Melbourne/Inner east

The inner east of Melbourne consists of a number of suburbs and localities within the Yarra municipality. Compared with glitzy Stonnington on the other side of the river, the inner eastern area is known among Melburnians as a working-class district, filled with pubs and old factories.

Richmond is the home of many low-price fashion stores and restaurants; the northern area, centred on Victoria Street, is often called Little Saigon or Little Vietnam due to the huge number of Vietnamese food and shopping outlets. South Richmond is well known for its low price fashion - along Bridge Road - and other wholesale outlets, mostly found along Swan Street. Fitzroy is known as the Bohemian quarter of the city, with numerous trendy boutiques interesting restaurants. Squeezed in the middle is Collingwood, a suburb that is not held to such a high esteem as the surrounding neighbourhoods, but still has its fair share of character-filled pubs and heritage-listed industrial buildings. Abbotsford sits on the eastern fringe by the river, with some nice parkland among disused factories and breweries.

Get in
The inner east can be easily accessed by tram, train and road. As far as public transport is concerned, all of the district lies within Zone 1 of Melbourne's two fare zone structure. See Melbourne's Get around section for an explanation of the zone system and fares.

By tram
There are an abundance of trams in the district, as most routes must pass through in order to reach suburbs that are further out. Major roads are listed along with the respective tram routes that traverse them.

Richmond

 * Victoria Street in North Richmond is served by trams 30 and 109. Tram 30 can be caught along La Trobe Street (weekdays only) while tram 109 can be caught along Collins Street in the City Centre.
 * Bridge Road is served by trams 48 and 75. The 48 operates along Collins Street and the 75 can be caught along Flinders Street in the City Centre.
 * Swan Street in the southern part of Richmond is served by tram 70 which can also be caught along Flinders Street in the City Center.
 * Church Street is the main north-south road in Richmond and is served by tram 78. The route begins at the intersection of Victoria Street and Church Street in North Richmond and travel south along Church Street which then becomes Chapel Street. The tram terminates at Prahran in Stonnington. They do not go into the City Centre.

Fitzroy

 * Gertrude Street is the major east-west thoroughfare in Fitzroy. Tram 86 runs its length, before turning into Smith Street. In the City Centre, it can be caught along Bourke Street. The two end stations for this line are Waterfront City Docklands and RMIT Bundoora campus.
 * Nicholson Street is a major north-south thoroughfare that borders the inner north district. Tram 96 can be caught along Bourke Street in the City Centre. The tram runs between St Kilda and West Brunswick.
 * Brunswick Street also runs north-south, closer to the centre of town. It is served by tram 11 and can be caught along Collins Street in the City Centre. The tram runs between Docklands and West Preston in the northern suburbs.

By train
Trains may be faster but they do not bring you to the heart of Richmond, mostly skirting the western edge of the suburb. The exception is in the southern part of Richmond where trains on the Belgrave, Lilydale and Glen Waverly lines run parallel to Swan Street, which is served by Richmond (all trains stop here), East Richmond (which most trains skip) and Burnley stations (also skipped by many trains). North Richmond is served by North Richmond station which is accessed from Victoria Street, whereas Bridge Road can be reached from West Richmond station.

By bicycle
Bikes are the best way to get around a large part of the three inner city hubs of Collingwood, Fitzroy and Richmond. Thanks to the ample bike lanes, biking is the fastest way to get around.

By bus
A number of frequent bus routes service areas not generally covered by tram or train services. They are best used for east-west travel or for getting to the University of Melbourne. Routes 200 and 207 operate every 10 minutes on Johnston St and Lygon Street (weekdays) from Melbourne Central in the CBD. Routes 250 and 251 also operate along Rathdowne Street.

By road
Fitzroy can be easily reached from the City Centre via Nicholson Street, which connects to Spring Street in the eastern edge of the CBD, or Victoria Parade, which forms the southern border of the area. Gertrude Street runs off Nicholson Street while Smith and Brunswick Streets run off Victoria Parade. In the northern part of Fitzroy, both Brunswick Street and Smith Street intersect with Alexander Parade which leads on to the Eastern Freeway and the Eastern suburbs.

See

 * Brunswick Street - Long and lively cafe/bar strip in Fitzroy with cheap and decent eats. It's a mixture of eclectic and interesting shops, clothes and food. If street art is your thing, the surrounding alleyways and backstreets are also interesting, with an ever-changing array of graffiti, stencils and stickers on show.
 * Gertrude Street - Charming street of Fitzroy with cafes, bars, and unique clothing (and other) shops and art galleries. It runs an after dark light show. Centre of the local Aboriginal community.
 * Johnston Street - A street in Fitzroy, the western end is home of the local Hispanic community. Many restaurants, bars and pubs, and the infamous Tote Hotel.
 * Smith St - Slightly run down yet charming street in Fitzroy with cafes, bars, and unique clothing (and other) shops.
 * Victoria Street - In North Richmond, the street contains a strip of Vietnamese restaurants and shops.
 * The heritage listed Foy & Gibson factory buildings in Oxford St.
 * Victoria Street - In North Richmond, the street contains a strip of Vietnamese restaurants and shops.
 * The heritage listed Foy & Gibson factory buildings in Oxford St.

Vegetarian
Most eateries in Richmond have something vegetarian on the menu. Here are some options for exclusively vegetarian restaurants.

Vietnamese
Victoria Street in North Richmond is virtually synonymous with Vietnamese food. Head here for the best pho (rice noodle soup with beef or chicken), com tam (pork ribs with broken rice) and other delicious dishes.

Fitzroy
Fitzroy is a well-known cafe precinct of Melbourne. The majority are concentrated around Brunswick Street, although many are starting to spill over to Smith Street, where you will see more ethnically-unique food amongst the neighbouring streets. Napier Street runs parallel to Brunswick Street and contains a series of friendly residential pubs.



Richmond
It is said that Richmond has a pub on every corner and it very nearly does! There are heaps of fantastic places, something for every taste and budget. Here are a few the locals like:
 * Collection, Bridge Rd. Cocktail bar with an impressive selection of drinks and has Sunday afternoon jazz sessions. Not much room outside but the drinks are tasty.
 * The Corner Hotel, Swan St. Deep grungey hole of Richmond with band room and fabulous rooftop bar. If the band is worth seeing, they will play at the Corner.
 * Terminus, Victoria St in Abbotsford and a wee way away from everything else, but a 'must' drink location. Grungey, retro, with a bistro, pool room plus an enormous beer and rooftop garden, the Termi is the essential final stop on any Richmond pub crawl.
 * Terminus, Victoria St in Abbotsford and a wee way away from everything else, but a 'must' drink location. Grungey, retro, with a bistro, pool room plus an enormous beer and rooftop garden, the Termi is the essential final stop on any Richmond pub crawl.
 * Terminus, Victoria St in Abbotsford and a wee way away from everything else, but a 'must' drink location. Grungey, retro, with a bistro, pool room plus an enormous beer and rooftop garden, the Termi is the essential final stop on any Richmond pub crawl.