Our pick of the best free playgrounds across Fitzroy, Collingwood, Brunswick, Carlton, and Northcote.
The inner north has some of Melbourne’s best playgrounds — and they’re all free. Here are 10 we return to again and again with kids of different ages.
1. Edinburgh Gardens Playground (Fitzroy North)
Huge playground with a flying fox, climbing structure, sand pit, and accessible swings. Great café adjacent. Gets busy on sunny weekends but still manageable.
2. Curtain Square Park (Carlton)
Compact but brilliant toddler equipment in a leafy square. Walking distance from the Royal Exhibition Building for a cultural add-on.
3. Darling Gardens (Clifton Hill)
One of the prettiest parks in Melbourne. The playground is good, but the whole park is the attraction — ducks, rotunda, massive fig trees.
