Explore Melbourne at the head of Port Phillip Bay, Australia‘s second largest city and the capital of the south-eastern state of Victoria. Serving as Australia’s undisputed cultural capital, Melbourne is bursting with Victorian-era architecture, famed cafés, great bars and restaurants, extensive shopping, museums, galleries, theatres, and large parks and gardens. Its nearly 5-million residents are both multicultural and sports-mad, and the city has year-round festivals, sporting events and the best of Australian culture on display.

Melbourne is famous as the host city for a range of major international sporting events such as the Australian Open, Melbourne Cup Carnival and Formula 1 Grand Prix. It also features some of the world’s most popular art galleries and museums (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Museum) and internationally acclaimed festivals (Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Melbourne Fringe Festival). The city is also represented by its world-famous street art, coffee culture, pubs and live music… most of which can be found tucked away in a large number of iconic laneways. Frequently named as the World’s Most Livable City, Melbourne is close to and features many gardens, national parks and areas that are home to some of Australia’s iconic wildlife (The Great Ocean Road, Grampians National Park, Phillip Island, and Royal Botanic Gardens). Indigenous sites, museums and experiences (Koorie Heritage Trust, Birrarung Marr, Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre) maintain a vital link to the people and culture of the First Nations.

Innumerable great restaurants, cafés, pubs and clubs abound in the city, often hidden down its famous grid of heritage listed and street art-covered laneways. The centre of Melbourne throbs with life, reflecting the residents’ pride in its regular award as “the world’s most livable city”.

Entertainment, (including a superb art and theatre complex, ballet, opera, and more), fine dining, plus some inexpensive cafes and the vast Crown Casino and entertainment complex. River trips depart from Southbank.

Features a famous Sunday art market along The Esplanade, and home to many backpacker hostels and cafes. Also features Luna Park, Palais Theatre and St Kilda Sea Baths.

Includes the old ports of Melbourne, as well as the historic Clarendon Street and town centre. Home of Melbourne’s F1 Grand Prix circuit around Albert Park Lake. Features South Melbourne Market (1867), with a famous variant of Dim Sims (a Melbourne invention).

Parkville is famous as the university district, whereas Carlton is well-known for Lygon Street, world famous for its authentic Italian culture and cuisine. Parkville features Melbourne Zoo and many gardens and leafy areas, contrasting with the high-energy multicultural vibes of the hipster mecca of Brunswick.

Working-class and Bohemian quarter, with many trendy boutiques, some of Melbourne’s best ethnic cuisine – especially Vietnamese – and an amazing range of inner-city pubs full of character. Another of Melbourne’s hipster centers with lots of creativity and multicultural pursuits, particularly centered on Brunswick St (Fitzroy), Gertrude St (Fitzroy/Collingwood), Smith St (Collingwood), Johnson St (Fitzroy/Collingwood/Abbotsford), Victoria St (Abbotsford/Richmond), Bridge Rd (Richmond) and Swan St (Richmond).

Footscray is an occasionally run-down, working class suburb with a cool, multicultural vibe. It features cheap markets, dozens of Vietnamese and East African shops and restaurants. Yarraville is a quieter suburb with well-preserved Victorian architecture and a funky, artsy vibe including the famous Sun Theatre.

Melbourne is famous for being capable of showing ‘four seasons in one day’ and has a temperate climate with distinct seasons and usually mild weather.

The Kulin Nation (as it is known to the peoples of the First Nations) has existed in present-day Melbourne for an estimated 60,000-100,000 years. The area has been inhabited by five First Nation groups continuously since this time, with unique cultural ceremonies such as Tanderrum surviving to this day.

Melbourne is often called the cultural capital of Australia, with its many art galleries, film festivals, orchestras, choral and opera productions, vibrant live music scene, and a strong food, wine and coffee culture. People in Melbourne tend to dress up more than in Sydney, partly due to the colder climate. Many bars and clubs have strict dress regulations, such as requiring collars and dress shoes for men.

Particular events to note include the Melbourne International Film Festival in August, the Melbourne International Arts Festival in October, and the Melbourne Comedy Festival in April. There are also many concerts and exhibitions throughout the year. In addition to the Melbourne Museum, there are special museums dedicated to subjects such as science, immigration, Chinese history, Jewish history, sport, racing, film and moving image, railways, police, fire brigades and banking.

Sport is integral to Australian culture and Melbourne is the unquestioned sporting capital of Australia. Two major sporting administrations base their operation in Melbourne: Cricket Australia and the Australian Football League (AFL). The Melbourne Sports Precinct is a 15 minute walk from the CBD and features Melbourne Park, AAMI Park and the world famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), a major tourist attraction in the world’s top 10 largest stadiums with crowds regularly exceeding 100,000 people. The city also features numerous other sporting venues that draw large crowds and enthusiastic supporters year round.

Cricket is also a big draw card in the summertime, and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (the ‘MCG’) is one of the world’s most famous cricket grounds. The National Sports Museum (NSM) (including the Racing Museum) -Australia’s only dedicated multi-sports museum- is also located at the MCG. One Day Test matches (annual) and The Ashes series (quadrennial) are the most popular events and often hosted at the MCG, with crowds often exceeding 90,000 spectators.

Horse racing is another key sporting event, with the Spring Racing Carnival running between the AFL and Cricket seasons from October to November. The carnival makes use of Flemington and Caulfield race courses and features world-famous races, principally the Melbourne Cup. The majority of the state has a public holiday on the first Tuesday of November as Melbourne Cup race day, whilst other horse racing events in the carnival, such as Derby Day and Oaks Day, combine to draw crowds in excess of 400,000 yearly.

Each January, Melbourne hosts the Australian Open, one of the world’s four Grand Slam Tennis championships played on hard-court. It is the largest annual sporting event in the southern hemisphere with in excess of 700,000 attendees and over $55,000,000 in prize money.

Melbourne has hosted the first race of the Formula One season, the Formula One Grand Prix since 1996. The race is held around Albert Park Lake in South Melbourne and draws in excess of 90,000 attendees for main race day.

Melbourne has wildlife both in and out of the city, and is the gateway to Victoria: Australia’s most bio diverse state. Victoria has 516 bird species recorded – 54% of Australia’s birds in just 3% of Australia’s land area.

Parks and reserves outside of Melbourne have the most to offer the wildlife enthusiast. East of Melbourne is generally cool, wet forest – home to Superb Lyrebirds, King Parrots, Wombats & Wallabies. The Far East Gippsland also has a spectacular coastline and mountain forests with Platypus, Goannas, Greater Gliders and wild Dingoes (but you have to be out at night to see them). West of Melbourne is largely drier open woodland and plains – home to koalas, Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Kookaburras & Cockatoos. The far north-west – the Mallee – is very dry, known for Malleefowl, Major Mitchells Cockatoos, Regent Parrots, Emus and lots of reptiles.

Melbourne is served by two main airports —

• Melbourne Airport, also referred to as Tullamarine Airport, is situated to the northwest of the city and is the main international and domestic hub.
• Some domestic flights also use Avalon Airport, located to the southwest of the city centre on the road to Geelong.

Melbourne has an excellent network of bike paths, plus a generally flat terrain, making pedal-power a great way to take in the city. Most paths are “shared footways” under the law, although the majority of users in most places are cyclists. This means cyclists should expect to share the path with pedestrians, dog-walkers, rollerbladers, joggers, prams and tricycles. Some trails contain on-road sections (in marked bike lanes). It is legal to cycle on footpaths only when supervising cycling children or when the path is marked or signposted as allowing bikes. Helmets are required by law, and care should be taken when cycling near slippery tram tracks, where many have gotten injured in the past. Reflective clothing and lights are essential for safe night rides.

The major car rental chains are well-represented and include Redspot, Avis, Budget, Europcar, melbourne Hertz, Thrifty. Independent car rental companies are also plentiful and can offer good value for money. If you are looking to cover a long distance by car, ensure your rental policy includes unlimited mileage – most economy to standard sized car rental include this already.

The City Centre, including nearby Southbank and Docklands has much to attract the traveller, including theatres, art galleries, cafés, boutiques, plenty of live music, clubs and bars, department stores, and interesting Victorian architecture. Most of the most well-known attractions in Melbourne, most notably:

• Flinders Street Railway Station
• Queen Victoria Market
• National Gallery of Victoria
• State Library of Victoria
• Old Melbourne Gaol
• Federation Square
• The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
• South Gate and the Arts Precinct
• The Yarra River
• Shrine of Remembrance
• Coops Shot Tower
• Melbourne Exhibition Centre
• Crown Casino
• The Inner North encompasses Carlton, Parkville, North Melbourne and Brunswick. The district is famous for gardens, thriving migrant communities and historical architecture.
• Melbourne Museum & IMAX
• Italian Community (Lygon and Rathdowne Streets)
• Royal Exhibition Building
• Carlton Gardens
• Melbourne Zoo
• Royal Park
• The University of Melbourne
• St Kilda
• Luna Park
• St Kilda Pier
• St Kilda Esplanade
• St Kilda Botanical Gardens
• Palais Theatre
• Jewish Museum of Australia
• South Melbourne Market (including famous dim sims)
• South Melbourne Beach
• Clarendon Street (Main Street with Restaurants/Cafes/Pubs)
• Port Melbourne
• Port Melbourne Pier (Cruise Ship Terminal)
• Port Melbourne Beach
• Brunswick St (a long and lively cafe/bar strip with cheap and decent eats)
• Johnston St (home of the local Hispanic community and has many restaurants, bars and pubs, as well as the infamous Tote Hotel and Night Cat for a late-night disco)
• Gertrude St (a charming street, with yet more cafes, bars, upmarket restaurants and unique clothing, as well as a yearly nighttime projection festival)
• Smith St (a slightly run-down but cultural street with cafes, dive bars, cocktail lounges and an increasing number of highly-regarded restaurants.
• Carlton United, Mountain Goat and Moon Dog Breweries
• Pubs are concentrated in and around Church, Victoria and Swan Streets, with outlet shopping on
• Bridge Road. Don’t miss the hipster-haven of the converted Abbostford Convent and Collingwood Children’s Farm next door in Abbotsford.
• Greenery, high-end living and shopping .
• Chapel Street and Toorak Roads (famous for fashionable stores, cafes and restaurants draws tourists and locals alike)
• Royal Botanic Gardens
• Prahran Market is a market dedicated to the finest quality fresh food
• Commercial Road (known for restaurants, eateries and as a formerly prominent gay cultural district)
• Brighton is a family friendly, upmarket area.
• Bay Street (featuring excellent upmarket cafes and boutique shops)
• Brighton Beach
• Bathing Boxes (Brighton Beach)