For farm-fresh produce, vintage finds or homespun arts and crafts, check out our ultimate guide to the best markets in Sydney
Whether it’s the promise of brekky pho or the racks of vintage threads that gets you out of bed in the morning, these are the markets that we've been itching to get back to, with their local produce, creative wares and delicious snacks. We've specified which markets are currently open, and which are biding their time.
When you're out and about, make sure you stick to appropriate hygiene and physical distancing measures, as laid out by the WHO and the Australian Department of Health.
Since you're planning an early start, why not make the most of it with these 90 things to do before 9am then find afternoon blooms at the best florists in Sydney. Or jam-pack your time off with our list of the best things to do this weekend.
RECOMMENDED: 50 things to do in Sydney at least once in your life.
Go here for: vintage clothes, books, rugs, eco food wraps to healing crystals, rice bread and tarot reading.
Pick up a paper lunch bag filled with sweet, mini plums and stop by Brooklyn Boy Bagels for a poppy seed dough with cream cheese, lox, dill and caper schmear. Head over on Sundays from 9am at the Addison Road Centre.
Go here for: brunching delights, handmade finds, juicy produce and pop-up yoga
Bar Pho has been a staple of the weekly produce and snack fare for the past eight years, and the warming basil, beef and star anise-spiked stock makes a solid argument for passing on the usual bacon and egg breakfast. This stall along with Fritter House (try the lion’s share with chipolatas, sour cream, two big corn fritters, bacon and salsa) and the Raclette Shack (oozy cheese-topped potatoes are always a great idea at 10am) make the markets an excellent brunching destination.
Go here for: Bowen's bacon and egg rolls, Flour and Stone's lemon cake, condiments, small goods and fresh produce
You’re spoilt for choice for truss tomatoes, plump berries, technicolour capsicums and leafy greens. The popularity of the bacon and egg rolls from Bowen’s has reached celebrity status, with queues long enough to make you think Bieber is signing autographs at the end of the line.
Go here for: the biggest selection of fresh produce and arts and crafts in Sydney – and pony rides
Entertainment Quarter has been home to a fresh produce and arts and crafts market for 20 years, and in 2018 market experts Madelienne Anderson and Rebecca Fox took over the show, adding EQ to their list of market spaces around Sydney, from Watsons Bay to Cronulla. There are up to 70 stallholders peddling gourmet cheeses, ripe cherry tomatoes and piping hot gozleme.
Go here for: beach-ready snacks, organic produce, retro hauls and backpacker-chic giftware
You can pick up Hass avocados for $3, lush green veggies like broccoli, leeks, fennel and spinach, plus earthy Dutch cream potatoes and boxes of free range eggs. Alongside the two main produce stalls at the church end of the street, there are fresh-cut flowers such as flowering gum for $25 and eucalyptus for $12, but also more weathered bunches of roses and dahlias.
Go here for: environmentally-focussed food, produce, colourful blooms and trinkets
There’s a new sustainable, environmentally-focused market joining the mix of Sydney’s regular shopping events. The Flour Mill Markets, which come from the fresh minds behind the Erskineville Farmers’ Market, are dedicated to fresh produce, dairy-based goods, locally crafted pottery and more every second Sunday of the month.
Go here for: a utopia of pre-loved finds, record crates, Glo-Mesh purses, crafts and gozleme
The schoolyard of the Rozelle Public School has been a hive of weekend crate digging for more than 20 years, and while some stalls have almost earned long service leave, there are always newcomers keen to swap their good and chattel for some cold hard cash. You can find bargains for less than you’d spend on a coffee – it’s all about the chase.
Go here for: the freshest produce
Snaking through the seemingly small parklet on the northern CBD’s fringe, this bimonthly produce fair brings stallholders peddling orbs of creamy burrata, blood sausages, double-fist-sized heirloom tomatoes, salted caramel meringues, fresh egg pasta, free range eggs and soda bread.
Go here for: breakfast pho, fresh produce, and the trendiest foodie finds in town
There’s a bibimbap stall that will even replace the rice with shredded cauliflower if you don’t believe in cheat days, and a classic bacon and egg roll for creatures of habit. Chef Josh Niland of Fish Butchery and Saint Peter has a permanent stall selling inventive seafood. His prawn toast is a certified hangover buster, and cooked items change with the tide.
Go here for: knick knacks you wouldn't find anywhere else
The second Sunday of every month sees the art, design and fashion iteration of Kirribilli’s historic markets, centred on the weather-proof location of the Burton Street Tunnel right under Milsons Point Train station. Here you’ll find quirky millinery by Nitascraft, hilarious knitted parrots, octopuses and Barbie outfits by Irene, and cool laser-etched wooden phone cases by Bare-wood.
Go here for: kitsch bric-à-brac, art, design, bohemain flair and vegan cookies
Many of the stallholders return week on week, like the elderly Japanese couple selling Bonsai trees and the Spanish shoemakers selling espadrilles. Alongside Australiana-print tea towels you’ll find straw hats for $35 from local milliners and soft Tunisian-made ‘Turkish’ towels from young Eastern Suburb entrepreneurs.
Go here for: fashion, baby – vintage, second hand and new desgner finds – and cool knick-knacks
There are rows upon rows of eccentric and colourful vintage clothes, alongside hand-crafted jewellery, accessories and new clothing designed by locals. There are vintage stalls scattered all around the market, but the smaller section just off Derby Lane at the back of the school is a goldmine and a slightly quieter place to scour through racks and try things on.
Go here for: posh condiments for humans and pooches, buckets of blooms and leafy friends
The curated Sunday offerings are diverse enough to ensure you have a gloriously full basket and belly. They also pack up at a hangover friendly 2pm, meaning you can scarf a crackling spiked pork pancake and impulse buy a house plant without having to get up at sparrow’s fart.
Go here for: street food for lunch, succulents, hearty quiches and take-home foods
When we visited there were only two stores flogging fruit and veg, however there’s plenty of food to take home. Find everything from lengthy flat beans to exotic-looking chillies, trays of fresh berries and eggs to Shepherd’s Artisan Bakehouse’s traditional crusty Italian spelt and rye, and Patisserie Bruni’s family sized quiches and Burgundy beef pies.
Note: Parramatta Farmers Market is not currently running. Check social media for the latest on when it will be back.
Go here for: family-friendly fun
The non-for-profit collective behind the market, the Westies, is all about showcasing the Penrith region while giving local growers and makers the opportunity to sell their products through an accessible event. Visitors can expect one-of-a-kind fashion items, live performances and all manner of edible treats on the third Sunday of selected months (the market now runs quarterly) at the Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School.
Go here for: locally grown produce, homemade goodies, fresh flowers and activities for the kids
Every Sunday you’ll find stalls popping up in between the beloved Tramsheds cafés, restaurants and boutique stores. Regular stalls are manned by favourites like Annandale Honey for all your nectar needs, Jodie McGregor Flowers brightening up the shed with fresh blooms and Mirrool Creek and Galston’s Game Farm catering to carnivors.
Note: Tramshed Growers Markets has temporarily gone online. Check it out here.
Go here for: live plants, chunky jewelery, local art and spicy Portugese chicken burgers
This community-focused market has taken place in the St Andrews Church grounds since ’77 and still pops up there each Saturday. The focus is on homewares and arts and craft, with stalls selling everything from antiques to skteches of local landmarks.
Note: the Balmain Market is not currently running. Check social media for the latest on when it will be back.
Go here for: brekkie by the river
The iron colossus of the Ryde Bridge looms in the background as visitors browse fruit and veg, jewellery and candles, children’s clothes and distillery offerings. Grab a market brekkie and eat it with your legs dangling off the wooden wharfside. You’ll find crêpes, bao, arancini, pho, dumplings, burek and more. Still hungry? Try a pandesal, a traditional pastry filled with salted caramel, choc hazelnut or purple ube, from the Filipino Australian Pastries stall.
The 150-year-old institution spans two locations – Haymarket and Flemington – and as well as the usual food, fashion and bric-a-brac, Paddy’s stallholders hawk knock-offs, tourist tat and so many mobile phone covers.
Get up early and catch the noisy wholesale fish auctions: they start at 5.30am, with tours for public starting at 6.40am. It’s the largest market of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, and you won’t find more varieties of fish on sale anywhere outside Japan – it trades more than 100 species a day and over 1,400 tonnes of fish a year.
It’ll be an early morning trip – it opens in the dark hours and you wanna be an early bird – but if you can get yourself up then the effort is more than worth it. Flower shopping is about seeing what’s on offer and buying the most divine blooms on the day.
Find the all-natural remedy to city-slicker-sickness right here in Sydney. These plots of land give concrete-bound Sydneysiders a taste of the countryside, without having to commit to a green-change. You can volunteer as a farm hand, get to know adorable barnyard flocks, learn a little about Indigenous agriculture, and even taste the Sydney-grown produce at farmers’ markets and on-site eateries.
