Totally Enjoyed This Sydney Urban Hike

By Don Nadeau, on May 21, 2009, in Travel

You’ll get awesome advice from the Lonely Planet Sydney City Guide in part because of the great urban walks it suggests.

Exploring the historic predominately residential neighborhoods of Erskineville, Glebe, and Newtown in Sydney last December was especially enjoyable. These are off the usual tourist circuit, but provide a fascinating glimpse into Australian lives.

Newtown, one of the most vibrant urban neighborhoods imaginable, in particular caught my attention.

Made fun of by a few Sydney residents in the way some Americans make fun of Californians, Newtown delivers a rich urban experience in a way Venice Beach does in Los Angeles. By this, I do not mean that Newtown’s appearance will remind you of Venice Beach, just that its residents live and think differently from the norm.

Imagine a somewhat multicultural neighborhood populated by interesting and lively mostly younger people just back from a G8 Summit protest and you have Newtown.

Walking along Newtown’s King Street shopping district, I found just one store vacant, in contrast to many Sydney neighborhoods impacted by malls. “Big box” stores may not be welcome in Newtown, but small box ones are doing fine. People walk in Newtown, and King Street was jammed.

Newtown’s shopping and dining choices are phenomenal. Its restaurants must serve as a focal point for Sydney’s vegans and vegetarian community.

The Lonely Planet route takes you through one of Australia’s most historic cemeteries filled with graves of the British who first settled here.

You’ll also pass though the University of Sydney campus and Victoria Park, which has an attractive outdoor Olympic-sized swimming pool. In good weather, you may want to be prepared for this. The campus has some attractive areas, but several of its buildings, such as its chemistry one, are the least appealing university structures I’ve ever seen.

The Glebe is also interesting and a bit more upscale than the others.

You can easily access this Lonely Planet walk via Sydney CityRail’s Erskineville Station. Check CityRail schedules, as its service to Erskineville is not as frequent as expected this close to the city center.

At the end of your walk in the Glebe, hop on any bus that says “Railway Square,” a major bus hub adjacent to CityRail’s Central Station hub, or other downtown destination. Buses run frequently toward Railway Square and the center city.