When you go looking for action in Sydney, expect to get overwhelmed with choices. This city has more good bars than it deserves, and it can prove it. If you want to go clubbing as well, it’s like sailing around the world. Sydney is also a very big place, and you need to know how to navigate. The trick is to know how to find what you want.
Exploring the Sydney bars
The basics of Sydney bars and clubs, fortunately, are all online. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to make up your mind, but you can check out a lot of places and plan your night a lot more easily.
The rules of travel in Sydney are pretty straightforward:
- It’s easier to get to the city and then go to your destination.
- Public transport is OK, despite some complaints from the natives, but so are cabs, even if they’re not particularly cheap.
- Getting from A to B is best kept simple.
- No two Sydney bars are the same.
Sydney bars – A random selection
Sydney’s most famous bars are in the city. This is a truly extraordinary mix of old and new, upmarket and true working man’s bars, some of which are real historic icons in their own right.
A walk down George Street and some side streets will lead you straight to some fabulous and very different Sydney bars, including:
The Ivy- The must see/must go icon of the new era in Sydney’s upmarket zone, this is a place to see and be seen. It’s a truly unique place, and most reviewers seem to be stuck for words. The simplest description is “Good taste, and a lot of it.” This was Australia’s Bar of the Year 2009, and there’s even a pool club, complete with cabanas and a 25 metre pool and a terrace bar.
Scruffy Murphy’s- This is a genuine Irish pub. To explain to non-Australians, a pub can’t even be called an Irish pub in Sydney unless it’s willing to take the risk of being compared to the others. Scruffy Murphy’s is so Irish it really must have been grown there and shipped over to Australia in one piece. This pub is also genuinely adored by its patrons. It’s rowdy, fun, and backpacker heaven.
The nearby Oxford Street scene down Liverpool Street is just a block from Hyde Park. This is the famous strip for the Gay Mardi Gras, and it’s also famous for some great bars and clubs.
Kinselas Hotel
Kinselas is a true Sydney icon. It’s been the place to go in for decades, and most Sydney locals have been there at least once. The Chapel Bar lives up to this great Aussie tradition, and it’s an easy place to navigate home from, afterwards.
The Oxford Art Factory
The Oxford Art Factory is something different. This really is for the creative people, and it’s a bar with a difference. The Oxford Art Factory has bands, visual artists, and a minimalist but fun atmosphere.
To give you some idea of the Sydney bar scene, those are just four bars, within a kilometre or so of each other. There are hundreds more. Bring a map and come and explore!
