Australia · State of Victoria · Melbourne
Carlton, Melbourne — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Brick terraces climb north from central Melbourne at Carlton, an inner district built around the Melbourne Museum and its garden squares.
About Carlton
Where to stay in Carlton
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Carlton makes a calm base a short walk north of central Melbourne. The district runs on university life and the museums around it, with the Melbourne Museum and the Ian Potter Museum of Art close at hand and the Queen Victoria Market down toward the city. Trams run straight into the centre from its main streets.
If you want quiet blocks near the museums and an easy walk to town, this is your ground. Beds sit among terraced houses.
About Carlton
What are the main landmarks in Carlton?
Carlton gathers its landmarks around the museum quarter. The Melbourne Museum stands in the district's garden squares, the flagship of Museums Victoria. The Grainger Museum and the Ian Potter Museum of Art sit on the university edge to the west.
Queen Victoria Market spreads its open sheds toward the city, and the Old Melbourne Gaol stands just south of the district. Brick and bluestone run through it.
What is the history of Carlton?
Carlton was laid out in the nineteenth century as one of the first suburbs north of central Melbourne. Its terraced streets filled as the city expanded. The Eight Hour Day Monument, raised near the district, marks the labour movement that won the eight-hour working day for the city's tradesmen.
The Old Melbourne Gaol held prisoners on the district's southern edge through those decades. Later the Melbourne Museum and Museums Victoria settled in its gardens. The suburb kept its Victorian bones.
Where is Carlton?
Carlton lies just north of central Melbourne, its blocks running from the city up to the Melbourne Museum and its garden squares.
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More areas in Melbourne
Updated July 2026