Something that really irks me is how difficult it is to find a travel guide that caters to needs other than the touristy. If you want touristy, sight-seeing things to do then the first book you lift off the shelf will amply serve your purposes, as I discovered this recent trip to New York. Even though I had been to the city a few times I was desperate to find new things to see, do, buy and, naturally, eat. I racked my brains, applied to you readers on my blog and twitter and then asked my mum. She told me to buy a guide book (and stop bugging her). The Lonely Planet guide I picked up helped me to discover the art galleries, museums and sights I should see – like the museum of Natural History (I am such a child when it comes to dioramas and dinosaurs) – and was helpfully set out in neighbourhoods with a handy map. The guide helped me learn the location of the Barneys warehouse sale, but other than that, it served no purpose outside of the sight-seeing. I didn’t eat at any of the restaurants or cafes listed in its pages.
Everyone, naturally, has different taste and therefore a guide will not be able to hold universal appeal. But there is certainly a market for something akin to ‘the trendy girls guide to X’ as suggested by Jessica on twitter. She is visiting Sydney in June for the first time and was eager for tips. Loath as I am to call myself a ‘trendy girl’ I am always happy to provide suggestions for my home town.This installment: See and Shop. Next installment: Eat and Drink. Final installment: Walk. (Sydney is a great place to walk).
See
Elizabeth Bay, Ithaca Road
Elizabeth Bay is one of the original ports of entry into Sydney from way back when Captain Cook colonised our fair nation. It is gorgeous - old houses, private beaches and a view of crystal, azure water through the sails of yachts. Less crowded than Rushcutters and Rose Bay (and more accessible to yummy restaurants and shops in Potts Point), sit down, bring a book, and soak up the old-school opulence of it all. Be sure to peek into the Real Estate agents on the Ithaca Road hill, there are always Art-Deco studio apartments for sale to make you very jealous.
Touristy thing to do while there: wander through Elizabeth Bay House, one of Australia's few 'stately homes' and certainly worth a poke if you're into history.
Centennial Park, Paddington
sourceThe site where I learnt to ride a bike, had many a post-school picnic and played my first hockey game, I am biased to my childhood haunt. But objectively Centennial Park is beautiful, boasting water reservoirs, horse riding tracks, bike enclosures, playgrounds, conical fir forests (i used to think these were fairy gardens) and many a place to throw down a checked rug and have a picnic.
Touristy thing to do while there: Bring a loaf of bread and feed the ducks.
Bondi Beach
sourceThere's nothing more Sydney than a beach, and there's nothing more beach than Bondi. It's here that you'll find the bulk of sydney's visitors, crowding the beach, trawling through souvenir shops and drinking in the sight of water, water everywhere. It's touristy, yes, but it is oh so beautiful in that overwhelming, can't take it all in kind of way. Where are you supposed to look? the bronzed limbs of surfer boys (and girls) as they fly over waves? the hulk of the imposing cliffs, strong and silent? the crowds, swarming through the markets on sunday or through shop after shop during the week? Who cares, take your time. Sit in a cafe ( wander aimlessly through the range of vintage shops (grandma takes a trip has a branch here, see below) or boutiques like tuchuzy or jatali on gould st, and just enjoy the feeling of being in sydney - stereotyped as brash, bold, body-conscious and beautiful as hell (and when you're in bondi beach it's hard to think otherwise).
Touristy thing to do while there: Eat a Deep Fried Mars Bar, surprisingly delicious, or go for a dip along with every other tourist in town!
Museum of Contemporary Art, Cirqular Quay
If you visit no other art gallery in Sydney, then so be it. But at least you will have made it to this one. The entry is free, so you really don't have an excuse. Their standing collection is well-curated and boasts the finest Australian contemporary artists like Peter Henessy and Rebecca Dagnall. It's got a great cafe if you need any more convincing, but i'm sure you'll go just to see the wide range of multimedia, sculptor, drawing, painting and interactive pieces they exhibit.
Touristy thing to do while there: walk down to the water's edge and take a gasp-inducing glance at the Opera House.
Shop
Lands End
205 Glenmore Road, Paddington, 2021.
Open 7 days.
uhh
205 Glenmore Road, Paddington, 2021.
Open 7 days.
uhhI'll admit it. I wasn't convinced by Lands End when it first opened. But now, a year later, I am well and truly besotted. Why is this? Because Lands End is more than just your usual designer brand stocking boutique. It is a carefully edited, thought-provoking mix of clothes that are inspirational in more ways than just desire. Along with clothes from Proenza Schouler, Richard Nicoll, Christopher Kane, Thakoon and of course, Balmain, Lands End stocks colourful African label Suno, hipster favourite Opening Ceremony and Australian wunderkind Dion Lee. Throw in some gorgeous penhaligons perfumes and jordy askill jewelry, you've got a shop that is light, open and filled with beautiful things that scream 'buy now, love forever'.
Blood Orange
35 Elizabeth Bay Road, Elizabeth Bay.
Open Tuesday-Sunday
uhh
This store is a little bit out of the way, but if you're making a trip over to people watch at Elizabeth Bay (see above) then this store nestles right at the top of Elizabeth Bay Road, the street you need to follow to get down to the Bay itself. At the back of Kings Cross the area is quiet and filled with cafes, food pedlars, ice-creameries and sweet shops. A real foodie's desination. And then there's Blood Orange, chic, pared-back elegance that is totally parisienne, and totally covetable. Here you'll find Alexander Wang, A.P.C and K.Jacques sandals hanging on the same rack as Garance Dore's favourite Australian label Arnsdorf, Therese Rawsthorne and a beautiful range of Diptyque candles and perfumes. There are also some truly lovely jewelry pieces sourced from around the world. Good for a poke around after a satisfying brunch in Potts Point, or while you rest before dinner time.
site
35 Elizabeth Bay Road, Elizabeth Bay.
Open Tuesday-Sunday
uhhThis store is a little bit out of the way, but if you're making a trip over to people watch at Elizabeth Bay (see above) then this store nestles right at the top of Elizabeth Bay Road, the street you need to follow to get down to the Bay itself. At the back of Kings Cross the area is quiet and filled with cafes, food pedlars, ice-creameries and sweet shops. A real foodie's desination. And then there's Blood Orange, chic, pared-back elegance that is totally parisienne, and totally covetable. Here you'll find Alexander Wang, A.P.C and K.Jacques sandals hanging on the same rack as Garance Dore's favourite Australian label Arnsdorf, Therese Rawsthorne and a beautiful range of Diptyque candles and perfumes. There are also some truly lovely jewelry pieces sourced from around the world. Good for a poke around after a satisfying brunch in Potts Point, or while you rest before dinner time.
site
Grandma Takes A Trip
Crown St, Surry Hills.
Many a young girl has had her first foray into vintage with this story, myself included. Here you'll find the best maintained selection of vintage in the city, specialising in mad men-esque shift dresses and swing coats as well as the bell-bottomed glory of the 70s. Party dresses galore, as well as mountains of jewelry and some more specific accessories like gloves, powder compacts and pillbox hats. This isn't a thrift store, although the clothes are not usually designer they are uniformly beautiful and not a loose seam in sight. You pay for the maintenance. They hold a good sale though - June/July and December/January. And right across the road is Wheels and Doll Baby, Australia's own Burlesque label peddling 1950s sillhouette dresses and wear favoured by Dita Von Teese and Debbie Harry.
Crown St, Surry Hills.
Many a young girl has had her first foray into vintage with this story, myself included. Here you'll find the best maintained selection of vintage in the city, specialising in mad men-esque shift dresses and swing coats as well as the bell-bottomed glory of the 70s. Party dresses galore, as well as mountains of jewelry and some more specific accessories like gloves, powder compacts and pillbox hats. This isn't a thrift store, although the clothes are not usually designer they are uniformly beautiful and not a loose seam in sight. You pay for the maintenance. They hold a good sale though - June/July and December/January. And right across the road is Wheels and Doll Baby, Australia's own Burlesque label peddling 1950s sillhouette dresses and wear favoured by Dita Von Teese and Debbie Harry.
Oscar and Friends
19-27 Cross St, Double Bay
Open 7 days
source
This bookstore carries all the books you wished you owned. It is the only store in Sydney I have found to stock the Sophie Dahl cookbook, a delight unto itself and it has an equal focus on the artsy coffee table tomes as well as the literature - a balance that sometimes concept bookstores lose sight of. Independent book stores are becoming a thing of the past (you've all seen you've got mail) and it would be a great sorrow to lose the friendliness and knowledge that these stores have. They even offer complimentary gift wrap. Once you're done zip next door to Italian eatery 'Dish' for a liqueur or gelato pick me up, whatever takes your fancy.
David Jones
Elizabeth St (and Market St for the boys), Sydney City
open 7 days (don't i know it!) 9.30 - 6 Mon-Weds, 9.30 - 9 Thurs-Fri. 9.30 - 7 Sat, 10-6 Sun
Lest you think this is a marketing plug (i work for this department store) i have to say that i've shopped here long before I worked here and I still enjoy the browse. It stocks the biggest range of Australian designers as well as the major International ones. It has history - David Jones is the world's oldest department store operating under it's original name. It is an Australian institution and worthy of a reccy in the way that you wouldn't go to New York and skip Saks, or London and bypass Selfridges. If anything you'll be sure to enjoy the food hall and the extensive candy bar, but hopefully you stop by handbags and say hello to me on the way!
T2 tea
Sydney Central Plaza, 450 George St, Sydney
Open 7 days, late night on Thurs
source
you've got to love tea, but if you do, this is the shop to complete all your wildest dreams. They have all your average brews - including their own black 'sydney breakfast', great for a small gift for family back home - as well as more outlandish flavours like creme brulee, raspberry tart and turkish apple ice tea. The packagings are cute too - bright orange (my favourite colour!) and so happy-making. You'll walk away with a whole tea suite - from pot to spoon - but you'll be so enraptured by it that you'll be wrapping it up in your clothes in your suitcase so it doesn't break on the way home. enjoy!
The Corner Shop
43 William St, Paddington or level 2, The Strand Arcade, CBD
Open 7 days
source
Belinda Seper is THE Australian woman in fashion - she pioneered the boutique landscape in Australia when she opened Belinda some decades ago. But Belinda, with its lanvin, givenchy and stella stella mccartney (if that's your thing, just up the road at 43 William St or in the MLC Centre on Castlereagh St in the City), isn't for everyone. That's why she opened The Corner shop, who, if she were a girl, would be the cool one that you all wanted to be because she wears her skinny jeans low and her lips red, baby, red. Besides, Paddington is the place to be hip anyway, so buy big on the acne, the isabel marant and the gary bigeni and swing your shopping bags high.
more shopping picks in the 'walk' section, including the famed Oxford St and William St shopping trips!
X
19-27 Cross St, Double Bay
Open 7 days
sourceThis bookstore carries all the books you wished you owned. It is the only store in Sydney I have found to stock the Sophie Dahl cookbook, a delight unto itself and it has an equal focus on the artsy coffee table tomes as well as the literature - a balance that sometimes concept bookstores lose sight of. Independent book stores are becoming a thing of the past (you've all seen you've got mail) and it would be a great sorrow to lose the friendliness and knowledge that these stores have. They even offer complimentary gift wrap. Once you're done zip next door to Italian eatery 'Dish' for a liqueur or gelato pick me up, whatever takes your fancy.
David Jones
Elizabeth St (and Market St for the boys), Sydney City
open 7 days (don't i know it!) 9.30 - 6 Mon-Weds, 9.30 - 9 Thurs-Fri. 9.30 - 7 Sat, 10-6 Sun
Lest you think this is a marketing plug (i work for this department store) i have to say that i've shopped here long before I worked here and I still enjoy the browse. It stocks the biggest range of Australian designers as well as the major International ones. It has history - David Jones is the world's oldest department store operating under it's original name. It is an Australian institution and worthy of a reccy in the way that you wouldn't go to New York and skip Saks, or London and bypass Selfridges. If anything you'll be sure to enjoy the food hall and the extensive candy bar, but hopefully you stop by handbags and say hello to me on the way!
T2 tea
Sydney Central Plaza, 450 George St, Sydney
Open 7 days, late night on Thurs
sourceyou've got to love tea, but if you do, this is the shop to complete all your wildest dreams. They have all your average brews - including their own black 'sydney breakfast', great for a small gift for family back home - as well as more outlandish flavours like creme brulee, raspberry tart and turkish apple ice tea. The packagings are cute too - bright orange (my favourite colour!) and so happy-making. You'll walk away with a whole tea suite - from pot to spoon - but you'll be so enraptured by it that you'll be wrapping it up in your clothes in your suitcase so it doesn't break on the way home. enjoy!
The Corner Shop
43 William St, Paddington or level 2, The Strand Arcade, CBD
Open 7 days
sourceBelinda Seper is THE Australian woman in fashion - she pioneered the boutique landscape in Australia when she opened Belinda some decades ago. But Belinda, with its lanvin, givenchy and stella stella mccartney (if that's your thing, just up the road at 43 William St or in the MLC Centre on Castlereagh St in the City), isn't for everyone. That's why she opened The Corner shop, who, if she were a girl, would be the cool one that you all wanted to be because she wears her skinny jeans low and her lips red, baby, red. Besides, Paddington is the place to be hip anyway, so buy big on the acne, the isabel marant and the gary bigeni and swing your shopping bags high.
more shopping picks in the 'walk' section, including the famed Oxford St and William St shopping trips!
X
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