The impressive Sydney University Quadrangle building.
For the afternoon, we'll be exploring one of Sydney's inner suburbs, Glebe, as well as the grand architecture of one of its educational institutions, the University of Sydney.
Make your way to Glebe Point Road. If you've caught the bus, ask the driver to alert you where to get off. If you've caught the light rail, you can either get off at Glebe Station station, follow Bridge Road up and around to Glebe Point Road, then walk back down to the Parramatta Road end (a fairly long walk - 20-30 mins) or you can ride all the way to Central, walk down to the Railway Square Bus interchange, and catch a bus along Parramatta Road to Victoria Park (Glebe Point Road is on the opposite side of the road) - the Route 10 Metrobus is an ideal bus to take, though any bus going along Parramatta Road will allow you to stop there.
Cross the road and head down Glebe Point Road, and spend some time exploring the local area. Glebe was a suburb a large amount of whose land was originally owned by the Anglican Church. In the 1970s the Commonwealth Government bought a large amount of it to provide housing for the needy. It has retained many of its 19th century housing. Today there are a number of trendy cafes and shops along the main street, but the old character of the suburb still is very evident. Some of the interesting shops include the popular Gleebooks which has both new and second-hand books, and Da Capo Music, an antiquarian music shop.
When you've finished exploring, head back to Parramatta Road and cross the road into Victoria Park, then find the grand steps up to Sydney University and take some photos of the vista up to the sandstone quadrangle. Sydney University is Australia's oldest tertiary institution, and the main quadrangle building you see before you is one of the original buildings which survives today.
Walk up to the tower and look up, then turn around and view the vista down into the neighbouring Victoria Park and towards the city. The tower you are standing in front of contains one of Australia's two carillons (the other is in Canberra, Australia's capital city). At lunch times and in the afternoons you can sometimes hear it being played. Walk into the quadrangle and admire the architecture, which is modelled half on the University of Oxford in England and the other half on the University of Cambridge in England.
While you are here, take the time to visit one or more of the University's museums. If you are standing in the middle of the quadrangle, facing away from the main tower you came in, to your left inside the building before you exit the building on that end is the Nicholson Museum, a museum of archaeology and history, which contains a number of Graeco-Roman and Egyptian antiquities and is well worth a visit. To your right, in the tunnel and up the stairs is the University Art Gallery containing samples of the University's 3000-odd art collection. Further to the right, in the neighbouring building across Science Road is the Macleay Museum, a museum of natural history with a fascinating insect collection. All of these close at 4:30pm on weekdays, so choose wisely and be prepared to come back on another day if you would like to visit more.
After visiting the museums, exit the quadrangle via the main clock tower and turn right, head across to the pedestrian walkway (Eastern Avenue) and walk along here until you reach the gates of the University, admiring the different styles of architecture along the way. Turn right and walk along the main road here (City Road), you will go past an oval and some houses before you reach the suburb of Newtown. Newtown is a very eclectic suburb in Sydney with many different sights and sounds. Interesting shops include Gould's Book Arcade on the other side of the road, a chaotic used bookshop with some interesting specialities which is open until midnight every day. Have an explore up and down King Street, the main shopping strip.
When it's time for dinner, choose something that you would enjoy. Newtown is known for its multicultural delicacies, including a large array of Thai restaurants. There is lots to pick and choose here, the Inner West page will help you if you can't decide.
To get back to the city, you can take a bus back from City Road towards the city. Alternatively, if you are down far enough, Newtown Railway Station (about a kilometre from the start of City Road where you came from) has frequent trains back to the city.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about One week in Sydney
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in One week in Sydney - updated Apr 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount One week in Sydney hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
One week in Sydney Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
