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Region of Sydney, Australia
Photo: Stefano, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Inner West of Sydney stretches from the small inner city suburb of Chippendale (south of Central Railway Station) to the secondary railway hub and business-retail centre of Strathfield and also Sydney Olympic Park to the west. Particular areas of interest to the traveller include Newtown, Glebe, Balmain, and Leichhardt.
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A car-free and mostly flat 7 km circular foot and cycling track that sticks close to the Iron Cove Bay waterfront and crosses the bay on the Iron Cove Bridge. It connects picturesque parks, marinas, historic sights, cafes, restaurants and a major shopping centre at Birkenhead Point in Drummoyne. It passes through 7 Inner West suburbs and is particularly popular on weekends. Best accessed from Marion light rail stop or buses.
Four different parks (Federal Park, Jubilee Park, Bicentennial Park and Blackwattle Bay Park) with the Anzac Bridge in the background. A mix of grasslands, sport fields, playgrounds and wetlands make for a wide area to explore. There is a walking path along the foreshore all the way from the Fish Markets to Annandale, with a Light Rail station conveniently at each end. A short walk further into Annandale along Johnston St will show you a series of gothic mansions and Federation houses - keep going to Booth St, where you can get a bus back to the city, or one block further to see the Hunter Baillie church, which once had the tallest spire in Sydney.
A former Caltex industrial site now returned to the authorities and made greener. Offers panoramic views of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney city skyline from a high vantage point.
Contains Birchgrove Oval, the spiritual home of rugby league in Australia after it hosted the first professional matches in 1908. A family park that has good views of the Harbour Bridge.
Located just two blocks behind King St, it has lots of open space and plenty of street art and graffiti on the walls surrounding the park, as well as an atmospheric cemetery in the adjoining church. Sit on the grass and people-watch, there's always someone out of the ordinary. The Newtown Festival is held here in November.
A large park (40 hectares) at the very southern end of Newtown's King Street, it is a former brick pit that was filled with the city's rubbish in the 1970s and 1980s before being topped with soil and landscaped. The 3 former trash hills make excellent viewing locations, where you have views from the airport to the city. Rolling hills, native plantings, engineered wetlands and the historic remains of the brick works make this park an inner Sydney landmark. Almost the entire park is an off-leash area for dogs, making it a destination for pet-owners while the open fields and steep grassy hills make it a favoured destination for determined exercisers.
Sweeping views of the city and Harbour Bridge.
Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative is one of Australia's longest running indigenous owned and operated art galleries. It promotes urban indigenous art that sometimes has trouble being shown as authentic indigenous art in the mainstream.
Contains the largest collection of antiquities in Australia, featuring ancient artefacts from Egypt, the Middle East, Greece, Rome, Cyprus and Mesopotamia, collected by the University over many years. Also mummified cats and humans.
The oldest natural history museum in Australia, largely kept in storage, but they have quite a collection of insects from Darwin, Raffles and other keen entomologists.
Houses more than two thousand artworks — a diverse collection of Australian, Asian and European paintings, prints, watercolours, drawings, textiles, photography and sculptures.
The Enmore Theatre is one of Sydney's premier smaller live venues. International acts who have performed here include the Rolling Stones, Ani Difranco, Flaming Lips, Eels, the White Stripes and Asian Dub Foundation, Joe Cocker, Michelle Shocked, Dandy Warhols, Jethro Tull, and Mars Volta.
New Theatre is one of the oldest continuously producing theatre companies in Australia with a proud history that is intertwined with much of Sydney's social development and Australian theatre history. Productions range across drama, comedy, musicals, gay theatre, family shows, political cabaret and specialised education programs. Classic texts with bold new interpretations and some of the finest contemporary writing.
Palace Norton Street, one of Sydney's most comfortable and well-equipped cinemas, is located amongst the noted restaurants and cafés of vibrant Leichhardt. Norton Street screens a carefully selected range of quality films and is one of Sydney's premier venues for international cinema, hosting the French, Spanish, Greek, German and Italian film festivals each year.
The Annandale Hotel is another of Sydney's best pub venues. It hosts many of Australia's best known indie bands and international acts. Under receivership, but still running.
Have a beer and some fun playing barefoot bowls on a sunny afternoon.
Walking tours of Leichhardt focusing on the public buildings and spaces that have shaped the local area.
This restaurant which originally started in Ashfield has now opened branches around Sydney and even a branch in Shanghai. Try the shenjianbao (fried pan dumplings) and xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). Be careful of the hot soup inside these dumplings!
A unique Northwest Chinese style of cooking and amazing value for money make this a great experience, and the meat dumplings are especially delicious.
You can choose to eat in the dining room upstairs but you can also choose from a selection of the same menu and eat in the bar. The menu is Modern Australian and courses are well thought through and executed. The bar also offers tasting plates and pizzas.
Modern Australian with French influences with a carefully selected seasonal menu. Fine dining feel but a relaxed and un-pretentious atmosphere.
Busy local spot for flavoursome Thai food.
Ethiopian food. The shiro wat is great and they have Ethiopian beers. You can make a reservation but don't really need one. It's an informal footpath cafe.
This is an informal cafe. It has excellent service and great food at modest prices. Very difficult not to like.
Plant-based café and bakery
A Leichhardt institution renowned for their award winning gelato - which attracts lines that go out the door on Friday and Saturday nights (and constantly increases the price). Bar Italia also have a strict rule of nothing but regular milk in your coffee - so if you want soy or skim get your coffee elsewhere. Staff can sometimes be abrupt and rude, but it's well worth it for the gelato. Late at night, you might also spot left-wing politicians holding secretive meetings out the back.
Popular Italian-style restaurant in Leichhardt. Reasonably priced and very tasty food. Extremely busy on weekends, so bookings are advised.
Authentic Napolitan restaurant in Leichhardt.
Excellent authentic Italian pizza. In Haberfield, which is down the street from Leichhardt. A bus from Norton St or Marion St can get you there in about 5 minutes.
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.
This place is famous for their ricotta cheesecake, but they also serve hot foods such as foccacia and arancini.
Delicious Thai restaurant in Leichhardt. Very reasonably priced authentic tasting Thai. Extremely busy on weekends, so bookings are advised. Recommended for vegetarians!.
This very popular outlet is well known for selling one of the best Vietnamese Banh Mi in Sydney. At $8, they are considered a good deal, and often there will be a lineup at lunch time. There is also a branch in nearby Ashfield.
Located within the backstreets close to Newtown Station, this pub is frequented by locals and has a less chaotic atmosphere compared to the pubs on King Street. The bistro has good value, high quality food within an informal dining atmosphere and makes a great place to spend an evening with a few drinks and a meal.
Sushi train restaurant offering a reasonably-priced, quality selection. There is also a menu for those who prefer non-sushi train options.
Thai La-ong has some of the spicier dishes among Newtown's many Thai restaurants. Their yellow curry and pad see eiw are worth a special mention. The restaurant is not air-conditioned and can be a bit uncomfortable on hot Sydney summer nights. Mains approx $10, but daily lunch specials include a plethora of generous mains for $6.
One of Sydney's premier Thai Restaurants with understated black and white decor and awesome but relatively pricey food. This place won Thai Restaurant of the Year for several years running many years ago, and one taste of the food will show you why. It has since expanded three times and incorporates a Thai gift shop.
Lots and lots of different good-sized pies to try out, from sweet to savoury, along with a variety of sides. Serves both coffee and craft beers as well.
This is an enormous pub only 2 minutes walk from Newtown train station. Wednesday night is lesbians' night. Look out for half-priced cocktails early in the night and cheap jugs of beer. Level access and lift, disabled toilet on lower ground floor.
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, 5 minutes from the heart of Newtown is a gay and lesbian pub and nightclub which features entertainment late Th-Sa. This pub was featured in the opening scene of 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'.
Dog friendly pub with rooftop beer garden
formerly the Ancient Briton
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.
Sydney's original rowing club, established in 1870, is a historic site with a chic and contemporary venue on a glorious riverside setting, a 20-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay (adjacent to Abbotsford Wharf). With fresh seafood available everyday for lunch and dinner, an expansive beverage list and live music on the riverside deck Thursday, Friday and Sunday, it's the ultimate setting for the archetypal Sydney experience.
This hotel is part of the Accor Group. There is a small dining area in the foyer with microwave, kettle, sandwich maker and sink.
If you require parking the hotel has an arrangement with the Coles carpark directly behind it. For $45 you can park your car as many hours or days as you like and exit the carpark once and once only. This enables parking for a modest price if you stay a few days and don't use your car during your stay. The height limit on the car park is 1.95m so don't try parking your campervan there.
Fairly typical independent bookshop with a cafe - new books are on the ground floor and second hand books on the top floor. It also hosts regular events. Another branch is in the inner-west suburb of Dulwich Hill.
A chaotic mix with specialities including Marxism, Labour history, magazines, and Australian history.
A large general second-hand book store with an upstairs area and café in its leafy courtyard, which becomes a wine and tapas bar at night. Decent books and decent coffee.
One of the Inner-west's largest book stores with a large selection of biographies and hard-to-find titles.
A small basic shopping mall servicing Ashfield.
Shopping mall right beside the harbour, with a number of designer factory outlets for fashion on the cheap. The food hall sells fresh Gozleme for $7, and pick up a table outside by the water. Buses along Victoria Rd toward Ryde stop close to the centre.
Direct Factory Outlets
Mainly factory outlets for Australian brands. It's a little hard to get to, can be congested, and the deals aren't always that good. Still it manages to draw crowds of locals and visitors alike. Get the 525 or 526 bus from Strathfield station if you're without a car.
Opened in 1966, it is the largest shopping mall in the Inner West with 247 stores and is conveniently located within a few minutes walk of Burwood Station. Once inside, you could be in any shopping mail, anywhere. Contains several supermarkets and a cinema.
A convenient shopping centre on the edge of the city that includes a large cinema complex and area views from the top of the car park.
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