DESTINATION: Carlton

Lygon Street in Carlton is Melbourne’s own Little Italy. It is the place where the city’s famous café culture was born, with the arrival of Melbourne’s first espresso machine at one of the street’s Italian-owned cafes in the 1950s.

Main Attractions

The street’s double-storey Victorian terraces are crammed with endless cafes and restaurants serving steaming bowls of pasta, espresso and delicious gelati. And as you walk past, charming waiters will try and entice you to step inside or take a seat for sidewalk service. There’s pizza and pasta aplenty and old favourites like Tiamo and University Café are as warm and welcoming as they are unfaddishly tasty.

Nearby attractions

Further down Lygon Street you’ll find bookshops, galleries and plenty of shops selling the latest European and Australian fashions. The crowd here is mixed – from students at the nearby university, to the literary set buying up big at Readings bookstore and older Italian men just watching the world go by. Make a bee-line for the Lygon Street Festa in October – a celebration of traditional and contemporary Italian culture and one of Australia's largest outdoor street festivals.

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Region: Melbourne

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Melbourne, Victoria. Main attractions: Australian Football League (AFL), Lygon Street, Old Melbourne Gaol, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne's Shopping Districts and Cafe Culture, Southgate, Yarra River Cruises, The Crown Casino and Melbourne Docklands. Popular suburbs of Melbourne include St Kilda, Richmond, South Yarra, Fitzroy, Port Melbourne and Williamstown. more

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Tourist info

Melbourne Visitor Centre

Corner Flinders Street and St Kilda Road

Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia

Ph +61 3 9658 9658

Fax +61 3 9650 6168

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