LOVE A GETAWAY

INTERSECTION OF WILLIAM STREET AND YURONG STREETS DARLINGHURST, 1934

DIVERSE DARLINGHURST

Once the “red light district,” Darlinghurst in the inner east of Sydney, is now a bustling and cosmopolitan mecca for locals and tourists alike, and just a ten-minute walk to the CBD.

‘Darlo,’ as it is aﬀectionately known, has the highest proportion of GEN X and Y Aussies as residents (so it’s cool), while the majority of businesses in the area are small businesses, largely across the food, fashion, lifestyle and professional services industries.

At Australian Life Magazine, that’s more than enough for us to want to visit and support the community!

There are lots of laneways littered throughout Darlinghurst so wander around and you’ll stumble along something fabulous.

Being a Melburnian, coﬀee is paramount to get me through all the sight-seeing.

The Rusty Rabbit is the place for the caffeine pick me up – a popular meeting spot for locals. Grab your latte (and pastry) and walk five minutes and sit in the sun in Sydney’s famous Hyde Park.

Our first lunchtime stop was the iconic “Little Italy” on Stanley Street, where the Italian immigrants settled in Sydney in the 1950’s. “Bill and Toni’s” is arguably one of the city’s most famous eateries. Extraordinarily affordable (unusual in this day and age), it is a no-fuss authentic meal just like Nona cooked. We had the meatballs. It’s open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.

If Vietnamese is more your style, you can literally sit on the side of the road at Vinfafe on Bourke Street, and have one of the best pho’s in town. It’s low key but everyone who lives nearby truly knows about this hidden gem.

For a drink, try the Darlo Bar which is very popular after work on a Friday and across the weekend, for a summer bevy on the sidewalk.

Nearby, and inspired by Andy Warhol’s 1960s New York Factory, the Oxford Art Factory is an edgy, warehouse venue with visual art, performance art and live music events to support Sydney’s established and emerging artists. Sit down and enjoy the old and new sounds of our global city.

THE COURTHOUSE HOTEL

The Oxford Art Factory Market runs on the ﬁrst Saturday of every month, and it’s worth a visit if the timing of your trip works.

The Sydney Jewish Museum is also worth a visit. Given the state of the world right now, and to mark the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust in Auschwitz, special exhibitions have been on show.

End the day at our favourite little bar is Sydney institution Dulcie’s. Watch some fantastic cabaret and jazz performances, and importantly, their cocktails use only Aussie-made spirits. Cheers to that. (I cheered with a Whisky Sour or two).

Darlinghurst shares the same postcode with the neighbouring suburb of Surry Hills for great restaurants and bars, with Paddington to the east for browsing fashion boutiques and Woolloomooloo for the famous wharf and ﬁve star restaurants, along with the uber chic and trendy Potts Point to the north. You can walk everywhere through East Sydney from your central Darlinghurst base.

A fantastic place to stay is the Bayswater Sydney Hotel. It’s right next to the famous Coke sign and has just undergone a major innovation and renamed as Hotel Diplomat. It’s boutique and very aﬀordable and is a two-minute walk to Kings Cross Train station for easy access to the whole city and down to Circular Quay and the Harbour.

Later this month, the world’s queer community ﬂocks to Darlinghurst for the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade as the performers and ﬂoats make their way up Darlinghurst’s famous Oxford Street.