Favorite Thing: The 'Loo' is far and away my favourite suburb in Sydney and not least because I lived there (see my accommodation tip)! The moment I set eyes on the name, I wanted to live there - I heard it was a dodgy part of town, but that wasn't going to stop me... ;-)
This distinctive area, the first part of Sydney to be colonised, is bounded by King's Cross to the east, William St to the south and the Domain to the west and exudes character in buckets, being home to some of Sydney's most individual and stand out attractions.
It is a schizophrenic suburb, home to some of Sydney's poorest council housing and a large homeless population - at the same time as being the address for Ferrari and Maserati dealerships and having some of the most expensive property in the city.
The 'Loo started life as a rough and ready area of docks and wharves complete with it's seedy trappings of often violent and drunken dockers, sailors and prostitutes congregating in the rowdy pubs and surrounding streets. You can still see the relative poverty of the low income housing in the centre of the suburb and the homeless encampments underneath the raised railway section of the train out to King's Cross. Many of the back streets behind William St are still used by prostitutes and their 'clients'...
On the flipside however, the 'Loo's proximity to the city (a ten minute walk!) has meant a steady gentrification of the edges of the suburb, including the redevelopment of the Finger Wharf into one of Sydney's premier apartment buildings with a number of the most exclusive restaurants in the city. All along William St and the area bordering the Domain, chic appartment blocks and upmarket businesses are turning back the decades of decay turning the 'Loo into one of the most striking examples of the haves and have nots rubbing shoulders side by side...
Fondest Memory: Some of the best places to enjoy a bite to eat or a drink in Sydney are in this very Suburb!
The World famous Harry's Cafe de Wheels, frequented by the stars is right on the wharf where it's been for decades serving up honest pies and mash with gravy (see my tip).
For a place to chill out and sample sublime coffees or teas, you can't go far wrong than Toby's Estate where they roast there own coffee right in the cafe itself (see my tip)!
For one of the best Sydney pub experiences, get yourself down to the Old Fitzroy Hotel for two storeys of cosy bars, excellent beers and a wonderful atmosphere - why not take a team to compete in the weekly quiz (see my tip)?
The Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf is an excellent development of hotel (the opulent W Hotel), luxury apartments with yacht berths and swanky cafes and restaurants, which apart from the wonderful Laurent Patisserie were a bit beyond my budget.
Opposite the wharf were several traditional 'hotels' and another couple of nice cafes - the best of which was the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, which as well as serving decent food also had a good bottle store which did regular weekly wine tastings!
By Harry's is a Naval dock where you can see a good proportion of Australia's navy at any one time. Occasionally you get other ships including an American Aegis class vessel and the Chilean tall ship, the Esmerelda, which looked wonderful at night with her rigging lit up like a christmas tree...
So c'mon down and enjoy a real salt of the earth suburb - watch out though...!
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on Mar 9, 2003
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