The city’s flagship department stores are
David Jones, 86-108 Castlereagh Street, gentlemen’s emporium
Gowings, corner of Market Street and George Street, which dates back to 1868, and the down-to-earth
Myer, 436 George Street.
Castlereagh Street is considered Sydney’s designer row, although this does not take account of prestige stores in
Chifley Plaza, 2 Chifley Square, and the
MLC Center, 19-29 Martin Place. There are shopping malls galore and two splendid Victorian arcades: the
Strand, 412-414 George Street, and the palatial
Queen Victoria Building, 455 George Street, also known as QVB.
Market City, Thomas Street, Haymarket, has factory outlets and traditional markets.
An impressive homegrown stable of fashion designers has established Sydney as a regional fashion capital, reaching both the Asian and the US markets. Among the most popular designers are Paris Fashion Week regular
Collette Dinnigan, 33 William Street, Paddington, and
Lisa Ho, 2a-6a Queen Street.
For gifts with a local flavor, the most exquisite gourmet foods can be found at
Simon Johnson Quality Foods, 55 Queen Street, Woolahra, Aboriginal artifacts at
Coo-ee Aboriginal Art, 31 Lamrock Avenue, Bondi Beach, and the trendiest of board gear at
Surfection, shop 2021, 500 Oxford Street.
It is worth exploring the length of Oxford Street, just to experience the variety of shopping genres, from the camp end at Darlinghurst, past the small fashion stores of Paddington and on into Woollahra and the top-of-the-range antique shops in and around Queen Street. Further still into Bondi Junction leads to
Westfield Bondi Junction, a quality shopping complex featuring international designer fashion stores, department stores and specialist stores for every conceivable need.
Darling Harbour, Chinatown and The Rocks historic district are teeming with souvenir and craft shops. The Rocks is also the place for shoppers to pick up gems from the major Australian opal fields.
The Rocks Opal Mine, 13 Clocktower Square, and
Flame Opals, 119 George Street, both have good selections of stones, as does the downtown
Gemstone Boutique, 388 George Street. For pearls from the northwest coast of Australia,
Paspaley Pearls, 142 King Street, has some world-class examples.
There are markets at Balmain, Bondi Beach and The Rocks but perhaps the one with the strongest local flavor is the
Sydney Fish Market, open daily 0700-1600, in Pyrmont, offering over 100 species of the freshest seafood, sushi bars and fish cafés.
Shop opening hours are generally Monday-Saturday 0900-1800, with late-night shopping until 2100 on Thursday. Increasingly, shops are opening on Sunday. There is a 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST), which is included on the price tags. There are several duty-free shops in the city center, as well as at the airport. Shoppers must show their passport and onward ticket on collection of goods.
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Related Sydney Content
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
Related Australia Content
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
Australia Airport Guides:
|
Australia City Guides:
|
| Australia Attraction Guides: |
|
|
|
Australia Community:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
