Or even a lot dangerous, according to the scenes played out every Sunday night in Channel 9's drama hit Underbelly 3: The Golden Mile.

Of course, that's the Cross as it was 15-25 years ago. What's it like now? And has Sydney's city council succeeded in making it "naughty but nice" rather than nasty and noxious?

Every major city has its seamy side - London has Soho, New York has Times Square, Amsterdam has its red light district and Hamburg has the Reeperbahn - but Sydney is a bit different. Kings Cross has always been a hang-out for poets as well as pimps; drag artists and con artists have rubbed shoulders with fine artists, actors and musos for decades; strip clubs sit comfortably next to trendy nightspots.

The Cross has always been naughty and nice - only some times were naughtier than others. I have lived in Kings Cross for 20 years and have recently written a book, Snitch: Crooked Cops and Crims by The Man Who Saw It All, about the bad stuff going on in the early '90s. I love it there, but for people who don't know it, the Cross can be an intimidating place.

Walking down Darlinghurst Rd between the iconic Coca-Cola sign and the El Alamein fountain after dark can be a sensory overload. Spruikers will try to entice you into strip clubs with the promise of all sorts of forbidden pleasures while queues of pretty young things (male as well as female) form outside the plethora of superhot
nightclubs. Meanwhile the aromas of everything from arteryclogging deep-fried meaty treats to Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Italian and modern Australian entice you to sample different pleasures of the flesh.

And it's that combination of life in the raw and the best of every kind of food and drink imaginable that makes Kings Cross a "must-see" rather than a "must-avoid" destination the next time you're in the heart of Sydney.

Cross Advice
But for the wary travellers, there are a few tips to make sure your walk on the wild side isn't a step in the wrong direction.

Stick to the main streets. Darlinghurst Rd might look a little bit lively at night but there's safety in numbers and the people who run the clubs on the Cross have no interest in "civilians" like you coming to any grief. Wandering around in the back lanes is asking for trouble.

Don't get upset by the spruikers - all they want is to entice you into their club. They get bored standing in the street so why shouldn't they have a little fun suggesting that you and your companion brighten up your night with a little pole dancing? And, yes, couples do go into the nicer clubs.

Be aware that Darlinghurst Rd and Bayswater Rd can be a zoo on Friday and Saturday nights after 11pm. Mostly it's young people out having a great time so don't be afraid, but be aware.

Remember the most dangerous people on Kings Cross aren't the drug dealers, addicts, spruikers, hookers, pimps and buskers - it's visitors like you, except for one important respect: they've had too much to drink and think there are no rules up there. There are rules all right but you usually only find out what they are when you break them.

The highlights
The main reason for going to the Cross is that it probably has the highest concentration of nightclubs, pubs and restaurants in Australia, so there is literally something for every taste.

History
If you want to drink and dine where the ghosts of Kings Cross lurk, the Coca Cubana is a Cuban-themed cafe and wine bar on the site of the notorious Cosmopolitan Cafe. Joe's Deluxe Café in the Potts Point end of Victoria St is where Rene Rivkin used to hang out with his "boys". And Adam's Hut - another former crim hangout - is now the Sapphire Lounge wine bar.

Clubs
Hugo's and the Trademark on Bayswater Rd are hot, as are the Sugar Mill on Darlinghurst Rd, The Bank on the other side of the street, Lady Lux in Roslyn St and the newly refurbished and renamed (in the wake of Underbelly) Tunnel in Earl Place.

Restaurants
For cheap and cheerful pasta and salads you can't go past the Tropicana Caffe in the southern stretch of Victoria St while Jimmy Liks at the Potts Point end of Victoria St provides high end Australasian fusion. Bootleg across the road is an excellent if rumbustious Melbourne-style wine bar and Italian restaurant. The Bay Bua in Springfield Ave is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the city. Kellett St (off Bayswater Rd) is lined with good restaurants (and a few brothels).

Notable among the former are Libertines (classy French Vietnamese), Cafe Roma (mostly Italian), the quirky Deans (nachos and beer), Cafe Iguana (popular rock star bar that serves food) and the longrunning New York Grill that serves old-fashioned food in an old-fashioned cafe. The LL restaurant in Llankelly Place is a converted former sex shop and gambling den with a display out the back of some of the older and surprisingly tame magazines they found during the renovation.

Also worth a look are Blanco in the Gaudi-inspired building in Roslyn St, and No 9, round the corner in Ward Ave. After a hard night out, the best breakfasts are to be found at Uliveto in Bayswater Rd and Petrol in Springfield Ave.

Pubs and bars
Most of the pubs on Darlinghurst Rd are basically drinking dens but if you fancy a beer or wine, Jimmy Liks, the Bootleg and the Soho Bar in Victoria St and LLs in Llankelly Place are civilised spots. The renovated Bourbon has closed due to flood damage but the adjoining Swans Club has reopened and Mansions on the corner of Kellett St and Bayswater Rd is a good honest pub where you can also get a decent meal.

Strip clubs
If you want to sample the sexier side of the Cross, pole and table dancing clubs such as Bada Bing, Porkies and Showgirls are the nicer part of naughty.

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