The Strand Arcade is a beautifully restored heritage shopping arcade.
It’s the sort of place where you find traditionally made hats, hand-crafted shoes and hand-made chocolate. There’s even a shoe-shine booth.
However its not all olde-worlde. You will also find modern high-end Australian designers, like Aje, Camilla and Marc, and Rebecca Vallance.
Built in 1891, it’s retained its Victorian-style architecture and fittings. Even if you have little interest in shopping, it’s still charming to walk through and take in the beautiful mosaic-tiled floors and wrought iron railings, the wooden bannisters and handrails, the lead-light windows and glass vaulted roof.
It’s a nice spot to stop for a coffee at one of the cafes.
The only jarring note is the basement level which is entirely taken over by JB Hifi. With its bright yellow signs and jumbled displays, it looks kind of grotty and very out of keeping with the rest of the arcade.
NOTE: The arcade links both George St and Pitt St so you can enter from either end.