The coolest street in Australia - Brunswick St, Melbourne

Brunswick Street, is in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, just north-east of the CBD. It is a street that doesn't try too hard to be cool, it just is.

How to get there on foot:

Just 500 metres from Parliament Station or Parliament House, pass by St Patrick's Cathedral, walk across Victoria Parade and you're at the start of Brunswick Street. 

It is a blend of inner city battlers and urban hipsters. Home to an abundance of vegan eateries (one restaurant, Smith & Daughters, call their fare: "Plant-based dining"). There is a huge range of other restaurants, from Ethiopian to Malaysian, from Basque to Mexican.

Public housing towers, welfare agencies, thrift shops mix it with antique shops, Goth clothing stores, exotic bars (e.g. "Naked for Satan") and a bondage/fetish store ("Lucrezia + De Sade"). Window shopping recommended.

Looking north

Looking south (St Patrick's spire in the distance)

First major intersection after Victoria Parade is fashionable Gertrude Street

Victorian architecture meets street art

A florist is on the ground floor

Victoria Parade, East Melbourne

Forget Melbourne's Chapel Street in South Yarra, Sydney's Newtown/Surrey Hills or Brisbane's Fortitude Valley.