ANZAC Day in Melbourne: Croissants and Street Art

Lune First

We’d heard that the croissants at Lune are worth queueing for, so that was first on the list. The pastries are laid out in a neat row on the counter like jewellery, and they sell out. We got ours and took them for a walk.

The Lune door with its opening hours — Lune

The ANZAC Day March

Here’s how prepared we were: the plan for the day was hot jam doughnuts at Queen Vic Market, and we had no idea it was ANZAC Day, the day Australia and New Zealand remember the soldiers who served in their wars. Queen Vic? Closed. Doughnuts? Denied. But the streets around Flinders Street were closed off for the march, with bands, veterans, families and crowds, so we got that instead.

So we stood with our croissants and watched for a while. Not what we expected on a Tuesday morning, but it was something special to see.

Marching bands in the street — The march

Crowds outside Flinders Street Station — The march

Fitzroy and Collingwood

Then we headed up to Fitzroy and Collingwood, the inner suburbs north of the city. This is where the street art is: whole streets of murals, painted laneways, old Victorian shopfronts, vintage shops and record stores like Northside Records.

A Collingwood street lined with murals — Murals everywhere

An old Victorian building on the corner — Murals everywhere

Burgers in a Train Carriage

For lunch, Easey’s in Collingwood: a burger joint with old train carriages lifted up onto the roof. You climb the stairs, slide into a carriage booth, and eat with a view over the rooftops. A hot dog and a bacon cheeseburger, please.

Inside the train carriage at Easey’s — Our booth

A hot dog and a cheeseburger — Our booth

St Patrick’s Cathedral

We walked it off back towards the city, to St Patrick’s Cathedral, the big bluestone Gothic cathedral on the edge of the CBD. Inside, it’s dark and quiet, with tall stained glass windows and chapels all along the sides.