Carlton, on the city’s northern edge, is a cultured, bookish hub encompassing Melbourne University, Carlton Gardens, and the long-established Little Italy of Lygon Street.

Carlton has a lovely, literary feel, with locals and university students milling in Readings Bookstore, drinking coffee at Brunetti, or queuing to see the latest independent movie at the Nova. Lygon Street is the heart and Italian soul of this suburb which is a mere stroll to the city from its terraced streets.

Student life is a key component of Carlton where you’ll find lively sharehouses alongside the tended homes of long-time Italian locals and those who love to be able to walk through gorgeous public gardens to get to the city for work.

Coffee-scented Carlton is the type of place that feeds curious, independent minds. Lygon Street hosts a plethora of Italian restaurants as well as an arthouse cinema, the famous Brunetti cafe, and the equally lauded Readings Bookstore. Beyond, you’ll find crunchy independent theatre at La Mama and Carlton Courthouse, and the further north you’ll find cute pockets of local shops around the Carlton Library and Rathdowne Village.

Even though you can walk to the city from Carlton, you can just as easily hop on a tram as many terminate outside Melbourne University, or catch a train from Melbourne Central. Carlton, befitting its educated spirit, is also home to many good schools.

Carlton is home to many beautiful double- and single-storey Victorian-era terraces and it’s these houses that are the postcards of Carlton, with their wrought-iron picket fences, balconies, and small, sculpted gardens.

If you want to live close to the city, in a cultured, sophisticated enclave, Carlton will suit you perfectly. Settle into your own stylish apartment or share a characterful terrace house, pick up some wine and cheese at King and Godfree, spend an evening at the theatre – does it get any better than this?