Northbridge is Perth's main arts, dining, and nightlife district, sitting immediately north of the city centre across the railway line. The underpass beneath the rail corridor connects the CBD to William Street, Northbridge's main artery, lined with restaurants, bars, galleries, and cafes that reflect the neighbourhood's character as Perth's most diverse and creative precinct. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and Middle Eastern restaurants cluster here alongside Italian and Mediterranean spots, making this the best place in the city for a casual, inexpensive meal that is genuinely interesting.
The Perth Cultural Centre is located in Northbridge, housing the Art Gallery of WA, the WA Museum Boola Bardip, the State Library, and PICA (Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts), which gives the neighbourhood an intellectual anchor alongside its more hedonistic attractions. The club and bar scene along James Street and Aberdeen Street gets going late on weekends. But Northbridge is not purely nocturnal: the daytime street life is excellent, the coffee is good, and the weekend markets around the Cultural Centre draw a mixed crowd. It can feel rough around the edges late on a Friday night, but during the day and early evening it is one of Perth's most genuinely interesting places to wander.