Lygon Street, Melbourne is famous for its Italian restaurants (crammed on both sides) and – as most people know – you will be politely hassled for business should you take a walk between 6pm and 8pm. Even if you’ve eaten already. Even if you live there. What Lygon Street is less well-known for is its huge range of ice-cream and proper Italian gelato. It’s the best street in Melbourne for old-school strawberry cones or new-style flavours like salted caramel or pavlova.
Lygon Street is also good for bookshops (Readings’ flagship store is here – it is the best independent book, T-shirt, CD, DVD and writing paper place in Melbourne). It is halfway up, almost opposite Nova, which shows the best non-mainstream films (pick up a calendar). Lygon Street is 15 minutes’ walk down Swanston Street, from the heart of the city, and a a right-hand turn. That’s all.
The other great thing about Nova cinema is that it’s right next door to Brunetti, the legendary (huge) Italian cafe. Think marble, think artisan pastries, think traditional, thin-crust pizza, think great coffee – then walk to the back of Brunetti, for the best stainless-steel tub counter of ice-cream on Lygon Street. Sweet not sickly. Creamy and rich, not watery. Intensely flavoured, generously dolloped – very hard to resist. You won’t need a map for any of this. Readings’ bookshop faces Brunetti and Nova, tucked away inside an arcade, virtually opposite each other on different sides of the road – halfway up Lygon Street as you’re walking from the city. The coffee/chocolate range is insane.
Copyright Holiday Goddess Co. and Curtis Brown London/Sydney. Edited from the forthcoming book Holiday Goddess Melbourne. Holiday Goddess Handbag Guides are edited by Jessica Adams and illustrated by Anna Johnson and published by HarperCollins.
