Melbourne

Laneway coffee, world-class sport and four seasons in a day.

Melbourne is Australia’s cultural and sporting capital: hidden laneway bars and galleries, the Australian Open and the Melbourne Cup, and the Great Ocean Road just beyond the city.

Best time to visit: March to May and September to November. Language: English. Currency: Australian dollar (AUD).

Did you know?

The Melbourne Cricket Ground holds around 100,000 people.
Trams are free to ride within the central city’s Free Tram Zone.
The Melbourne Cup is held on the first Tuesday of November, a public holiday in the city.

Things to do in Melbourne

Carlton Gardens (Botanic garden): The Carlton Gardens is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the northeastern edge of the Central Business District in the suburb of Carlton, Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, Australia.
National Gallery of Victoria (History museum): The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Melbourne Museum (Museum): The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia.
Melbourne Zoo (Zoo): Melbourne Zoo is a zoo in Melbourne, Australia.
Federation Square (Square, free): Federation Square is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district.
Melbourne Aquarium (Aquarium): Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is a Southern Ocean and Antarctic aquarium in central Melbourne, Australia.
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (Gallery): The Australian Centre For Contemporary Art is a contemporary art gallery in Melbourne, Australia.
Queen Victoria Market (Market, free): The Queen Victoria Market is a major landmark and public marketplace in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Old Melbourne Gaol (Museum): The Old Melbourne Gaol is a former jail and current museum on Russell Street, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Melbourne Athenaeum (Theatre): The Athenaeum or Melbourne Athenaeum at 188 Collins Street is an art and cultural hub in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Luna Park (Amusement park): Luna Park Melbourne is a historic amusement park located on the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia.
Our Lady of Victories Basilica (Church, free): Our Lady of Victories Basilica is a Roman Catholic church located in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell.
Museums Victoria (Museum): Museums Victoria is an organisation that includes a number of museums and related bodies in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Heide Museum of Modern Art (Art museum): The Heide Museum of Modern Art, also known as Heide, is an art museum in Bulleen, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Islamic Museum of Australia (Museum): The Islamic Museum of Australia is a community museum in Thornbury, Melbourne, Australia.
Ian Potter Centre (Art museum): The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia is an art gallery that houses the Australian part of the art collection of the National Gallery of Victoria.
Scienceworks (Science museum): Scienceworks is one of Australia’s leading science museums located in Spotswood, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria.
Sunshine Mosque (Mosque, free): The Sunshine Mosque is an Ottoman/Turkish-style mosque located in Sunshine, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Fitzroy Gardens (Park, free): The Fitzroy Gardens is a 26-hectare urban park located south-east of the city centre of Melbourne in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Albert Park and Lake (Park, free): Albert Park is a 225-hectare urban park, freshwater artificial lake and sports venue, located in the eponymous inner-city suburb of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.
East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation (Synagogue): The East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, also known as East Melbourne Shule, East Melbourne Synagogue, Melbourne City Synagogue or City of Melbourne Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and historically significan
Flagstaff Gardens (Park, free): The Flagstaff Gardens is a 7.2-hectare urban park located in the city centre of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.
Albanian Mosque, Carlton North (Mosque, free): The Albanian Mosque, also known as the Albanian Australian Islamic Society Mosque and Carlton Mosque, is a mosque located in Carlton North, a suburb of inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Princess Theatre (Theatre): The Princess Theatre, originally Princess's Theatre, is a 1452-seat theatre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Regent Theatre (Theatre): The Regent Theatre is an historic former picture palace built in 1929, closed in 1970, and restored and reopened in 1996 as a live theatre in Collins Street, in the city of Melbourne, Australia.
Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne (Botanic garden): Botanical gardens in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Fawkner Park (Park, free): Fawkner Park is a 41-hectare urban park and sports ground located in Melbourne's South Yarra and part of the City of Melbourne.
Melbourne Town Hall (Concert hall): The Melbourne Town Hall, often referred to as simply Town Hall, is the administrative seat of the local municipality of the City of Melbourne and the primary offices of the Lord Mayor and city councillors of Melbourne.
Batman Park (Park, free): Batman Park is an urban park, located on the northern bank of the Yarra River in central Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Hellenic Museum (Museum): The Hellenic Museum is an art and history museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia promoting Hellenic culture, both ancient and contemporary, through programs, exhibitions and events.
Newport Railway Museum (Museum): The Newport Railway Museum is located on Champion Road, Newport, Victoria, near the North Williamstown station.
HM Prison Pentridge (Historic site): HM Prison Pentridge, better known as the Pentridge Prison and officially, Her Majesty's Prison Pentridge, is a former prison in Coburg, an inner northern suburb of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.
Palais Theatre (Theatre): The Palais Theatre, formerly known as Palais Pictures, is a historic picture palace located in St Kilda, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Preston Mosque (Mosque, free): The Preston Mosque, officially the Umar bin Al-Khattab Mosque, is a mosque located in Preston, a suburb of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.
Wattle Park (Park, free): Wattle Park is a 41-hectare urban park in Burwood, a suburb of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.
Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden (Memorial, free): The Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden is located in Kings Domain, Melbourne, Australia and honours the contribution of women settlers to the development of the state of Victoria.
Yarra Park (Park, free): Yarra Park is a 35-hectare public park that is part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct, a sporting precinct in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
State Theatre (Theatre): The State Theatre opened in 1984 and is part of the Arts Centre Melbourne located by the Yarra River and St Kilda Road.
Altona Coastal Park (Nature reserve): Altona Coastal Park, a 70 hectares intertidal and salt marsh area located 11 km from Melbourne CBD in the western suburb of Altona, is an important recreational and nature conservation area, providing habitats for a larg
St Kilda Beach (Beach, free): St Kilda Beach is a beach located in St Kilda, Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia, 6 kilometres south from the Melbourne city centre.
St Mary Star of the Sea, West Melbourne (Church, free): St Mary Star of the Sea is a Roman Catholic parish church in West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Planetshakers Church (Church, free, hidden gem): Planetshakers Church is a Pentecostal megachurch affiliated with Australian Christian Churches based in Melbourne, Australia, with several church campuses around the world.
East Melbourne Lutheran church (Church, free, hidden gem): The Lutheran Trinity Church in East Melbourne, Australia, is a Lutheran heritage-listed church.
Thomastown Mosque (Mosque, free, hidden gem): The Thomastown Mosque, is a mosque located in Thomastown, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Ian Potter Museum of Art (Art museum, hidden gem): The Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia was established to accommodate various art and historical collections of the University.
Maribyrnong River Viaduct (Bridge, free, hidden gem): The Albion Viaduct, officially the Maribyrnong River Viaduct, and also known locally as the Quarter Mile Bridge, is a trestle viaduct across the Maribyrnong River and Maribyrnong River Trail that carries the Albion–Jacan
Ruffey Lake Park (Park, free, hidden gem): The Ruffey Lake Park is a 66-to-68-hectare urban park in the City of Manningham, in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Bali Memorial (Memorial, free, hidden gem): On 12 October 2002, three terrorist attacks took place in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali.
Wesley Church, Melbourne (Church, free, hidden gem): The Wesley Church is a Uniting church in the city centre of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.
Malvern Presbyterian Church, Melbourne (Church, free, hidden gem): Malvern Presbyterian Church is located in Victoria, Australia.
Greythorn Park (Park, free, hidden gem): Greythorn Park is a park in the suburb of Balwyn North, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Macleay Park (Park, free, hidden gem): Macleay Park is a multi-sports complex in the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn North.
Birrarung Marr (Park, free, hidden gem): Birrarung Marr is an eight-hectare urban park located between the city centre of Melbourne and the Yarra River, in Victoria, Australia.
Altona Beach (Beach, free, hidden gem): Altona Beach is a beach located in Altona, Victoria, Australia.
Princes Park (Park, free, hidden gem): The Princes Park is a 38.6-hectare urban park in Carlton North, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Centre for Contemporary Photography (Gallery, hidden gem): The Centre for Contemporary Photography, in Fitzroy, Melbourne, Victoria, is a venue for the exhibition of contemporary photo-based arts, providing a context for the enjoyment, education, understanding and appraisal of c

Where to eat and drink in Melbourne

Queen Victoria Market, CBD: A 19th-century market with hot jam doughnuts and a summer night market.
Chin Chin, CBD: Buzzing Southeast Asian canteen, a Flinders Lane favourite.
Vue de monde, CBD: Tasting menus 55 floors above the city.
Rooftop Bar, Curtin House, CBD: Deckchairs, cocktails and an open-air cinema in summer.
Flower Drum, Chinatown: Cantonese fine dining, a Melbourne legend since 1975.
Grossi Florentino, CBD: Italian dining rooms with murals, open since 1928.
Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne, Southbank: Dry-aged beef and a cellar to match.
Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar, CBD: The 1954 espresso bar that started Melbourne’s coffee obsession.
Common Cuts, Russell Street: Steak frites done properly: the CBD’s new obsession.
Bar Sala, Thornbury: Blue-corn tortillas at the heart of Thornbury’s Mexican scene.
The Frog Club, South Yarra: South Yarra’s new dining room and bar.

Also in Australia

Plan a trip to Melbourne