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← FROM THE FIELD · VOL. I, N° 101PLATE B · ELEVATION · SUN ALT 46°AFTERNOON · FITZROY · COLLINGWOOD
PLATE · PLAN · GEORGIAN SQUARERUSSELL SQUARE · LONDON PLANES · 1 PM
MELBOURNE · FIELD NOTES · 5 MIN

Fitzroy’s shaded laneways.

Melbourne’s inner-north has the laneways and the plane trees. Three picks for walking Brunswick Street and the back blocks without the western sun.

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Fitzroy and Collingwood share a grid of Victorian terraces, plane-tree-lined streets, and laneway shortcuts that the 21st-century cafés have moved into. From November through March, Brunswick Street is hot mid-afternoon — but Smith Street (one block east) and the Gertrude Street laneway network stay cool until 6 PM thanks to terrace overhangs and the planes.

These three stay east of Brunswick and use the laneways for the cool cuts. We avoid Edinburgh Gardens at peak sun and route you back through the terraces.

The picks · 3.Graded JUN 12, 2026
  1. 01
    Smith & Gertrude to Marios

    West on Gertrude — full plane-tree canopy. Cross Brunswick at the shaded interval.

    Shade
    78%
    Walk
    7 min
    Best at
    3 pm
  2. 02
    Easey Street to Industry Beans

    Through the Easey/Collingwood laneway. The new mid-rise warehouses cast deep afternoon shadow.

    Shade
    80%
    Walk
    8 min
    Best at
    2:30 pm
  3. 03
    Fitzroy Town Hall to Builders Arms

    North on Napier — terrace eaves shading the east sidewalk all afternoon.

    Shade
    76%
    Walk
    9 min
    Best at
    4 pm

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About the author
Amar Braithwaite is the founder of Stay Cool. He builds shade-aware navigation tools and writes the Field Notes corpus on urban shade infrastructure. Read the why →

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