Melbourne City Guide

After Sydney, Melbourne is the most important city on the continent and it is the capital of the densely populated state of Victoria. This city of 3 million inhabitants has a very European look with its shopping streets, Victorian buildings, green parks and yellow/ green trams. If you're feeling a little bit homesick, this is the place to be. Culture is very important to the people of Melbourne. This is the place to visit if you want to go to the theatre, a concert or the movies. Melbourne is also a very fashionable city with very many clothing boutiques. For those who love trying foreign foods, Melbourne offers a wide selection of restaurants that reflects the multi-national heritage of the inhabitants of this city.

Melbourne city guide - atmospheric evenings

Melbourne ins and outs

Take the tram and go for a tour of the city, go shopping and perhaps even have a drink in one of the shopping streets. A few tips: the Bourke Street Mall (near Melbourne's China Town), the beautiful interior and exterior of the Princess Theatre (definitely have a look inside as well!), the charming atmosphere of Flinders Station, gothic St. Pauls Cathedral and the throngs of visitors at the Queen Victoria market; all are worth visiting. There are also plenty of parks in this city as well as a beautiful botanical garden. If you would like to visit a botanical garden and want to escape from the chaos of the city, this is the place to be.

Melbourne's suburbs

Just outside Melbourne city centre you'll find the city's suburbs. If you decide to visit the 'burbs', try to visit the charming, cosmopolitan area of St. Kilda (take tram 16 to get there). There are many restaurants, bars and there's a beautiful boulevard (the esplanade). Another more bohemian suburb is Fitzroy and the area surrounding Brunswick Street in particular. You'll find fashion boutiques, galleries and unusual shops, all of which are perfect for a day of strolling around. If you're looking for more upscale areas, visit South Yarra. There are many luxurious designer clothing boutiques here and great restaurants on Toorak Road.

Transfers and transport

Melbourne's airport is located approximately 22km away from the city. Shuttle buses will take you to the most well known hotels in the city. If you're travelling with two or more people a taxi cab is reasonably affordable.

Much like in most European cities, the city's centre can be explored on foot. Just for fun you may want to go for a ride on one of the city's charming trams. The touristic red/ gold trams rides through the centre of the city and can be used free of charge. Parking can be difficult in Melbourne, just like it is in most larger cities in the world. You may just want to leave your hire car at the hotel since there's plenty of public transport to use to get around the city. You could even decide to wait off on hiring a car until you actually need it to leave the city. It's best to pick up your hire car at the airport since most city offices open late and close early. You could also decide to hire a bicycle for a day. Instead of biking through the city centre on a beautiful day, we recommend biking past the Yarra River.

Tips & Trips

Phillip Island is well known destination for a day trip. When the sun sets you'll actually see small penguins walk onto the beach. Unfortunately is very much geared towards tourists and not as unspoiled as it should be.

A more spectacular option is a drive along the Great Ocean Road. This famous coastal road runs along the Geelong suburb towards Adelaide and offers those who travel along it breathtaking panoramic views. You'll come across small beach towns, fishing towns and green hinterland scattered with holiday cottages, cattle and natural reserves. This is the ideal place for a road trip. We offer a 5 day self-drive trip from Melbourne to Adelaide.