"Pako", as it is universally known in town, is the spine of the Geelong West neighbourhood — a kilometre-long strip of independent cafes, bookstores, vintage shops, restaurants and grocers that has slowly displaced the city centre as the locals' favourite weekend hangout.
The northern (Aphrasia Street) end leans funkier and more residential; the southern end has the bigger restaurants and the cluster of antique shops. The annual Pako Festa, held in February, fills the street with food stalls and music celebrating Geelong's post-war migrant communities — Italian, Greek, Croatian, Maltese.