LOCATION:
Jalan Jenderal Sudirman is located between north and northeast of the Sultan's Keraton. If you are arriving from either Candi Prambanan, Klaten Regency or Surakarta (Solo City), you will enter the city of Yogyakarta on Jl Laksda Adisucipto which connects to Jl Urip Sumoharjo and eventually the busy street of Jl Jenderal Sudirman itself.

DESCRIPTION:
Jalan Jenderal Sudirman (or Jl Sudirman) is regarded as one of the main thoroughfares of this historic city. Basically you can find decent shopping at various malls on this street, along with a great selection of tourist and business class hotels.

At the intersection between Jl Sudirman, Jl Mangkubumi and Jl P. Diponegoro lies a well-known landmark called Tugu Monumen. While the monument may seem to amount to nothing, it was actually built during the reign of Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono VI between 1855-1877, which makes it more than a century old.

If you feel like splurging some tourist money into shopping, Jl Sudirman, and to a certain extent, Jl Laksda Adisucipto, have a great selection of modern shopping malls. The latter may not be accessible on foot due to the distance, so flagging down a taxi is necessary. You may also use a taxi along Jl Sudirman because from my observation, the city itself is not exactly pedestrian-friendly, save it for hugely popular thoroughfare of Jl Malioboro.

On Jl Sudirman itself lies the Galleria Mall, which is anchored by Matahari departmental store. There is also a popular food court at the basement called Kafe deGal at which eating outlets like KFC, McDonald's, Thai Express, Bakso Gress and Mie Nusantara could be found. Further on Jl Laksda Adisucipto (or Jalan Solo for the sake of simplicity), the Plaza Ambarrukmo near to the historical Ambarrukmo Hotel, offers 7 floors of modern shopping experience that includes Carrefour, Centro, Gramedia Bookstore, Timezone, Cineplex and Bread Talk. Last but not least, Saphir Square right next to Hotel Saphir, is one of the latest additions of shopping malls right on Jl Solo.

There are also plenty of hotels to choose from on this busy street. Closer to Tugu Monumen and Jalan Malioboro are Grand Mercure Yogyakarta, where I spend two nights during my visit, as well as Santika Plaza Hotel. Further down the road lie hotels like Novotel Yogyakarta, Quality Hotel, Sheraton Mustika and Hotel Sahid Yogya.

MY VERDICT:
A great place to stay due to close proximity to everything Yogyakarta has to offer. Great shopping selections and eating out should be easy.