The Top 5 Neighborhoods in Melbourne

Fitzroy is Melbourne's bohemian heart: Brunswick Street's bars, live music, bookshops and vintage stores, plus the weekend Rose Street Artists' Market with up to 120 makers and a rooftop bar. It's iconic and a little touristy now, but still genuinely good. Tram 11 or 96 from the CBD gets you here in minutes.

Footscray is Melbourne's inner-west food capital, known as Little Saigon: dense Vietnamese pho and banh mi along Hopkins Street, Ethiopian and East African restaurants, and a huge indoor market smelling of lemongrass and fresh bread. You can eat a full dinner for $15-20. Superbly connected by train, tram and bus. Genuinely local, not manufactured.

Brunswick is Melbourne's north-side melting pot: Sydney Road's Middle Eastern grocers and A1 Bakery felafel sit beside vintage stores, live-music pubs and specialty coffee. Less polished than Fitzroy, more real. Come for cheap eats, record shops and the March street party. Tram 19 or the Upfield line get you here in ~25 minutes.

Collingwood is Melbourne's cool-kid inner-north: Smith Street bars and speakeasies, Gertrude Street galleries, some of the city's best independent restaurants and breweries like Molly Rose. The Abbotsford Convent arts precinct is a short walk away. Grittier and more grown-up than Fitzroy next door. Tram 86 runs down Smith Street until roughly 1:30am on weekends.

Carlton is Melbourne's Little Italy, where Lygon Street's cafe culture was born. Expect Italian restaurants, gelato and old-school espresso bars, plus the UNESCO-listed Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Gardens and Melbourne Museum two blocks away. The Lygon strip leans touristy; the gardens and museum are the genuine draw. Tram 1 or 6 gets you here.

Richmond is four strips in one: Victoria Street's Vietnamese Little Saigon, Bridge Road's outlet shopping, Swan Street's sport-and-bar scene beside the MCG and tennis, and Church Street's dining. Three kilometres from the CBD and served by trains plus trams 70, 78 and 109. Practical, unpretentious and great for cheap Vietnamese and match-day energy.

St Kilda is Melbourne's beachside icon: Luna Park's 1912 wooden rollercoaster, Acland Street cake shops, the Esplanade Sunday market, and a free nightly colony of little penguins on St Kilda Pier at sunset. Touristy but beloved. Tram 96 runs from the CBD to the beach in about 25 minutes.

South Yarra and Chapel Street are Melbourne's glossy shopping-and-nightlife precinct: a 2.5km strip of 900-plus shops, cafes, bars and clubs running through South Yarra, Prahran and Windsor. The South Yarra end is upmarket boutiques; Windsor is earthier and vintage. Polished and pricey rather than gritty-local. South Yarra Station and tram 78 serve it.