Things to do
We’ve picked out a few but there’s plenty to choose from.
Street art
Explore Melbourne’s laneways to see an ever-changing outdoor gallery of urban art. Check out the murals, stencils, paste-ups and installations in the laneways off Flinders Lane between Russell Street and Swanston Street. Union Lane, off the Bourke Street Mall, is usually freshly painted, as is Blender Lane, off Franklin Street.
Beyond the CBD, keep an eye out for eye-catching art on the walls in Fitzroy and Collingwood. The Gertrude Street Projection Festival is an annual highlight
Queen Victoria Market
This is authentic, bustling, inner-city market that has been the heart and soul of Melbourne for 140 years. It’s a great place to discover fresh and specialty produce, hand-made and unique products, great coffee and food, souvenirs and clothing.
Shopping at the Market has always been one of life’s great pleasures. It is not just the abundance of fresh food, it’s the friendly banter with the traders, the vibrant and multicultural atmosphere, the special events and festivals, and the sense of belonging that comes with it.
Open Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat & Sun. Check trading hours.
Royal Exhibition Building
The building, just north of the city centre, surrounded by Carlton Gardens, is one of the world’s oldest remaining exhibition pavilions and was originally built for the Great Exhibition of 1880. Later it housed the first Commonwealth Parliament from 1901, and was the first building in Australia to achieve a World Heritage listing in 2004.
With a meticulously restored interior, expansive galleries and soaring dome, the Royal Exhibition Building’s Great Hall continues to be an impressive setting for trade shows, fairs, cultural and community events.
Shopaholics guide to Melbourne
From classic cuts to cutting-edge couture, Melbourne is a city that takes its fashion seriously – hence the collection of homegrown boutiques with serious world-wide clout.
If going wild on style is your thing, then Melbourne will definitely be your vibe.
Hit up the best places to shop ‘til you drop at Melbourne’s must-visit shopping spots.
Fed Square
Boasting world-class art galleries and installations, a brilliant and diverse range of food and drink and thrilling, extraordinary events, Fed Square is Melbourne’s public square and the civic, cultural and community heart of the city.
Fed Square is home to three of Victoria’s major cultural institutions: ACMI, Australia’s Museum of Screen Culture; the Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT); and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia.
Long before Fed Square was built, the site on which it now stands was an important gathering place for the area’s Indigenous groups. For tens of thousands of years, the people of the Kulin Nations came together on the banks of the Birrarung (Yarra River).
Restaurants, cafes, pubs
Melbourne prides itself on its food and the city’s dizzying array of dining options is testimony to its culinary reputation. Book ahead for award-winning fine-dining restaurants, queue up for iconic cheap eats, explore famous eat streets or track down the city’s best food trucks. Whatever you do, come to town with an appetite.
Explore Melbourne’s culinary precincts. Go for Italian in Lygon Street, Carlton, Vietnamese in Victoria Street, Richmond, and Lebanese in Sydney Road, Brunswick. Find the best-dumplings in CBD’s Chinatown, and be spoilt for choice in Footscray‘s Vietnamese and African restaurants.
Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne
An extension of the renowned Royal Botanic Gardens in the city, these Gardens offer a natural bushland experience alongside the Australian Garden, an award-winning, contemporary botanic garden celebrating the beauty and diversity of Australian landscapes and flora and featuring over 100,000 plants from 1,900 plant varieties.
The bushland has over 450 indigenous plant species and includes over 10km of walking tracks, six kilometres of cycling tracks, a lookout tower, picturesque shelters, barbecues and playgrounds. It is a precious remnant of the vegetation that once covered the broader region and is actively managed to control the number of non-indigenous plants and exotic weeds.
Further afield
Enjoy Victoria’s breathtaking scenery and diverse natural environments on an outdoor adventure. Whether you’re on skis or floating high in a balloon, out on the water or hiking up a mountain, the best way to see Victoria is in the open air.
Pack a picnic, map and camera and go for a hike just a short drive from the city. If you prefer being on two wheels, try mountain biking in the High Country or just cruise around Melbourne’s numerous city bike trails. For the adventurous, have a go at waterskiing on Victoria’s expansive lake systems or strap on a helmet and climb one of the Grampians’ famous rock faces.