Glebe runs on coffee, second-hand books and pub nights you can’t plan in advance. Glebe Point Road threads the whole suburb together: brunch joints down one end, the Saturday markets in the middle, the foreshore walk down at the water, and a 19th-century Taoist temple tucked behind the terrace houses. Everything you’d want to do in Glebe sits within a 15-minute walk of Little Drifter Glebe at 262 Glebe Point Road.
Here’s how to spend a day, a weekend, or a stretch of long, lazy mornings in Sydney’s inner west.
Top Spots & Attractions near Glebe Sydney
Cruise Sydney Harbour at sunset with golden-hour views, iconic landmarks and a relaxed evening atmosphere.
Explore the eclectic Glebe Markets for vintage fashion, unique handmade crafts, and delicious street food, all set in a lively outdoor space.
Enjoy panoramic city views from Sydney Tower Eye, Sydney’s highest observation deck and a must-see attraction.
Visit Taronga Zoo for a fun experience, where you can see Australian wildlife and exotic animals with views of the harbour.
Experience a tandem skydive with Skydive Australia from up to 15,000 ft over Newcastle or Wollongong for thrilling freefall and epic coastal views.
Join a Manly snorkelling tour to explore colourful reefs and marine life in clear coastal waters just outside Sydney.
Experience a thrilling Sydney Harbour jet boat ride with high-speed spins, iconic views and adrenaline-pumping fun.
Explore SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium with sharks, penguins and interactive marine exhibits, a must see aquatic experience in the heart of Sydney.
Experience Glebe Like a Local
Three things to know before you start. The light rail (Glebe and Jubilee Park stops) runs straight to Central Station in 10 minutes, so you don’t need a car. The Saturday markets and most of the food are on Glebe Point Road, so build the day around it. And the foreshore walk is your reset button when you’ve eaten too much, which you will.
If you’re working out what to do in Glebe Sydney, the rest of this guide breaks it down by time of day.
Where to Start Your Day in Glebe
Brunch is a Glebe sport. Dirty Red at 41 Glebe Point Road is the locals’ favourite. Named after the old Glebe rugby league club, it pours strong coffee from early, and turns into a wine bar on Friday and Saturday nights. Walk in for a brekky roll, walk out three hours later having ordered another flat white.
If Dirty Red is full (it often is on weekends), Madame Frou Frou at 379 Glebe Point Road is another great option. Smashed avo, simple sandwiches, good coffee, dog-friendly outdoor seating, and you’ll be back at Little Drifter Glebe in five minutes.
Lunch and dinner along Glebe Point Road
The food on Glebe Point Road runs from cheap-and-cheerful to date-night. Khao Hom Thai at 315–317 Glebe Point Road is the no-fuss Thai pick. Cheap lunch specials, weeknights get busy, portions are generous, and it’s a solid call when you’ve got a group to feed.
Arthur’s Pizza at 196 Glebe Point Road has been serving thin-crust since 1970. Classic toppings, busy on Friday nights, set deals on three pizzas and a garlic bread that suit a hungry table.
For something meat-free, Badde Manors at 37 Glebe Point Road has been feeding Glebe since 1982. Vegetarian and vegan plates that borrow from Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean, a cake counter worth ruining your appetite for, and a terrace that fills the second the sun’s out.
Glebe nightlife: bars and pubs
Friend in Hand at 58 Cowper Street is the one to know. It’s Glebe’s oldest pub, it has a resident cockatoo called George who waddles along the bar, and the events calendar is genuinely deranged in the best way. Weeknights run crab racing, open-mic comedy at Mic in Hand, and a poetry night on the first Tuesday of the month. Cheap drinks. No frills. Go.
The Drummer at 185 Glebe Point Road is the late one. Three storeys of terrace, a rooftop bar most visitors never find, burgers and share plates from the kitchen until close, and free live music every Thursday and Saturday with DJs running through to 2am. Get there at 9pm and you won’t move.
The Toxteth Hotel at 345 Glebe Point Road (locally known as The Tocky) is the classic Sydney pub middle ground. Open since 1882, weekday meal specials, live music on weekends. Five minutes from Little Drifter Glebe.
Two more worth the walk, both uni bars, both stacked with live music. The Lansdowne at 2-6 City Road in Chippendale has been open since 1925 and books everyone from unsigned bands to acts who go on to sell out arenas. Billie Eilish played here in 2017. Wednesday trivia, tacos from the in-house taqueria, doors until 5am on Fridays, and 15 minutes from Little Drifter Glebe. The Marlborough Hotel on King Street in Newtown, known to everyone as The Marly, has been standing since 1860. Live music across every genre, a beer garden, dogs welcome, and Tokyo Sing Song downstairs running electronic and dance until 4am on Friday and Saturday.
Walk to King Street, Newtown
When Glebe Point Road runs out, King Street picks up. It’s the best-preserved Victorian high street in Sydney, running from the University of Sydney down to St Peters: vintage stores, bookshops, record shops, Thai and Vietnamese under $20, and pubs that go late seven nights a week. It’s also the centre of Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ scene outside Oxford Street, and it doesn’t save that for one weekend in March. About a 30-minute walk from Little Drifter Glebe, or take the 370 bus down Glebe Point Road. Newtown station puts you back at Central in five minutes.
Culture and history in Glebe
Glebe has been here longer than most of Sydney, and it shows. Two stops are worth your time.
Sze Yup Temple at 2 Edward Street is one of only a handful of pre-WWI Chinese temples still active in Australia. Built between 1898 and 1904 by immigrants from the Sze Yup region of Guangdong, it’s a working Taoist temple dedicated to Kwan Ti, a third-century military figure turned folk deity. Free to visit, open daily, take your shoes off at the door. Ten minutes’ walk from Little Drifter Glebe and a complete shift in tempo from the rest of the suburb.
The Chau Chak Wing Museum on the University of Sydney’s Camperdown campus is the other one. Free entry, four floors, eighteen exhibitions: Egyptian mummies, Mediterranean antiquities, Macleay natural history specimens, and a serious Indigenous Australian collection threaded through the whole museum rather than tucked away. Open seven days. Allow at least two hours.
Outdoor things to do in Glebe
The Glebe Foreshore Walk is the move. Pick it up at Jubilee Park, follow the water around Rozelle Bay through Bicentennial Park, and you’ll get city skyline views the whole way to Sydney Fish Market in Pyrmont. About 2km one way, flat the entire route, and the cleanest way to clear a hangover before brunch.
Jubilee Park itself is worth a stop on its own. Open lawns, picnic-friendly, light rail stop right there if you want to push on into the city. On Saturdays, Glebe Markets take over the grounds of Glebe Public School at the corner of Glebe Point Road and Derby Place: vintage clothes, handmade jewellery, records, food trucks, live music, around 200 stalls.
Accommodation Near Glebe Attractions
Little Drifter Glebe sits at 262 Glebe Point Road, set across two Victorian-style buildings a short walk from everything in this guide. Pick from a Private Suite, a Shared Suite, or a Female-Only Shared Suite. Free Wi-Fi, communal kitchen, sunlit courtyard, rooftop terrace, pool table and TV lounge come standard.
Glebe Point Road is at one end of the street. The foreshore walk is at the other. Saturday markets, Sze Yup Temple, the university museum, and most of Sydney’s inner west are all on foot from the front door. You won’t need a tram pass.
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