Need to know
Student guide to FootscrayTwo campuses, and one food strip between them.
VU Footscray Park is on Ballarat Road next to the hospital and the pool. VU Footscray Nicholson is on Nicholson and Buckley. They are not interchangeable. Cheap food is Hopkins, Leeds and Irving. Walk home on Barkly or Hopkins, not through the mall.
Updated 2026-09-17
Which campus are you on?
Park: Ballarat Road, sport labs, river, aquatic centre, hospital next door. Nicholson: TAFE, EAL and the Navitas SEE room in Building D. Read the campus code. The shuttle and the 406 exist because people get this wrong. Adult English and job desks are on the learn English and work guide.
Where do students actually eat?
Nhu Lan, the market food court on a weekday, Pho Tam from 8am, Rudimentary if you have a laptop and a budget. Juk Jut is Thai on Droop. Mami Ko is Filipino on Nicholson. Moon Dog is the big night. Hop Nation is the river detour.
Questions people ask next
- Does VU Footscray have a pool?
- Yes. The aquatic and fitness centre is Building L on the Footscray Park campus, with community access.
- Can I walk between VU campuses?
- Yes, but it is a suburb crossing, not a courtyard. Budget time or use the shuttle.
Places in this guide
Victoria University Footscray Park
Main VU campus on Ballarat Road, looking over Flemington and the river. Sport, engineering and education sit here.
Ballarat Road, Footscray VIC 3011Victoria University Footscray Nicholson
The TAFE and EAL campus on Nicholson and Buckley. Certificates in English as an Additional Language sit here, not at Footscray Park.
Corner Nicholson and Buckley Streets, Footscray VIC 3011VU Aquatic and Fitness Centre
25-metre indoor pool with a river view, gym and classes on the Park campus. Community access, not students only.
Building L, Footscray Park Campus, Maribyrnong Boulevard, Footscray VIC 3011Nhu Lan Bakery
The banh mi counter locals name first. Rolls baked on site and stuffed to order, including a small roll if you are mid crawl.
116 Hopkins Street, Footscray VIC 3011Juk Jut
Contemporary Thai on Droop Street. Pad Thai and green curry with a west-side dining room, a short walk from the plaza rather than Hopkins.
4 Droop Street, Footscray VIC 3011Mami Ko
Filipino-Asian shopfront on Nicholson. Kare-kare, bangus and share plates in a high-visibility room that restaurants have struggled to hold.
76 Nicholson Street, Footscray VIC 3011