Hyde Park-City/Darlinghurst

Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. The postcode is 2010, shared with Surry Hills and East Sydney.

Darlinghurst is a densely-populated suburb with the majority of residents living in apartments or terraced houses. From a slum in the 1920s and a red-light prostitution district, Darlinghurst has undergone urban renewal since the 1990s and early 2000s to become a rather upmarket, cosmopolitan and diverse area.

East Sydney is a locality in the western part of the suburb; Taylor Square is another locality within the suburb. Kings Cross is a locality on the northern border. Darlinghurst is surrounded by the suburbs of Woolloomooloo, Potts Point, Rushcutters Bay, Paddington and Surry Hills.

The area is most famous for the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The parade which marks the end of this festival takes place on Oxford Street, the main street that runs through several suburbs, including Darlinghurst.

Darlinghurst has two of Sydney's museums: the Australian Museum (a natural history museum) and the Sydney Jewish Museum. The suburb also features St Vincent's Hospital, and is associated with the Sacred Heart Hospice on Darlinghurst Rd, and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. The Darlinghurst Court House at Taylor Square is one of Sydney's most historic buildings. It is adjacent to historic Darlinghurst Gaol, which is now the East Sydney campus of the National Art School formerly the Sydney Institute of Technology.

Darlinghurst extends to Kings Cross and William Street (down Darlinghurst Road). The area between Oxford Street and William Street (which also includes East Sydney at the Hyde Park end) is peppered with restaurants which welcome everybody. Many feature Italian and Mediterranean cuisine.

The area around Taylor Square, which marks the start of Darlinghurst, and the couple of blocks to the end of Oxford Street at Hyde Park is the main entertainment area for the gay and lesbian community in Sydney.

It too has bars, discos, restaurants, cafes and boutiques. It is a major event with floats, bands, dancing troupes and spectacular costumes. People from all over the world line Oxford Street 15 deep to watch it, many making it the focal point of a holiday in Sydney.