Jessica Adams spends a day walking down King Street, Newtown in Sydney’s favourite studenty village.

So what does King Street offer? Expect lots of hotels (aka pubs or bars), boho boutiques, organic food and Mind Body Spirit havens. It’s the sister of Fitzroy, Melbourne and Camden, London (but nicer) and There are ATMs and a Post Office.

You could catch the train to Newtown Station, but that would mean starting your walk halfway up King Street and you’d miss a lot of the action further down. Instead, either walk, bus (or get a cab) to the corner of Queen Street and King Street, to start your day-long trawl. If you do this properly, it really will take a day, but you should enjoy every minute of it. There’s a cinema too, so you can always stop for a film. If you’re doing this in the late afternoon, find out what bands are on in the evening if you want to stay out: check Drum Media, Sydney’s free gig magazine: www.drummedia.com.au

Okay, are you ready to rock from the corner of Queen and King? Just one more thing. A lot of places don’t open until 11am because they keep boho hours.

Gould’s Secondhand Book Heaven

Gould’s Books at 32 King Street is the size of a helicopter pad. It’s heaving with secondhand books, DVDs and those dinosaur-like objects known as 80s cassette tapes. They can help you with a search at the counter – or you can just browse and pick up anything from 70s sex manuals to brand new sleb biographies. Lots of journalists live in Newtown so you can generally count on finding unwanted review copies for sale. Open 8am to midnight and also – can you believe this – for some of Christmas Day.
Visit www.gouldsbooks.com.au

 

Award-Winning Hairdresser

Noddy’s of Newtown. 88 King Street. Australian Hairdresser of the Year – four times no less. Less poncey than many other Sydney hairdressers and the favourite of many a blonde.
www.nok.com.au/salon.html

Yoshi Jones – Funky Japanese Fashion

134 King Street. Japanese kimono, vintage and modern fabric incorporated into hip modern clothes, kids’ stuff, quilt covers and lampshades. The black skirts with subtle kimono fabric panels sewn in are a favourite.
www.yoshijones.com

Dangerfield

268 King Street. This is where you find your Cure T-shirts and rockabilly cardigans. It’s indie-band fan and student heaven. There are a few rockist shops on King Street but Dangerfield has the biggest range.
www.dangerfield.com.au

Tree of Life

320 King Street. Absolute hippie. No apologies. Find incense, wooden buddhas, floaty skirts in sari fabric, cheesecloth shirts with grandad collars and wooden buttons, glittery Indian cushions – the lot. Somehow more colourful, clean and sparkly than the average hippie shop though. Australia has a big modern hippie culture along the East Coast and this is where the chicks buy their dangly earrings and maxi frocks.
www.treeoflife.com.au

Pure Botanicals

322 King Street. Lovely smell as you walk into the shop. Sandalwood and Neroli Bath Oil. Eye masks. Neck pillows. Smelly Dog Shampoo for your pooch at home. Beyond the delicious herbals, you’ll find the clinic. Choose a crystal ball psychic reading, a Kahuna massage, an Energetic Healing…Tempted?
purebotanicals.com.au

The Bank Hotel

324 King Street. It’s enormous, it’s slick and it’s where everyone in Newtown meets for a drink – and some delicious Thai food. It was 2007 New Hotel of the Year. (Australians call their pubs hotels). There’s a huge space outside for spring and summer drinking. You can also book private rooms for little parties.
www.bankhotel.com.au

Repressed Records

356 King Street. There are many CD and vinyl shops on King Street, thanks to the number of indie musicians who live here. Repressed Records is beloved. Very good for rare Australian deleted albums.
www.repressedrecords.com

Etelage Jewellery

430 King Street. Make your own jewellery with their vintage, fair trade and collectable beads. Etelage offers classes, and special little kits for kids to make their own jewels.
www.etelage.com/epages/zfweb.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shops/etelage

Buddha Bar

434 King Street. Heaven on a stick. Four treatment rooms, a beautiful garden, visiting Tibetan Buddhist monks, many kinds of massage, acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, tarot and workshops. So many places in Australia offer this kind of spiritual/spooky/spa service but Buddha Bar is truly special.
www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/therapist/3002

Retrospec’d

486 King Street. Only open Wednesday to Sunday (shame!) but worth it for the faithful 1940s and 1950s reproduction clothing and shoes. If you find your size here, you can order online after you go home.
www.retrospecd.com/contact.html

Made

590 King Street. You’ll know it’s worth the walk all the way to the end of King Street when you find Made. It’s New Craft. That means children’s fabric sewn into witty T-shirts, and fresh retro accessories. It also means lots of owls and swallows on things. T-shirts for men with photographs of band instruments on them. Lovely birthday cards. Excellent music playing in store (The Kinks).
www.made590.com.au/store/pages.php?pageid=5

*At this point you have reached the very last dribs and drabs of King Street and will be ready to cross the road to the other side (or break on through to the other side, if you are Jim Morrison). Then you can walk all the way up. Note: You are now in the vintage and secondhand block of the street. So if you like 1960s jewellery or ancient Qantas flight bags from the 1970s this is your bit!

Bollywood Braids and Trims

595 King Street. Does exactly what it says on the tin. (But no website).

Fiji Market

591 King Street. If you like Asian food and you’re self catering in Sydney, you can find your supplies here. Non-cooks like it for the Indian umbrellas and saris, Fijian fabric, sandalwood soap, hair oil and beads. No website.

Pretty in Pink

533 King Street. Vintage inspired bags (totes and make-up) and some accessories. Cute retro fabrics. Lots of 1950s cupcakes and ladies. Small daughters, nieces and goddaughters will love the kids’ stuff.
www.prettyinpinkdesigns.com.au

Newtown Old Wares

439 King Street. The best of the 50s, 60s and 70s in one shop. Australia doesn’t really have antiques as Europeans understand them – but there is a lot of retro kitsch out there if you want to find it. Newtown Old Wares is one of several such shops down this end of King Street. No website.

Faster Pussycat

431A King Street. Rock’n’Roll fashion. Brothel creepers, sneakers and Mary Janes. 1950s Americana T-shirts. Hip kid fashion. If you love Betty Page and Betty Boop, this is a shop made for every-betty.
www.fasterpussycatonline.com/

All Buttons Great and Small

419A King Street. Nicole Kidman wore their buttons in Moulin Rouge – and so did Ewan McGregor in Star Wars. This only sells buttons, but my gaad, what buttons! The place is always heaving with fashionistas. You can make bracelets and necklaces out of them or just pin them on a hair grip. Do you sew? You’ve got to go here.
www.allbuttons.com.au/

Beehive Gallery

441 King Street. More new craft! Lovely notebooks and funny little coin purses made with recycled fabric.
www.beehivegallery.com.au/

Better Read Than Dead

265 King Street. There are so many new and secondhand bookshops on King Street but this is where authors choose to have their launches, and it’s where you’ll find your book for the plane trip home.
www.betterread.com.au

The Dendy Cinema

261-263 King Street. If you are into planning your day, you may want to organise it so you land back at The Dendy for the afternoon or evening session. Arguably Australia’s coolest cinema chain. This is the Newtown branch.
www.dendy.com.au/locations_newtown.asp

Pentimento

249 King Street. Witty and beautiful greeting cards. Candles from France and England. Australian-designed handbags. Piles of notepaper and notebooks. Hip art books and clever little kids’ books. No website.

Body and Soul

231 King Street. Spray tan. Aromatherapy facials. AHA Facials. Lemon & Lime Manicure (around $25) and Peppermint Pedicure (around $35). Eyelash and Eyebrow Care. Leg Waxing. Thai Massage. Psychic Readings. No website.

Beyond Therapies

207 King Street. If you’re on Facebook, Beyond Therapies has a page there. Art therapy to help you get over emotional blocks. You can also find…Ear candling. Reiki. Coffee Cup Readings. Cupping. Shamanic Journeying. And even good old massage!
www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/therapist/12632

Vinnies

187 King Street. Australians have nicknamed the charity clothing chain St Vincent De Paul ‘Vinnies’ for years. Eventually this venerable Catholic organisation gave in and now their shops (in the hipper areas of Australia) are known as Vinnies and attract lots of eco-friendly, retro-obsessed shopaholics.
www.bargainshopper.com.au/fashion?cid=12392&pid=2754051

T2

134 King Street. Nothing but tea. They’ll match it to your personality, your star sign…whatever. You can sniff the range in little ceramic tea cups. They also have free drink-and-run samples. And T2 sell the little metal tea-strainers here too – and a range of lovely teapots and cups. The tea is loose, in funky orange boxes.
https://secure.t2tea.com.au/flash/main.html

The Marlborough Hotel

145 King Street. Their trivia quiz nights have been famous for years. They also offer poker and, bizzarrely, psychic readings at this hotel. The Marlborough has a great Aussie wine list. They’re also on Facebook. They also have a Happy Hour which makes us happy.
www.marlboroughhotel.com.au/index2.html

Now, keep trundling down King Street to the corner of Little Queen Street and King Street, and you’ll be almost opposite the vast Gould’s Bookshop (remember that?) where you started out. You’re allowed to go home now, if you’re still standing. It’s easy to hail a cab from here, or just hop on a bus.