Image: Lygon street is lined with authentic Italian restaurants. Image: Getty Images
Carlton
Carlton is most known as Melbourne’s Little Italy, however there is much more to the neighbourhood than this including the Victorian-era Carlton gardens, the Unesco World Heritage listed Royal Exhibition Hall and some of the city’s best cultural venues.
Table of Contents
Carlton is most known as Melbourne’s Little Italy, however there is much more to the neighbourhood than this including the Victorian-era Carlton gardens, the Unesco World Heritage listed Royal Exhibition Hall and some of the city’s best cultural venues.
Situated on the northern edge of the CBD, Carlton is most often associated with the strip of Lygon street known as Little Italy. While this street of authentic Italian restaurants, cafes, delis and businesses is enough to put Carlton on the map, the neighbourhood offers much more than this. The 26-hectare Carlton Gardens is a whole precinct in itself and takes in the Melbourne Museum and the Royal Exhibition Hall. Carlton is also home to a number of great cultural venues including the largest independent cinema in the southern hemisphere, Cinema Nova.
Timeout has a great local’s guide to Carlton with recommendations for eating, drinking and shopping
A large 26-hectare swathe of Carlton is occupied by Carlton Gardens which feature manicured gardens, ornate water features and paths lined with trees that are over a century old. The gardens make a great spot for a weekend picnic and are well-used for this reason. Within the gardens you’ll find Melbourne Museum where you can see a selection of the 17 million+ piece collection including a taxidermied Phar Lap, a blue whale skeleton or one of the visiting exhibits. The museum also features an IMAX theatre. Adjacent to the museum is the Royal Exhibition Hall which was built for the international Exhibition of 1880 and is a Unesco World Heritage site. With its grand arched entrances and massive dome modelled after that of the Florence Cathedral, the building is a site to behold.
Lygon street is ground zero of Melbourne’s Little Italy. Carlton and nearby Brunswick have a high Italian population and Lygon street forms the centre of the city's Italian culture. The streets are lined with gorgeous restaurants where you can get the city’s most authentic Italian. As you would expect, the area is also full of amazing espresso bars and has a strong cafe culture. The area between Queensberry Street and Elgin Street is jam-packed with restaurants, cafes, delis and gelato bars and makes a great stroll where you can follow your nose to an authentic Italian experience.
Restaurants
Panda Hot Pot
Panda Hot Pot
Decorative Chinese restaurant
Stovetop
Stovetop
A beautiful restaurant for breakfast or lunch
Hotels
Pictures
Legend
Mostly queer
Mixed queer and straight
Hosts queer events
