Paddington & Rosalie
One of Brisbane's hilliest suburbs...
In the Mount Coot-ha foothills, Paddington lies a couple of kilometres west of the CBD, and property here has seen some of the sharpest rises in the city in recent years. It's full of charming old Queenslander cottages, and many of the area's residents have been here for decades, so there's a proper, community feel about the place. If you want to explore on foot, you'll need trainers and strong calves, to get you up and down the undulating streets, but there are plenty of funky little bars and cafes around, in which to rest your weary feet should the hills get too much.
Paddington (or "Paddo", if you want to feel like a local)...
Also incorporates the village of Rosalie to the southwest, and there are plenty of parks and open spaces which give the area an unusually spacious feel, for somewhere so close to the city. The main shopping and entertainment area is Latrobe Terrace – Given Terrace – Caxton Street, 3 kilometres of antique shops, trendy boutiques, family-run stores, bars, restaurants and cafes, with the peaceful Ithaca Memorial Park at the centre, which has a swimming pool and sports fields.
Formerly a very genteel neighbourhood...
Paddington is fast becoming a 'younger' place to live, thanks to a growing bar scene, and proactive community organisations which have sought to restore much of the dilapidated, but historically valuable housing, and injected much needed capital into local businesses and amenities. Many of the buildings in Paddington are historically significant, particularly along Enoggera Terrace and Latrobe Terrace, the latter being home to one of the area's focal points, the Paddington Antiques Centre, whose former incarnations included cinema, theatre and dance hall.
