Shop and Drink Coffee at Hipster Fitzroy
Updated 5 July 2016
Finally Fitzroy! People don’t normally go to Fitzroy on their first Melbourne visit (Here are 11 places for first timers to explore in Melbourne (Part1), (Part 2)). However, I wanted to go to the Haji Lane of Melbourne, except Fitzroy was much bigger than expected.
Fitzroy was planned as Melbourne’s first suburb and after undergoing urban gentrification since the 1950s, it is now a historic preservation precinct. More than that, Fitzroy has retained a creative edge with its art galleries, studios and specialist bookshops, making it a hipster heaven.
How did we go Fitzroy?
We first took the free City Circle Tram and went to tour the Parliament. From there, we walked less than 1 km, about 10 minutes to reach Gertrude Street. Be sure to walk down Gertrude and Brunswick Streets and explore.
Shop at Fitzroy
Along Gertrude Street, you’ll find bars, restaurants, boutiques, vintage wares, costume hire, cool barber shops and old-school pubs.
For those who love cooking or are simply foodies, there’s a bookshop just for you at 233 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy — ‘Books for Cooks’ (photo below). Otherwise you can also find other bookshops in Fitzroy.
- The Brunswick Street Bookstore, 305 Brunswick Street Fitzroy
- PolyEster Books, 330 Brunswick Street Fitzroy: Bright, colourful, weird and wonderful.
- The Grub Street Bookshop, 379 Brunswick Street Fitzroy: Filled with second-hand books of all shapes and sizes.
- Hares & Hyenas, 63 Johnston Street Fitzroy: Bookstore, café and event space, focusing on queer entertainment.
How’s Fitzroy shopping?
They have prettily curated shops around Fitzroy, from plants to clothing to jewelry. However, not every shop owner was happy with us taking photos of their shops (like the shop in the photo below). Hence try to ask before snapping away!
Fitzroy is a delightful place to hang around, with shops carrying different attractive and quirky offerings. The area is larger than Singapore’s Haji Lane, however the shops are not as packed together. That is, the interesting shops are not next to each other. Hence, it didn’t feel like we saw many shops although we covered a greater distance.
We didn’t plan or research on the place, thinking we could just walk and explore. However, the area is not so straightforward and hence we might have missed out on some corners and shops tucked away. For example, we didn’t see the art street art and galleries as mentioned at www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/Melbourne/Destinations/Fitzroy.
If you are going on a weekend, be sure to get to an unassuming side street, the Rose Street Artists Market. Here you can find artisan bags, artworks, jewellery, screen-printed t-shirts, hand-bound books and designer lamps from Melbourne’s emerging artists and designers during the weekend you like.
Final Verdict: There might be bouts of boredom from walking from one shop to another. At the end of the day, didn’t feel we saw much. But it’s still an intriguing place to walk around and be inspired! Think it will be better to come on a weekend for the creativity buzz.
Drink Coffee at Fitzroy
Fresh Fruits, Pre-packed Food and Juice
Attn: Coffee Lovers
There are a few cafes in Fitzroy to enjoy a cuppa of coffee.
Martha Ray’s is highly recommended by the locals, with good ratings in food review websites–on both their coffee and food. Too bad our stomach didn’t have space for food. I don’t drink coffee, so can’t comment about it. Hubby said it’s good coffee, but not that good for you to specially make a trip down to Fitzroy, especially when you are not into creative scene.
The wait for the coffee was a bit long even though the cafe wasn’t crowded. But at least their ambience was good, a small cosy cafe for you to rest your legs and chill.
Address: 85 Brunswick St Fitzroy Victoria 3065
Opening Hours:
Mon – Fri 7:30 am – 3:30 pm
Sat 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
Sun 9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Do you have any other shop recommendations? :) Do tell us below or on our Facebook Page or Instagram.
Related Posts:
Melbourne City Attractions for First Timers (Part 1)
Melbourne City Attractions for First Timers (Part 2)
Australia Trip 2013 (Overview)
Travels During October 2013
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