orange is home for me, so when you ask where to go, these are the places i’d send you.
come for a weekend. stay a little longer when you can.
give yourself time for coffee, a wander through cook park, a few wineries and some very good meals.
pack something you feel lovely in for dinner. bring your activewear too.
we have range.
start with coffee at byng street
byng street local store is where i’d send you for coffee.
sit down and give yourself a proper start to the day. you’re away. you don’t need to drink it standing up while looking for your car keys.
then head out for a walk.
i love a morning that involves a little movement followed by deciding where to eat next. a manageable level of ambition for a weekend.
take a wander through cook park
cook park is beautiful.
make time to walk through it rather than just driving past on your way to another booking.
look around. sit down for a while. enjoy the gardens.
when you’ve spent the week rushing, it’s quite lovely to have somewhere to go where there’s nothing you need to finish.
you’re allowed to spend part of your holiday sitting on a park bench.
the farmers markets, when they’re on
check whether your visit lines up with the orange farmers market.
it usually runs on the second saturday of the month from 8.30am until midday at orange showground, with a different location in may. check the market website for your dates.
take a tote bag. have a wander. pick up some local produce and something to enjoy later.
this is also a good reason to leave room in the car.
between the markets and the wineries, you may be taking more home than you brought.
book dinner at monty’s
monty’s is one i’d put on your list.
i recently took myself there for a friday night dinner. an empty fridge turned into a dirty martini, scallop, kingfish and dessert.
a considerable improvement on standing in the kitchen opening the same fridge again.
when you’re going alone, book an early sitting. ask for a bar seat or a table away from the middle of the room when that helps you feel more comfortable.
put on something you feel good in and go.
you don’t need to wait until you have someone to take you.
you can order dessert all by yourself. i have thoroughly tested this.
leave an evening for summer st wine room
summer st wine room would be another booking on my list.
give yourself an evening for a glass of wine and something lovely to eat. it’s a wine bar, restaurant and bottle shop, so you can also choose something to take home.
this is why i’m suggesting you stay awhile.
there are only so many dinners in a two night weekend. i’d hate for you to have to make difficult decisions unnecessarily.
eat at fiorini’s
i’d also send you to fiorini’s osteria italiana.
book a meal here and make an occasion of it. give yourself time to get ready and enjoy going out.
fiorini’s is out on canobolas road, so organise your transport around the booking.
a lovely meal is enough of a plan for an evening.
you don’t need to add three more activities to justify it.
get out to the wineries
see saw, macquariedale, chalou and byrne farm are the wineries i’d put on your list.
choose a couple for this visit. save the others for the next one.
book your tastings and arrange transport when you’ll be drinking. leave enough time between stops to enjoy the conversation and ask questions.
tell them what you normally like. try something different too.
you don’t have to arrive knowing everything about wine. being interested is plenty.
macquariedale also offers tastings overlooking the towac valley, with picnic experiences available when you want to make more of the afternoon.
i’d much rather you enjoy two places properly than spend the whole day checking the time because you’re late for the next four.
if you'd rather have the whole weekend planned out, here's how i'd spend three days in orange.
make yourself comfortable
choose somewhere you’ll enjoy staying. somewhere you can come back to between outings, put your feet up and have a little rest before dinner.
i also have my own place here, stay awhile, orange, if you're looking for somewhere to make your base.
you don’t have to be out every minute.
my kind of orange visit would include byng street coffee, a walk through cook park, the markets when they’re on and a couple of winery bookings.
then monty’s, summer st wine room and fiorini’s across the evenings.
come with friends. come with someone you love. come by yourself.
just give yourself enough time to enjoy it.
stay in orange. stay awhile.