Melbourne, Australia
TRAVEL GUIDE
Coffee & Brunch
First thing’s first: Melbourne’s coffee & brunch scene rules. On our trip, I did not look up any prior coffee or brunch places because I wanted to keep our time in Melbourne flexible. This city does not know how to mess up coffee or brunch so you can’t go wrong here!
Note: In most countries, Yelp is not as accurate as it is in the United States. For example, a delectable and popular spot in the city may only have one review on Yelp but when you arrive, there’s a line out the door with a waiting period for half an hour! I recommend either Googling “Best brunch places in ______” or “Best cafes in _____” or refer to local guide books to get more accurate recommendations. Also good to keep in mind is that, typically, the reviews given on Yelp for countries outside of the United States tend to be from other tourists, not so much locals.
Transportation getting from the airport to city:
The airport has a good system of transportation from the airport to the city’s main public transportation station Southern Cross Station. It is called SkyBus. When leaving the airport, simply go to a kiosk and buy either a one-way ride to the city or a round-trip ride from the city and back to the airport. A one-way ticket from the airport to the city is approximately $20 AUD. If you buy the round-trip ticket, it’s $36 AUD.
You can try to use Uber, but when we tried to, it was over double the cost of us both buying a round-trip ticket by SkyBus.
Public Transportation
The main downtown area of Melbourne has zones called the Free Tram Zones. These zones are easily identifiable by the green signs stating “Free Tram Zone” located at the tram stops. I’ll say it right now:
Don’t use the free trams.
The trams are never on time or they don’t even show up at your stop. I made the mistake of waiting 3 times at a tram stop. Not once did they arrive on time. Two out of the three times I waited, I waited over 20 minutes and the tram still did not arrive at the tram stop. The third time I used it was near 10 PM at night, and it was still delayed 10 minutes.
The trams are subject to the traffic (they don’t have their own separate lanes). So they stop at the lights and sit in traffic just as the cars do. In addition, they can get unbearably crowded due to the trams being free to the public. It might get a little less crowded when you are out of the Free Tram Zone, but the congestion within the city will probably result in your tram STILL being late.
They have several Metro lines. I used the Metro once after I waited nearly 30 minutes for a tram that didn’t come. I showed up when the Metro line was supposed to arrive- and it did arrive on time. And it sent me along my merry way. Unfortunately, the Metro doesn’t have frequent boarding times. For example, the train may only show up in your spot every 20 minutes.
The best mode of transportation I found was either Uber or walking.
With both the trams and trains having long time periods between their stops, walking made it so you can start and arrive when you mean to. Many trams & trains only show up every 15 min or even 30 min. In that time period of waiting for the correct time, you could have been halfway to your destination by walking. Because Melbourne’s CBD and iconic spots are so close together, I found that walking allowed me to experience Melbourne very well. Of course, if you are tired or your feet have blisters, Uber is a great choice for those time sensitive or late night rides.
Second best mode of transportation was using the buses.
Once again, there weren’t many frequent bus arrival times, only perhaps once every 15 or 30 minutes. But unlike the trams, the buses typically showed up on time. Sometimes they’re a few minutes late, but never to the extent of the trams.
Melbourne Neighborhoods
CBD (central business district) – right in the action
St Kilda – historic suburb, close to beaches
Richmond – cool, hip suburb not far from the city
Fitzroy – great for a night out, or boutique shopping
Hawthorn – live as the locals do
Prahran and Windsor – close to cool bars and trendy restaurants
Brunswick – grungy neighborhood, with neat urban art
Collingwood – inner city cool, with excellent coffee
The Sites
Federation Square
Edgy square with shops, cafes, galleries, museums, and modern architecture. It is a beautifully designed square that holds events. It is also a lovely hang out spot for locals and tourist alike to sit on the steps looking towards Flinders Station and watching the hustle and bustle of Melbourne city life.
Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Claymation
Ian Potter Centre- home of Australian art
Flinders Street Station
Located across the street of Federation Square, this station is Australia’s busiest railway station also home to various shopping and delectable food choices. The front of this building is the iconic symbol of Melbourne found often on postcards and brochures.
Southbank
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
Eureka Skydeck
Tickets: $25 AUD
Hours: 10 AM - 10 PM. Last entry 9:30 PM..
NGV International - gallery boasting art from all over the world
Melbourne Museum
Science Museum
Museum of Sport
Immigration Museum
Chinese Museum
Jewish Museum
a significant theatre scene here
Coffee Scene
Refer to above section “Coffee & Brunch” for more details of how we tackled this major scene.
A Must-Try coffee spot (amidst the countless others that are also memorable): Patricia Coffee Brewers
Little Bourke St & Little William St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Check out tours specific available to coffee “experts”
Check out Hidden Secret Tours or Melbourne Coffee Tours
Street Art Scene/Laneyways
In addition to the coffee scene, Melbourne is also widely known for her laneyways incorporating street art and cafes down these paths.
Union Lane
Centre Place
AC/DC Lane
Hardware Lane
Degraves Lane
Hosier Lane- most famous laneyway
Music Scene
Melbourne is also known for the massive live music scene at local restaurants or bars. In particular, they love their rock music. Be sure to look up places that have some bands playing!
Some popular spots find live music include:
Corner Hotel
Evelyn Hotel
Spotted Mallard
Post Office Hotel
Esplanade Hotel
Palais Theatre
Greek Scene
“Melbourne has the largest Greek population of any city outside of Athens, and the close-knit, vibrant Greek community always has plenty of cultural events going on. There’s also the wonderful Greek Precinct, where you’ll find Greek cuisine of a standard that you’d expect in Greece itself! This area also has many Greek cultural shops, and the Hellenic Museum is nearby.”
Italian Scene
“Lygon Street - a rich café culture that introduced Melbourne to the love of high-quality coffee for which the city is now famous. You’ll find world-class Italian dining here, as well as Italian produce and culture stores, the beautiful Lygon Buildings (built in 1888), and shopping boutiques.”
Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) — “Australia’s favorite stadium”
This stadium is home to many sports including:
Melbourne Cricket Club
Australian Football League
International Soccer
Rugby
Australian Gallery of Sport and Olympic Museum
Various other events
Shopping Scene
Chapel Street - hosts many Australian boutiques; a large selection of men’s clothing can also be found here.
Bridge Road- outlet shopping, quality homewares, and reasonably priced food
Fitzroy- well known for its local boutiques as well as unique, vintage goods
Highpoint and Chadstone- vast high-end shopping malls with all the name brands.
Note: These are two separate malls located in opposite directions of each other
Emporium
“Emporium Melbourne hosts 225 premium stores in the heart of the CBD. The Centre features a mix of Australian and international designers, innovative concept and flagship stores and world class architecture. The Centre connects to Melbourne Central, the Myer Melbourne department store and to David Jones via pedestrian bridges and tunnels. It also indelibly connects with Melbourne's history and its heart.” — https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g255100-d7274760-Reviews-Emporium_Melbourne-Melbourne_Victoria.html
Queen Victoria Market
“Queen Victoria Market is an authentic, bustling, inner-city market that has been the heart and soul of Melbourne for over 140 years. Home to over 600 small businesses, 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’s 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. Queen Victoria Market is also home to the Night Market on Wednesday nights, showcasing global street food, live music and entertainment, festival bars, specialty shopping and a great Melbourne night out. Be sure to take the Ultimate Foodie Tour, a two-hour, guided walking tour where you’ll indulge in some of the best food the Market has to offer. Bookings essential.”
Old Melbourne Gaol
“o Old Melbourne Gaol is a museum in the city centre, which operated as a prison from its opening in 1842 to 1929. It was the site of the execution of many of Australia’s most infamous criminals, including Ned Kelly; 133 people were executed here while the prison was in operation. The museum offers a glimpse into life in the 1800s; some mentally ill and homeless people were also interred in the prison, and the harsh conditions they were subject to seem quite shocking by modern standards.
o The museum is considered by some to be haunted, and ghost tours are offered by the museum that tell stories recorded by visitors and staff alike.
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Chinatown
Crown Casino Complex
This complex is home to a massive casino and resort filled with entertainment including luxury shopping, arcade, bowling alley, vast assortment of restaurants, thriving nightlife. The buildings themselves are sites to behold ranging from the beautiful Atrium with striking fountains and sound/light shows with pyrotechnic pillars shooting fire into the sky to the jaw dropping interior of the buildings.
Note: When we visited this place, I made the mistake of thinking it was just one ginormous building that I can experience then check it off my schedule. I soon found out that I was very wrong. Instead, the Crown Casino Complex is so massive that its buildings span over multiple blocks. If you want to experience this place “better,” I recommend looking up things to do within the Crown Casino Complex such as looking into a couple restaurants/bars, or the location of its shopping, or the location of its arcade and bowling alley.
Block Arcade
“A retail precinct housed in a gorgeous heritage shopping arcade, opened in 1892. Rich in history and boasting stunning architecture, the Block Arcade is a step into the nostalgia of the past, as well as housing some lovely luxury boutiques, and the quirkly Art of Dr. Seuss gallery, the Hopetoun tearooms and Haigh’s chocolates.”
St. Kilda
Luna Park — Unlike Sydney’s free entry, Melbourne’s Luna park charges $5 for entry without rides in an effort to maintain it’s preservation. This park opened in 1912. It’s rollercoaster called the Scenic Railway holds the record for being the world’s oldest rollercoaster that has continually been operating.
Acland Street- filled with stores, restaurants, and bars.
St. Kilda Pier- the Pier and Breakwater is another iconic symbol of Melbourne with breathtaking views of the city’s skyline over the water as well as Port Phillip Bay views.
The colony of St. Kilda penguins— hundreds of penguins that have their nests in the rocks off the ocean accessible by the St. Kilda Pier.
Come at sunrise or sunset to the see the penguins. But the best time to see them is 30 minutes AFTER sunset.
The penguins are coming back to their nests in the rocks after their evening feeding.
Group Together
Remember, these items grouped together are only recommended together based on distance apart. Use this compilation to your advantage by picking and choosing which sets (if you want to go with only one or multiple) go best with your schedule.
Chinatown ↠ 10 min walk ↠ AC/DC Lane ↠ 3 min walk ↠ Hosier Lane ↠ 8 min walk ↠ Block Arcade & Union Lane ↠ 5 min walk ↠ Hardware Lane ↠ 4 min walk ↠ Patricia Coffee ↠ 10 min walk ↠ Centre Place & Degraves St ↠ 5 min walk ↠ Federation Square and Flinders Street Station
Queen Victoria Market ↠ 10 min walk ↠ Old Melbourne Gaol ↠ 8 min walk ↠ Emporium
Crown Casino ↠ walk 15 min ↠ Australian Centre for Contemporary art & all the other Southbank activities ↠ Eureka Skydeck
Chapel Street ↠ Bus approx. 45 min ↠ Aclade/St. Kilda Pier
Esplanade Hotel and Palais Theatre are located here
