What are the best things to do in Camperdown, Sydney?
The best things to do in Camperdown, Sydney, include the Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney walking tours, the Victoria Park Pool and the Wayward Brewery.
Camperdown is part of Sydney’s Inner West, and it often gets overlooked. This is largely because the Parramatta Road, the major arterial route out west from the city centre, passes through.
The neighbourhood might not have the street art of Newtown, the pubs of Erskineville, the cool factor of Chippendale or markets of Glebe, but there’s a surprisingly large collection of things to do in Camperdown.
13 brilliant experiences in Sydney you should book
- (💲Great value 💲) Tick off several bucket list items on a highlights-packed Blue Mountains day tour.
- Get perfect views of the world’s most beautiful city on a Sydney Harbour helicopter tour.
- Save money with a multi-attraction pass.
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Enjoy the romance of a tall ship cruise on Sydney Harbour.
- Eat all you can at the Skyfeast at the top of Sydney Tower.
- See migrating humpbacks – on a whale-watching cruise.
- (Highly recommended ✅) Go behind the scenes of Australia’s most famous building on an Opera House tour.
- Dine as the city lights up on sunset dinner cruise around the harbour.
- Combine beers and stories on a historic pubs tour through the convict-era Rocks district.
- Stand on your board and catch waves during Bondi Beach surfing lessons.
- Go to wombat and kangaroo-spotting hotspots on a Southern Highlands tour.
- Enjoy Sydney’s wild side on a Manly snorkelling & nature walk.
- (🥇Top choice in Sydney) And, best of all, paddle to hidden beaches on a harbour kayaking adventure.
Things to do in Camperdown: University campus
This is primarily because the main University of Sydney campus is based in Camperdown. Go for a walk around the campus and there are several handsome, grandstanding buildings to admire. The Neo-Gothic sandstone buildings around the Quadrangle have led to the University of Sydney campus being named as one of the most beautiful in the world.
It’s possible to book a tour of the campus focusing on heritage buildings, or just download a PDF self-guided tour from the University of Sydney website.
Also on the list of things to do in Camperdown within the University campus should be the Chau Chak Wing Museum. This new museum brings together three major university collections. One focuses on art, another on antiquities and archaeology, and the third on natural history, ethnography and science.
Victoria Park Pool in Camperdown, NSW
Camperdown is also blessed with a few parks. The O’Dea Reserve and Camperdown Park are fairly generic, but Victoria Park has more appeal. This is mainly due to the Victoria Park Pool, an Olympic-sized open air pool that is open to the public. The Victoria Park Pool is one of the closest places for an al fresco swim to the city centre. You can lie around sunbathing at the poolside once you’ve been swimming.
Or maybe you’d prefer to go for a beer. If so, you’re in luck, as the Wayward Brewery is on the north side of the Parramatta Road, on the invisible border with Annandale. This industrial-looking microbrewery is home to some of the best craft brewing in Sydney. The Wayward Brewery Taproom on Gehrig Lane is open daily, regularly hosting food trucks and live music.
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