Best Entertainment Suburbs in Melbourne 2026
These are the best entertainment scenes suburbs in Melbourne, drawn from SuburbCheck's data on every Melbourne suburb. Ranked by Entertainment Score — a national percentile of licensed venue density (pubs, bars, clubs and licensed dining per 1,000 residents). NSW and VIC data comes from government liquor registers; other states use OpenStreetMap. A score of 80 or above places a suburb in the top 20% nationally. Commercial hubs and suburbs with no recorded venues are excluded. Scores update as new government data is released.
Last updated 27 July 2026.
- 1Princes HillVIC 3054 · Yarra$1.76M2,005 people100
- 2TravancoreVIC 3032 · Moonee Valley2,116 people98
- 3GardenvaleVIC 3185 · Glen Eira$2.06M1,019 people96
- 4FitzroyVIC 3065 · Yarra$1.51M10,431 people95
- 5SorrentoVIC 3943 · Mornington Peninsula$2.28M2,013 people95
- 6Bellfield (Banyule)VIC 3081 · Banyule$955K1,996 people93
- 7FlindersVIC 3929 · Mornington Peninsula$2.40M1,130 people93
- 8CollingwoodVIC 3066 · Yarra$1.24M9,179 people90
- 9South MelbourneVIC 3205 · Port Phillip$1.67M11,548 people90
- 10ColdstreamVIC 3770 · Yarra Ranges$793K2,199 people88
- 11HealesvilleVIC 3777 · Yarra Ranges$790K7,589 people88
- 12WarburtonVIC 3799 · Yarra Ranges$685K2,020 people85
- 13RichmondVIC 3121 · Yarra$1.39M28,587 people84
- 14St KildaVIC 3182 · Port Phillip$1.59M19,490 people84
- 15CarltonVIC 3053 · Melbourne$1.49M16,055 people83
- 16DeepdeneVIC 3103 · Boroondara$3.10M2,101 people82
- 17Yarra GlenVIC 3775 · Yarra Ranges$792K3,012 people81
- 18BrunswickVIC 3056 · Moreland$1.34M24,896 people79
- 19PrahranVIC 3181 · Stonnington$1.79M12,203 people79
- 20Albert ParkVIC 3206 · Port Phillip$2.34M6,044 people77
Frequently asked questions
Which suburb in Melbourne has the best entertainment scene?
Princes Hill tops SuburbCheck's Entertainment Score ranking for Melbourne, with an Entertainment Score of 100/100. The score reflects the density of licensed venues — pubs, bars, clubs and licensed dining — per 1,000 residents, benchmarked against every Australian suburb.
How is the Entertainment Score calculated?
The Entertainment Score is a national percentile (0–100) based on the density of licensed on-premises venues — pubs, general bars, small bars, clubs and licensed dining — per 1,000 residents. NSW and VIC data comes from government liquor registers; other states use OpenStreetMap. A score of 80 or above puts a suburb in the national top 20% for licensed venue density.
Does a high Entertainment Score mean more crime?
Not in the way most people expect. Our analysis of NSW suburbs found that licensed venue density correlates much more strongly with property theft than with assault or robbery. High-entertainment suburbs often see more opportunistic theft near venues, but interpersonal violence rates are not as strongly linked to venue density as commonly assumed.