The Melbourne Travel Guide gives you a taste of what you can discover in Melbourne. Fantastic dining, awesome coffee, sport, and art.
Melbourne is a city of discovery. Go from shopping in Bourke Street Mall to navigating historic cobblestone laneways. Turn a corner and you are met with some of Australia's best street art. Then take some time out to relax with a top-notch coffee in a cozy cafe, before ending your day at a rooftop bar.
Travelling outside of Melbourne? Then make sure to read our Victoria Travel Guide.
What to See & Do
- Check out the Street Art: It's easy enough to walk yourself around Melbourne's famous street art, but why not take a tour to get the complete picture and visit a local artist's studio?
- Take a Boozy History Tour: Discover hidden laneways and awesome bars with a history lesson.
- Catch a Tram: Besides being a fun thing to do, the historic hop on hop off City Circle Tram is free!
- Discover Queen Victoria Market: Melbourne's iconic bustling inner city market has been around since 1878.
- Dive with Sharks: Head to SeaLife and scuba with sharks up to 3M long!
- Federation Square: Melbournes home to arts, culture, and public events, plus is great to photograph.
- Picnic in Fitzroy Gardens: Escape the bustle of the city and have a picnic in the garden. Visit the fairies or tudor village. This isn't any normal garden.
- Ride a Wooden Rollercoaster: Walk through the scary clowns mouth at Luna park and scare yourself more by riding the rattler of a rollercoaster.
- Eat!!: Melbourne is a multicultural city filled with culinary delights. Get the most out of your visit with a walking foodie tour.
- Cruise the Yarra: One of the best ways to see the city is from the Yarr River that meanders through the middle of it.
- Visit a Gallery: From the impressive National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) to smaller independent galleries and sculpture gardens.
- Shop at Block Arcade: One of Victoria's finest shopping arcades, a gorgeous piece of history in the CBD.
- Walk Melbournes Laneways: One of the delights of Melbourne is the laneways, get lost, and explore these delights.
3 Unique Experiences
- Ballooning: Take a hot air balloon ride over Melbourne at sunrise with a romantic champagne breakfast.
- Sports Tour: If you love your sport then Melbourne is your kind of place. Visit the MCG, Australian Open, Flemington Racecourse, F1 circuit, and much much more.
- Melbourne Star: See Melbourne from the luxury of your own "cabin" from high in the sky.
Areas of Melbourne
Many of Melbourne's areas are hubs for good food, coffee, and shopping. Below is just a tease of what is on offer.
St Kilda: This boho beachside suburb feels miles away from Melbourne's CBD, but it's only 6km. Visit the 1,400 strong community of little penguins at St Kila Pier. Go paddleboarding or kiteboarding. Afterwards, stroll down Acland Street for a cake crawl.
Docklands: Not loved by the locals but has a lot to offer visitors to Melbourne. Meander your way around this waterside suburb that offers restaurants, artwork, and shopping. Ride the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel, visit the Victoria Police Musem, or have a bbq in a donut on the water (yes it's a thing!).
Southbank: Across the Yarra from the CBD lies the home of Crown Casino, NGV, and the Eureka Skydeck 88. You will find a lot of high end and delicious dining, swanky hotels, and Melbourne's Art Precinct.
Fitzroy: The home of cool, quirky, and kooky. Shop for vintage wares, items by local designers, and designer clothing. When your feet hurt from walking up and down Brunswick Street grab something to eat at one of the many restaurants. You must check out one or two of the hip bars too.
Windsor: An eclectic mix of retro stores, op shops, and designer boutiques. A great choice for Asian food lovers. Catch a film festival at the Astor Theatre.
Accommodation
Melbourne offers visitors a broad range of luxury accommodation. From the main chains to boutique offerings.
InterContinental Melbourne, The Rialto: Oozing luxury from its 1890’s neo-gothic façade to well-appointed guest rooms with marble bathrooms. Conveniently located on Collins Street. The indoor pool boasts stunning city views.
Crown Towers: Crown Casino's flagship hotel offers majestic city and Yarra River views, lavish interiors, and luxurious guest rooms. Located at Southbank and conveniently located to all the city's action.
The Windsor: Classic and grand, combining the classic beauty and architecture of the Victorian age with the graciousness of a bygone era. Get lost in its romance.
Park Hyatt Melbourne: Offers exclusive accommodation in the heart of the city. The hotel overlooks St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and the Fitzroy Gardens. But the best feature? Mr Walker, their affectionate Blonde Labrador doggo Ambassador!
Transport
Public Transport: Melbourne's public transport is one of the best in Australia (or at least that's what they say). A combination of trains, trams and busses will get you where you need to go.
To use the system you will need a myki card, or mobile myki. Alternatively purchase the myki Explorer which includes a ready-to-use myki card with one day’s unlimited travel in metropolitan Melbourne, maps for trains, trams, and the city centre, plus access to a range of experience offers across Victoria.
The city has a free tram travel zone that extends from Queen Victoria Market to Docklands, Spring Street, Flinders Street Station, and Federation Square. Plus the free City Circle tram (aka the tourist tram).
Hop on Hop Off: There is a variety of hop on and hop off bus and cruise options for tourists. These take you around the major attractions in Melbourne.
Private Tours: The easiest and most informative way to get around Melbourne for a tourist is via private tours. You will have the guide all to yourself and they will tweak the tour to fit with your interests.
Mobile & WiFi
If you would prefer to not use your international SIM card in Australia you can easily purchase one at Melbourne Airport on arrival.
WiFi is readily accessible at all good hotels. It is usually free to guests that are a member of the hotel’s rewards program. This too is generally free to join and we suggest you do before making your booking. Otherwise, WiFi charges can be close to highway robbery.
Eating Out
Melbourne boasts some of the best restaurants in Australia. It has a sophisticated and adventurous dining scene.
Below are a few restaurants we highly recommend that you book well in advance of your stay. For those watching their hip pockets, we suggest you look at their more reasonable lunch dining options.
Attica: Attica's Chef and Owner, Ben Shewry, may be a Kiwi, but his restaurant's menu has a focus on Australian Indigenous food and culture.
Supernormal: This is a team ALT favourite! The Japanese influence is hard to ignore, but Andrew McConnell's creativity makes it so much more than just another "Japanese restaurant".
Top tip for solo diners. Grab a seat at the bar and order half-size portions (for dishes they can do this). This way you can try more!
Sunda: Located amongst Melbourne's laneways and theatre precinct, Chef Khanh Nguyen's menu celebrates the bold and vibrant flavours of Southeast Asia with an Australian native twist.
Make sure you check out the off-menu secret dish, roti with Vegemite curry.
Cumulus Inc: Situated in Melbourne’s art and fashion area, Flinders Lane. Chef Andrew McConnell's other restaurant offers a seasonal healthy menu that celebrates the very best in Victorian produce.
Dinner by Heston: The closest to The Fat Duck in Bray you will get in Aus. As soon as you arrive you can't miss the pineapples twirling on a rôtisserie for the Tipsy Cake.
When visiting you must try the meat fruit. A rich, silky smooth chicken liver pâté that looks like a mandarin. Leave extra room for dessert and an ice cream from the trolley. Not any old ice cream, it's a liquid nitrogen extravaganza.
Best Time to Visit
Like most places, Spring and Autumn (shoulder seasons) are the best times to visit Melbourne. Some days are still warm enough to enjoy a swim, outdoor dining, and is tee-shirt weather.
The summers can get very hot with temperatures reaching as high as 40°C (104°F) and above for a few days. Winter is colder in Melbourne than in Sydney with the temperature dipping down to around 6°C (44°F) during the day.