671 795 (free call within Australia). fax 02 9550 0570. email dulwichhillyha@oranalodge.com.au. A hotel/hostel in the outer suburbs of the Inner West. Dorm beds $20-$27 per night; twin rooms $70 per night, $80 per night with ensuite. http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/details.cfm?hostelid=181
  • Broadway University Motor Inn, 25 Arundel Street, Glebe. ph 02 9660 5777. fax 02 9660 2929. This motel has basic rooms in the usual motel style: double beds, television, small private bathrooms. It is within easy walking distance of Glebe Point Road, and is also on several major western bus routes. It is located about 10 minutes bus ride from the city. Double room $140 per night for two people.

Cope

Contact

  • Kinkos, 134-138 Broadway, Chippendale. ph 02 9281 3799. fax 02 9281 9177. email sydney4@kinkos.net.au. Provides use of PCs and Macs with internet access and office applications, together with printing services. Internet access $6.50 per hour. Open 7:30am - 10pm (Monday to Friday), 10am - 5pm (Saturday) and 12pm - 7pm (Sunday).


This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!
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