Melbourne Travel

Melbourne Travel Melbourne is the second-largest city in Australia and the capital of the south-eastern state of Victoria, located at the head of Port Phillip Bay.

Melbourne is generally regarded as Australia’s cultural capital. The city’s features include Victorian-era architecture, extensive shopping, many cultural institutions such as museums, galleries and theaters, and large parks and gardens.

Melbourne’s 3.8 million population is both multicultural (with large Greek, Italian, Jewish, Vietnamese and other immigrant communities) and sports-mad.

Reasons for tourists to visit Melbourne are to attend major sporting events, to use it as a base for exploring surrounding regions such as Grampians National Park, The Great Ocean Road, and to visit Phillip Island to view the penguin parade. Many UK visitors come to Melbourne for tours of filming locations of soap opera Neighbours.

Districts of Primary Interest for the Tourist in Sydney

Inner city

City Centre – Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD) and historical core north of the Yarra River, including the Southbank district immediately south of the Yarra and the new Docklands precinct to the west
Albert Park – home of Melbourne’s F1 Grand Prix circuit
Carlton – traditional home of Melbourne’s Italians and the University of Melbourne
Collingwood – working class suburb with funky shopping on Smith Street shopping
Fitzroy – the Bohemian quarter filled with interesting restaurants
Prahran – favourite shopping district with Chapel Street as its main attraction
Richmond – North Richmond is Melbourne’s Little Vietnam while the southern part of the district is famous for low price fashion outlets
South Melbourne
South Yarra – South of the river, with high-end shopping and dining, covers South Yarra and Toorak
St Kilda – suburb on Port Philip Bay with its famous Sunday art market, many backpacker hostels and cafes. The closest thing to a red light district in Melbourne.
Williamstown – old, maritime-styled suburb with many cafes
Yarraville – quiet, inner-western suburb with well-preserved Victorian architecture and a funky, arty vibe

Outer suburbs

Eastern suburbs – stretching from almost inner suburbs of Kew, Hawthorn and Camberwell to the outer areas like Belgrave, Lilydale, Ringwood, Glen Waverley and the Dandenong Ranges.
Northern suburbs – covering suburbs like Tullamarine, Broadmeadows, Epping, Bundoora and Eltham.
Southern suburbs – spread along the coast of Port Philip Bay and covers areas like Brighton, Elwood, Sandringham and Frankston. Its main attraction is the beach along the bay.
Western suburbs – includes areas like St Albans, Keilor, Altona, Laverton and Werribee, Williamstown

Things to See at Melbourne

City Centre

The City Centre probably has the most to attract the traveller: cafes, boutiques, department stores, and Victorian architecture can all be sampled on foot.

Docklands – an entire new precinct filled with shops, bars, restaurants and a stadium with a waterside setting
Eureka Tower – tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere, panoramic views of the whole of Melbourne
Parliament House of Victoria – the first seat of the Australian federal government, free tours are available on week days
Queen Victoria Market – huge and colourful, fresh and dry produce and tonnes of souvenirs and other interesting things
State Library – pretty good if you’re into books, city architecture and free internet
AFL Sensation – a great introduction to Australian Football
Southgate – pretty promenade on the south bank of the Yarra, good restaurants, bars and a Sunday art & craft market
Federation Square – modernistic but wonderful space to see Melburnians live life plus popular bars and tourist info centre

Carlton

The attractions in Carlton are mostly historical as it houses the museum, and cultural with its strong Italian heritage.

Lygon Street – chock-a-block with Italian restaurants, gelatelerias and coffee shops
Melbourne Museum
IMAX Cinema – right next to the museum
Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens – UNESCO World Heritage site (tours available through the museum)

Parkville

Melbourne Zoo – usual assortment of zoo animals in a natural-like setting with lots of Australian native species too. Jazz at the Zoo is a popular weekend evening function over the summer months for a picnic, music and evening stroll around the animal enclosures
University of Melbourne – hub of students, architecture and pleasant gardens

St Kilda

Luna Park – historic amusement park built in 1912
St Kilda Pier – popular spot for fishing and walking
St Kilda Esplanade – fine place for walking, skating, sunbathing and on Sundays, the Esplanade Sunday market
St Kilda Botanical Gardens – first trees planted in 1859
Jewish Museum of Australia – depicts history of the Jewish community in Australia
Jewish Holocaust Museum

South Yarra

Royal Botanic Gardens – water restrictions limit traditional floral gardens. It does have nice old trees, drought tolerant displays, a cafe and grassy places to loll about. In summer you can see outdoor movies and Shakespeare plays
Toorak Road – kilometre-long strip of fashionable but often unaffordable shops plus some very nice restaurants

Prahran

Chapel Street – famous for its street cafes and fashion boutiques. Cheaper stores are found at its southern end.
Prahran Market – smaller version of Queen Victoria Market with excellent quality, albeit slightly pricey, fresh food
Commercial Road- known for its gay-friendly eateries, shops and clubs

Northern Melbourne

Woodlands Historic Park – immediately north of Melbourne Airport, contains an 1840s homestead and a nature reserve

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