Fitzroy really embodies Melbourne’s hipster personality. It’s filled with vintage shops, trendy eateries, and colorful street art, and an unexplainable Melbourne vibe.
While most of the things to do in Fitzroy involve food or drink in some way (it’s a food/bar capital of Melbourne and of Australia), I’ve written this article to show that there are actually many more Fitzroy activities to keep you busy between going out for pretty much every meal of the day.
I have, however, still included all the best Fitzroy restaurants and bars to visit – you can’t come here and not eat an amazing meal (or ten)!
After working as a tour guide in Melbourne for the better part of a year, I have made it my mission to explore each suburb to its fullest. So this guide to things to see in Fitzroy Melbourne is straight from my own experience and dedication to making the most of my time here. Enjoy!
Visiting Melbourne? Check These Out:
- Fitzroy Bars: A Guide (+ Map) to the Best Brunswick St Bars and Beyond
- Map + Guide to Hidden Bars in Melbourne
- Places to Visit in Melbourne: Attractions Organized by Suburb
- Abbotsford Melbourne: Things to Do, Eat, and Drink
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Things to Do in Fitzroy: Fun Things + Activities
Fitzroy True Crime Walking Tour
Fitzroy has surely come a long way since being one of the largest slums of Melbourne. But if you want to step back in time a bit to understand what made Melbourne’s crime capital run, jump on a popular True Crime walking tour.
These will take you through the ages as you follow your guide to peruse the streets, learning about real criminals from real Victoria police files. A fun historical day out!
The Mystery Rooms – Escape Room
Smack dab in the middle of Fitzroy, you’ll find The Mystery Rooms – recently voted Melbourne’s best escape room! One of the rare things to do in Fitzroy that doesn’t involve eating or drinking, these escape rooms are a fun and quick activity.
It’s also one of the most affordable at less than $40 per person. Take your pick of 4-5 different quests of varying difficulties, and try to escape the room within a hour. Book in here!
Get Amongst Some Hilarious Drag Shows
Fitzroy area has a fabulous LBGTQI+ community, which manifests in some great gay bars and also unbelievable drag shows.
Vau d’Vile is known for having amazing burlesque/cabaret drag shows, and also hilarious games of drag bingo. They have shows Wednesday-Saturday that often sell out. Check if they still have amazing Groupon Deals for their shows.
Mollie’s Bar and Diner is another Fitzroy fave. This venue is open Tuesday-Sunday and has nights for drag quiz, drag bingo, drag roulette, and other types of hilariously amazing drag shows. You can’t go wrong!
Pub Trivia
There are dozens of pubs in Fitzroy that host weekly food and drink specials, and most importantly, trivia nights. If you are looking for things to do in Fitzroy on a weeknight, check some old local pubs and visit their trivia sessions (and return for live music on the weekend)!
Some Great Fitzroy Pubs With Trivia:
Perseverance Hotel: Thursday Night Trivia (7pm)
Provincial Hotel: Trivia Tuesdays (7:30pm) and $10 parmas
The Rose Pub: Monday Night Trivia (7:30pm)
The Workers Club: Tuesday Night Trivia (7:30pm)
Rose St Artists Market + Fitzroy Mills Market
Each Saturday, Rose Street comes alive with Fitzroy’s very own artists market, showcasing all kinds of amazing hand-made crafts.
If you’re around on the weekend, the Rose Street Market is one of the best things to do in Fitzroy and ways to get amongst the arty culture of the area, view local crafts, and support local artists too.
Not far away and also on Saturdays, you have the beautiful Fitzroy Mills market. This one is more geared towards produce and fresh foods, so make sure to stop by both!
Melba Spiegeltent
Tucked away behind a few large buildings on Johnston St (near the Keith Haring mural), you’ll see one of Melbourne’s best-yet-lesser-known performance venues.
Built in Belguim in the early 1900’s, this tent actually traveled around Europe before making its home in Melbourne in ’06. It takes part in the Melbourne Fringe and many other festivals, and hosts performances year-round in cabaret, circus, comedy, and more.
Das T Shirt Automat
One of the most unique things to do in Fitzroy is to get your very own custom t-shirt printed up in 15 minutes!
The Das T-Shirt Automat (of German origin) has hundreds of designs, or you can bring your own… either way it will be a nice souvenir of Fitzroy!
Fitzroy Swimming Pool
If you’re here in summer and it gets a bit too hot, the Fitzroy Swimming Pool is a Melbourne favorite and one of the only heated outdoor pools in the city – 50m at that!
If you’re after a cool-off or a few laps for exercise, entrance here will only set you back about $7 and it’s open all day.
Edinburgh Gardens
The sure-fire place to picnic in Fitzroy would be the large, leafy, and open Edinburgh Gardens.
Located in Fitzroy north, it’s the perfect place to get away from the hustle + bustle of the city for a bit with a good book or company.
Take a Fitzroy Joyride Tour
Don’t have much time here but want to get a feel for the area? Don’t feel like walking a million kilometers to do so? I have the perfect tour for you: The Fitzroy Joyride.
Jump on the back of a rickshaw with a local and knowledgeable guide, and get a quick gist of the entire area with insider tips in just an hour. Solid value, at only $45, too.
Centre for Contemporary Photography
Fitzroy doesn’t have many museums, but the Center for Contemporary photography fills the void very well all by itself.
Spend a few hours here to marvel at new and fascinating photography styles and explore ever-changing exhibits from talented photographers.
Sutton Gallery
If you are still craving more contemporary art, check out the Sutton Gallery (which is not too far away on Brunswick Street Fitzroy). Here, they host an array of different modern-style artists and different exhibits through the month.
Harry Potter Store
Yep, you read that right: there’s a HARRY POTTER store on the border of Fitzroy and Collingwood (called “The Store of Requirement”), and it has EVERYTHING.
You want a sorting hat? An HP charm bracelet? HP posters? Merch from any of the 4 houses? Postcards? Necklaces? You name it, it’s here. You’d actually be surprised at the amount of Harry Potter Experiences in Melbourne!
Things to Do in Fitzroy: Street Art
Melbourne is known for its street art, and Fitzroy just might have the best display in all of Victoria. While there are some very famous laneways and murals in the CBD, there is street art throughout Fitzroy both on the main roads and in the most hidden nooks and crannies.
Try a Fitzroy Street Art Tour
The best way to explore Fitzroy Street art and to understand the artists and mural meanings is to experience them on an organized tour. If you’re around on a Saturday, the Fitzroy Street Art tour below goes through the history of street art while telling tales of certain murals and the artists behind them.
This tour ends at the Rose St artists market – ticking off two of the must-do things to do in Fitzroy in one afternoon.
If you’re more the type to wander around and find murals yourself, the following spots are my recommendations:
Chapel St
Not to be confused with the famous Chapel Street on Melbourne’s inner south side, Fitzroy’s tiny Chapel Street is a center for dozens of murals.
Follow the small street (which only stretches a few blocks from Johnston) and marvel at what colorful styles of art you can find.
Keith Haring Mural
The Keith Haring Mural is off Johnston St and Wellington, and is a popular pilgrimage site for fans of the world renowned artist.
Fitzroy Everfresh Mural
On the side of the popular live music venue “The Night Cat,” you’ll find what may be the most famous mural in Fitzroy. This is because it’s a black and white mural of the word “Fitzroy!”
Chopper Lane
This lil laneway off Brunswick Street is a great place for some photos.
On/Around the Fitzroy Mills Market
This is a VERY concentrated area of street art in Fitzroy. The entire Fitzroy Mills Market Building and parking garage is completely covered in color, and most of the laneway streets around the area have some good stuff as well. Explore & get lost!
Things to Do in Fitzroy: Shopping/Thrifting
One of the best things to do in Fitzroy is to go thrifting, or ‘op shopping’ as it’s called around here. After a very short stroll down Brunswick Street Fitzroy this would be very obvious, as it seems that you pass vintage shops and all kinds of thrift at every corner.
Below I have included a few of my favorite thrift shops and a few other places to shop in Fitzroy that might be interesting to check out as you walk around.
Lost & Found Market
If you go to one shop in Fitzroy, make it this one. Hidden on the second floor of a massive warehouse-size building, you’d easily miss Lost & Found if you weren’t looking.
This store is pretty much anything and everything you could imagine ever being inside a second-hand store. It’s weird, wonderful, and one of the must things to do in Fitzroy.
Hunter Gatherer
Hunter Gatherer is a smaller vintage shop but is full to the brim with gems. It’s definitely worth checking out!
Vintage Garage
It would be hard to miss Vintage Garage walking down Smith Street. Known for its ostentatious costumes, there are usually some real head-turners on the mannequins in the window and even more out-there vintage items inside. Perfect if you are shopping for a festival or some kind of dress-up party.
Zetta Florence
This is a VERY fun crafty souvenir shop on Brunswick St. Wander through to find all kinds of gifts, posters, journals, bags, and everything in between.
This is a great place to get a souvenir/gifts or simply enjoy a browse.
Third Drawer Down
This is a fun pop-art store that could even be considered like a museum of art randomness. If you find yourself on Gertrude Street or shopping in Fitzroy, pop in here.
Perfect Potion
This is an aromatherapy shop with all kinds of essential oils/blends/kits and delicious smelling lotions. It’s another great idea for gifts or a little something special to share with loved ones.
Jasper Coffee
Jasper is what I can best describe as a coffee souvenir shop. They have beans from tons of locations, coffee-inspired trinkets, coffee-flavored treats, all kinds of cups/mugs, and more for the coffee lover.
Lore // Le Labo Perfumeries
Lore is a perfumery on Brunswick St, selling all different brands and kinds of perfumes, scents, and lotions to cater to anyone’s taste.
Le Labo is a trendy perfumery on Gertrude St that has their own brand of unisex scents. Both are fun to wander through!
Northside Records Vinyl
If you want some fresh vinyl, have a browse ta Northside Records off Smith St. They have everything from cheap $5 records to vintage ones, and separate everything by genre and time period.
Things to Do in Fitzroy: FOOD and RESTAURANTS
If there’s one thing Melbourne is famous for, it’s for having one hell of a selection of fantastic, high quality, and diverse FOOD.
Fitzroy is a direct embodiment of Melbourne food culture, and I would even go as far as to say one of the main things to do in Fitzroy is simply to eat…. to eat breakfast, to eat brunch, to drink coffee, to experience cafes, to eat takeaway, or to eat a delicious sit-down multi-course dinner. The options are all here, but it’s up to you to decide what you want…
For more brunch options, check out my guide to Melbourne CBD Breakfast + Brunch.
Brunch in Fitzroy
This one needed its own category. It’s no secret that I am a bit of a brunch fiend, so this became a VERY long and comprehensive list. So, I made an entire article solely about the best breakfast and brunch in Fitzroy. Check out the article below or the bulleted list below for a quick idea.
Quick list of brunch and breakfast in Fitzroy:
- Lune Croissanterie – Melbourne staple- amazing croissants
- Bentwood – delicious brekky spot in an open space
- Slowpoke Espresso – tiny little cafe with back garden
- Breakfast Thieves – Another great Aussie brekky/coffee spot.
- Archie’s – Smaller, bustling, lively pastel cafe
- Faraday’s Cage – one of my favoriet spots. Great food, decor, location.
- Grub Food Van – unexpected and eclectic airsteam/garden cafe
- Cromwell STREAT – pictured above. Food for a cause (great for laptops)
Fitzroy Restaurants
Smith & Daughters Vegan Restaurant
This is THE PLACE to go for a delicious vegan meal. It is also a market.
Ichi Ni Nana Izakaya/Hawker Foodhall
This building packs in a lot of punch. The bottom floor is Ichi Ni Nana Izakaya Japanese Restaurant (say that ten times fast), the middle is a Vietnamese hawker foodhall, and the top is Upside rooftop bar. Eat your way to the top bar!
Shop Ramen
Seriously the place to get the best ramen. So so so so good. Ramen perfection. Very casual, small packed spot that I couldn’t recommend more.
Ides
If you want a VERY nice dinner, Ides is THE place to go. Has an inventive tasting/multi-course menu with wine pairings for a very special night.
Cutler + Co
Another great option for a nice dinner out. Cutler + Co is in an old warehouse-type building and also has a tasting menu.
Easey’s
THE BEST BURGERS EVER! Inside an graffiti-covered old train car on a rooftop. Need I say more?
Jimmy Grants Souvlaki
Jimmy Grant’s is widely considered to be one of the best authentic takeaway souvlaki spots in the city.
Mario’s
Solid and casual Italian restaurant on Brunswick St. Does brunch/coffee in the am and dinner in the pm.
Gelato Messina
If you’re still a bit peckish after dinner (or honestly have a bit of a sweet tooth any time of day), check out Gelato Messina.
Messina is renowned in Victoria for its absolutely delicious gelato which comes in a few dozen inventive flavors.
Things to Do in Fitzroy: Bars and Live Music
So, as I was writing the part of this post about Fitzroy bars, I realized that I knew too much about the bars/nightlife scene up here for my own good. So, I decided to make it into its very own Fitzroy Bars Guide.
Checking out some bars and live music is one of the most important things to do in Fitzroy, so head over to my bars guide to choose which drinking spot sounds the best for you! Click below – it will open 20+ bar ideas in a new tab.
Fitzroy Accommodation
Most hotels in Fitzroy Melbourne tend to be smaller and more boutique-style or apartment-style. Here are some of the best options if you are staying in the area:
Tyrian Serviced Apartments
If you want to stay in the heart of Fitzroy, this is DEFINITELY the place to go. Tyrian has comfortable, large,l serviced apartments right on the corner of Johnston and Brunswick Streets, aka right in the center of ALL the bars, pubs, shops, and street art. You won’t have to go far!
Melbourne Metropol Centrale
This hotel is at the bottom end of Fitzroy, pretty much directly between all the action in Fitzroy and the CBD. Book here if you want something closer to the city.
Well, I think that’s about it for things to do in Fitzroy! What do you think? Anything to comment or add? Let me know in the comments!
More Melbourne:
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- Things to Do in Melbourne CBD: Activities, Bars, Brunch, and More
- 30+ Things to do in Melbourne for Couples: Unique Date Ideas
- 2 Days in Melbourne Ultimate Itinerary
Passionate, full-time travel blogger with over 230k on social media and 150kMPV blog. Extraordinary photographer with two DSLR's + a drone with a love for capturing candid moments, epic drone shots, and magical compositions. I'm a natural-born content creator originally from California, but I've been on the road for 9 years living, working, traveling, blogging, and photographing my way around the world. I recommend the most amazingly adventurous and unique + boutique travel experiences/stays and helpful products to my audience and write comprehensive guides on my website that have helped millions of travelers so far. I love to inspire people to plan their dream trips, and many readers have given feedback as such. The reach on my platforms continues to soar, especially when combining cutting-edge social content with optimized articles on my high-authority website.