Paddy's Markets, Chinatown

Paddy's Markets are a great find if you haven't shopped for souvenirs for your friends yet on your trip! You can get anything you could possibly want here, at amazing prices. There is australiana galore: stuffed koalas playing didgeridoos, kangaroo pouch backpacks, outback hats with bobbling corks, boomerangs decorated with aboriginal dotted paintings, Sydney tshirts, clip-on koalas, and attractive Australia windbreakers. More than that, there are fresh vegetables and fruits, flowers, and plants, offered by over a thousand stalls.

If you're hungry, head upstairs to the air-conditioned Market City Shopping Center where there's an excellent asian food court.
Outside Paddy's Market is Dixon Street Mall, the main square in Chinatown, always crowded with people coming and going from restaurants, pubs, and Asian grocery stores. This is not the safest area of Sydney, so stay alert. There is some nice, though grubby, architecture along the street.
For more serene Chinese culture, walk north a short way to the Chinese Garden of Friendship at Darling Harbour.

Directions

Paddy's Markets is located at the southern end of Dixon Street Mall, the main square in Chinatown. The address is Market City, 9-13 Hay St, Haymarket, New South Wales 2000, Australia, call (02)9325 6204.
You can catch the light rail (tram) here. It stops right in front of the markets.
Open Thurs-Sun 10-5.

Click on map for interactive view