7 Ways to See Melbourne

One of the most liveable cities in the world (The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Liveability Index), Melbourne is home to 4.8 million people, nearly 20% of the population of Australia. But what makes this city different from other cities is that it is quirky, relaxed, vibrant, sporty and open-minded all in one breath. It is also a city that has had a historically mixed population, having seen waves of immigration since the mid 1800s from England, Scotland, Ireland, Japan, China and in the last century from Vietnam, Italy, Scandinavia, Middle East, Greece and elsewhere. Today, their varied traditions are integral part of Australian Culture, making the Melbourne truly a melting pot.

Exploring Melbourne CBD is fairly easy because the city is well planned, with parallel and perpendicular roads that are easy to identify. Moreover, the free city tram for tourists makes the iconic landmarks very accessible and connects to most parts of the city beyond the CBD through extended tram services, coach services, trains and taxis.

1. Beam Me Up Scotty

Melbourne has over 700 high-rise buildings with 42 buildings are over 490 feet tall technically the "skyscrapers", which means if you had 24 hours in the city, the first thing you would do is catch the entire city in one frame from the highest place .

Eureka Tower: Among the 20 tallest buildings in the world and the second tallest in Australia as of 2018, the Eureka Tower all of 975 ft stands out on the Southbank, its golden reflection seen on the Yarra River. Designed by the firm Fender Katsalidis Architects as an icon in the skyline of Melbourne. Super-fast elevators zip away to the 88th floor in under a minute, where the Skydeck gives visitors unhindered views of the city and its surrounds. If looking through the floor-to-ceiling windows is not scary, try the 'Edge Experience" braving it on the a 3 metre wide glass cube that protrudes out. You can buy your tickets to the Skydeck online : https://www.eurekaskydeck.com.au.

Rialto Tower : Located in the CBD on Collins street, the Rialto Tower stands 824 ft tall and consists of two interconnected towers, hat house the offices of leading commercial establishments. Built with a facade of reinforced mirror finish blue-tinted glass, the building appears to change colour over the day from dark blue in the morning hours to a brilliant gold at sunset. The best views are after sunset from the 55th floor, while you experience the fine dining at the Vue de monde Restaurant. http://www.vuedemonde.com.au.

Melbourne Star : Some of the best views of Melbourne are from ‘the Southern Hemisphere’s only giant observation wheel’ located at Docklands near the CBD. The Melbourne Star is 120 meters high with 21 cabins that take 30 minutes to complete a rotation allowing you enough time to take pictures of the CBD, Port Phillip Bay and beyond. For the best instapics book your ticket on the Melbourne Star on a Friday night to catch the best views of the Docklands Fireworks. https://www.melbournestar.com.

Hop Onto a Hot Air Balloon: Catch your breath on an early morning hot air balloon flight over Melbourne while viewing the spectacular sunrise over the city. You can look at the iconic landmarks such as the MCG, the Fed Square, the Shrine of Remembrance, the Albert Park Formula 1 racetrack and the Yarra River from the comfort of the balloon, floating gently across the sky. There are a number of operators offering you deals from options for a post flight sumptuous breakfast at Sofitel to combo deals with other attractions.

2. Taste Your Way Across the City

Melbourne is among the world's top 18 cities in terms of great food options. The food choices are even more complex ranging from food trucks and take-ways to dine-in, bespoke restaurants, roof top bars etc. The fare can be world cuisine, Australian or fusion. There is a lot of care paid to the choice of menus and most CBD restaurants offer great value-meals and one pot lunches for the hurried work days.

Cafe Culture : If there is one place to grab a great coffee, its Melbourne. The city has a great coffee culture and there are numerous coffee houses where baristas literally spin their magic. Industry Beans and Every Midtown (Little Collins St), Patricia (Little Williams St), Altius Coffee Brews (Market Lane), Market Lane Coffee (Therry St), Dukes Coffee Roasters (Flinders St) and the list goes on. The point is Melburnians take their coffee seriously. For more tips visit: https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/guides/cafes-melbourne.

Rooftop Bars : The CBD is flush with innumerable rooftop bars that are as popular during the work week as they are during the weekends. Some popular ones around Bourke and Lonsdale Streets include Good Heavens, Madame Brussels, Imperial Rooftop and Bomba. A little away from the CBD is Naked in the Sky on Brunswick St and Union House at Swan St that have quickly notched up in popularity. The river-side open bars along the Yarra River have been going strong despite being obviously touristy.

World Cuisines : Melbourne spoils you for choice when it comes to world cuisines from Argentinian Steak Houses to Nordic Food, Mexican Tapas to Middle Eastern Mezzes, Jamaican Jerkies, Korean Bento Boxes and Sushi trays and innumerable other ways to feed your hunger. Every food court has atleast 5 or 6 different cuisines to offer and Melbourne is also the vegan capital of Australia with a huge vegan movement supported by restaurants, bake-houses and more.

Food Trucks : Some of the most interesting food in Melbourne is vended from food trucks, often specialty foods, snacks and quick eats from different corners of the world. Some of the popular ones include Afrofeast (African), Ghost Kitchen (Taiwanese), Mr Burger (Fast Food), Taco Truck, Banh Mi Boys (Vietnamese), Beatbox Kitchen, Toasta (Sandwiches), Greek Street Food, Yo India, Biggie Smalls, Satay Truck (Indonesian), Brulee Cart, Soul Kitchen Pizza, The Real Jerk (Jamaican), Smokin' Barry's (American) and so on. There is even a Food Truck Festival that happens in May every year bringing over 40 food trucks to Birrarung Marr over 5 days.

Food and Wine Festivals : The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is a state-wide celebration of the food and wine industry that attracts over 250,000 visitors and consists of over 300 events spread across the city and the state of Victoria. Started in 1993, the festival has gradually expanded to engage food and wine retailers and manufacturers of all kinds. As a part of the festival (that typically takes place in the month of March), the banks of the Maribyrnong River is the setting for the "World’s Longest Lunch", where world cuisine is served on a 500 metre long table to 1700 plus diners.

3. Shop Till You Drop

Melbourne takes its passion beyond food to clothing as Australia’s fashion capital. Melbournians manage to switch with ease from street wear to designer wear

Designer Brands : The CBD is the spot for shopping for luxury brands but one of the largest Malls has opened just outside the city drawing crowds from all around. The Chadstone Shopping Centre at Chadstone 30 minutes away from Melbourne is the superhero of shopping centres. But you do not need to sweat the distance as there is a free shuttle every 30 minutes from Fed Square (and back) that can be pre-booked online or alternatively you can take a train from Flinders Street Station. The other places worth a visit are Melbourne Emporium (between Lonsdale and Little Bourke St), Bourke Street Mall (Bourke St), Chapel Street (near Toorak Road), Melbourne Central (Between Lonsdale to La Trobe St), The Block Arcade and Queen Victoria Village popularly called QV (Collins St) besides the flagship stores of Chanel, Giorgio Armani and Louis Vuitton all on Collins St.

Streetwear & Bargain Fashion : Most visitors to Melbourne swear that they cannot leave without stopping by at the DFO. The DFO South Wharf is located next to the Docklands in the CBD and houses more than 180 high street brands offering upto 70% off. Some other popular bargain outlets and DFOs at Spencer Outlet Centre (Spencer St Station) Bridge Road (Richmond), Crown Casino Complex, Harbour Town Shopping Centre (Docklands), Westfield (Doncaster,) Westfield (Southland), Eastland Shopping Centre. One can also find hidden finds in the city lanes at Brunswick St and Smith St, Fitzroy.

Markets :

Open Air Markets : Queen Victoria Market in the CBD is the largest open-air market in Australia where fruit and vegetables compete with artisanal breads, delicatessens and wine on one end and rows of clothing, souvenirs, leather goods, shoes, jewellery on the other. This is the best place for last minute shopping when you want to bulk purchase T shirts and souvenirs for your family back home. Prahran Market in South Yarra is another such market where fresh foods vie with fashion and souvenirs. Rose Street Artists' Market happens each Saturday and Sunday at Fitzroy bringing together some of Melbourne's well known artists and designers to display their wares. The Heide Museum of Modern Art hosts the Heide Makers' Market on to display locally produced art, design, foods and handicrafts at Bulleen. The St Kilda Beach Esplanade Market happens Every Sunday, where 140 stalls display handmade wares every week. There are also numerous farmers markets around the city that host some other handmade goods alongside.

Preloved Wares : Camberwell Market is undoubtedly Melbourne’s biggest marketplace for pre-loved wares with 370 stalls and constantly changing vendors. For those who enjoy bargain-hunting, Footscray Finds located in the car park of Footscray Library is yet another market for preloved-wares sold from stalls and car boots. Melbourne Book Market is the famous weekly Fed Square book market that has relocated to Abbotsford Convent this year.

Big Design Market : This three day market before Christmas every year at the Royal Exhibition Building & Carlton Gardens caters to all things designer with 200 plus local, national and international designers vying for attention with their homewares, fashion and cosmetics, tech accessories, furniture and kids products.

4. Explore Your Sporty Side

The city's love of sport is legendary. On a Sunday morning, you cannot help notice youngsters braving the 6 to 9 degree C temperatures to go running, rowing, playing football etc. The parks are teeming with people and every live sporting event has a huge turnout of spectators to experience it in fantastic venues across the city.

The MCG :

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) - a circular coliseum-like structure that is open to the skies, is one of the most visible and recognizable sights while entering the CBD. Built in 1853 and renovated many times over MCG or "the G" as the Melburnians call it is officially the birthplace of Test Cricket and "spiritual home" of Australian Rules Football and the Australian Football League. The site of the 1956 Olympic Games and the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the stadium can seat over a 100,000 spectators. On an event day, the roar of cheering can be heard for miles around and the night skies around the arena bathed in colored lights, flashing to the rhythm of music. Located in Yarra Park, the MCG is a 15 min walk from Flinders Street Station or Fed Square, and is accessible by train and tram.

Melbourne Park:

Further down from the Yarra Park towards the Yarra River is the Melbourne Park and Sports Precinct consisting of the Rod Laver Arena and the Hisense Arena. The Rod Laver Arena is home to the Australian Open tennis grand slam and has the first-of-a-kind retractable roof given the penchant for rains in Melbourne. The Hisense Arena on the other hand is a multi-purpose venue that houses many sports including basketball, netball, cycling events etc. The Melbourne Park is a 10 min walk from Flinders Street Station or Fed Square and is flanked on one side by the picturesque Yarra River and the Railway tracks on the other side.

AAMI Park :

Melbourne exclusive venue for soccer and rugby, the AAMI Park stadium is adjacent to Melbourne Park and is one of the newer sporting arenas opened. With its iconic "bubble-like" geodesic dome roof, the AAMI Park is a rectangular stadium that can house nearly 30,000 spectators. Apart from hosting events for the Rugby and Soccer leagues, the AAMI Park also has hosted concerts and music shows in recent years.

The Docklands Stadium :

As a football capital, Melbourne has to provide venues for fans and footballers all year round. A covered venue for the winters is what makes the Docklands Stadium (currently called the Etihad Stadium) with a smaller capacity a popular place for the spectators wanting to catch the latest AFL, soccer or Cricket action. Completed in 2000, this stadium can accommodate slightly over 50,000 spectators. With The Walt Disney Company becoming the latest sponsor for the stadium, it will be re-anointed as the Marvel Stadium from September 2018. The Docklands Stadium is accessible the free tram in CBD from Flinders Street Station or Fed Square.

The Flemington Racecourse:

The Flemington Racecourse is the home of the historical Melbourne Cup Horse Race held since the 1840s. The course is known for its "Straight Six" or the six-furlong (1,200 m) straight and a track circumference of 2.312 kilometres in which horses race in an anti-clockwise manner. With three grandstands and a course capable of handling over 1,20,000 spectators, the Flemington course has a tradition of hosting the Spring Racing Carnival, the Christmas and New Year's races. The located nearly 6 kms Northwest of the CBD, there are trains to Flemington that run on race days. For horse-racing fans, the other courses where they can catch a bit of this sport are at Moonee Valley, Caulfield and Sandown racecourses.

Australian Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park:

March every year is the time of the Australian Grand Prix that takes place in the streets around Albert Park Lake, a few kilometres from the CBD. Visitors to Melbourne can catch a bit of the Formula one action from various vantage points (the sound can be deafening, so please carry protective gear). Apart from Australian Grand Prix, the circuit also hosts the Supercars Championship, Melbourne 400 and associated support races. While the circuit has earned a FIA Grade 1 licence, despite being on public roads it has never hosted a night race till date. Alternate locations where fans can catch a bit of racing are at Calder Park, Avalon Raceway and Sandown International Motor Raceway.

5. Gardens & Greenery

It is not for no reason that Victoria is known as the "Garden State". Melbourne's gardens can provide a wonderful refuge should you feel harried. Just pick up a book, some water and sandwiches and you can easily wander off the whole day.

The Royal Botanical Gardens of Victoria, Melbourne: Popular with tourists and locals, this garden carefully displays plants endemic to Australia alongside varieties from elsewhere in the world. The garden is within easy reach from the CBD and has unique features like a lotus pond, a jungle boardwalk (Fern Gully) and a pretty cactus garden (Guilfoyle’s Volcano). There are numerous spots were you can spread a sheet to picnic, read or even paint the picture perfect scenery.

Queen Victoria Gardens: These gardens are further up St Kilda Road, a part of the Domain Parklands stretching from the Yarra River upto the Botanic Gardens. The highlight of the Queen Victoria Gardens (created in memory of the Queen of England and her son Edward II) is a colourful floral clock made of 7,000 floral plants that is re-decorated biannually. The garden is rich with sprawling lawns, several water bodies beautifully lined by trees and shaded pavilions for walkers to retreat under. Plan to carry sufficient water and eats as this garden is really huge and you are bound to work up an appetite getting from one end to the other.

Flagstaff Gardens : Known as Melbourne’s first gardens, the Flagstaff Gardens are actually a burial site from the 1840s. Currently however the gardens are surrounded on all sides by high-rises, and this square of green at the heart of the CBD is literally a nice walk away at lunch-time for the busy people of Melbourne. Gentle lawns surrounded by trees with branches literally sweeping off the ground with shiny buildings in the background is quite a sight.

Carlton Gardens : North of Melbourne, proximal to the heritage building of Melbourne’s 1880 International Exhibition, the Carlton Gardens are protected as a UNESCO Heritage site. The Royal Exhibition Building itself is an example of the Marvellous Melbourne Age of 1880 with fountains and functional pathways leading upto the building. The gardens are close to the modern day structure of the Melbourne Museum, offering a pretty contrast. The garden is an easy walk from the CBD.

Fitzroy Gardens : Another heritage garden from the 1800s, the Fitzroy Gardens is dotted with tree-lined avenues, ornamental lakes, a model Tudor village, a band pavilion etc. The picturesque gardens are a popular place for many a wedding. The carved "Fairies' Tree" at the centre is a donation by a local author while the scarred tree is of historical significance with remnants of the aboriginal past captured in the scarring, when bark as removed for use by the local aborigines. The Cooks' Cottage (the house of James Cook's parents) was shipped to Melbourne from England and erected in 1934. The cottage now serves as a reminder of the colonial times.

Como House : The Como House is located in the suburb of South Yarra and was once constructed as a sprawling riverfront home for Sir Edward Eyre Williams in 1847, during Victoria’s gold rush days. Subsequently, the house changed hands several times before being sold to the National Trust. The gardens around the property were developed over the years with native plants and landscaping created by the renowned gardener William Sangster. The historic house is open for guided tours on the weekends when one can view displays antique furniture and a magnificent ballroom.

The Rippon Lea House and Gardens : This heritage home and gardens located in Elsternwick, south-east of Melbourne was built in 1868 for a wealthy businessman Sir Frederick Sargood. It once consisted of a tree-­lined avenue leading upto a charming house surrounded by a garden, a lake, a fern conservatory, orchards and paddocks. However, as the property changed hands, the orchard and paddocks were sold and redeveloped. The lake behind the house is a pretty sight with painted bridges connecting several islands. You can also climb up to the lookout to catch a fleeting glimpse of the sea between the boughs.

Cranbourne Botanic Gardens : Another Royal Botanical Garden, the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens showacses the native Australian species of plants. Located 45 kms south-east of Melbourne, this 363 hectare garden is a sprawling mix of heathlands, wetlands and woodlands. The award-winning gardens has several sections, devoted to the flora of different Australian climes and ecosystems. There are special exhibits for eucalypts, wildflowers, Australian Orchids and the arid trees.

Werribee Park : The Werribee Park is a Victorian-era formal gardens acquired by the state government in 1973. Today it is also the home to the Victoria State Rose Garden. The gardens has a sculpture walk by local artists and an island grotto, which is a must-see. The park has become a popular location for weddings and events.

Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens : 45 minutes from Melbourne, this erstwhile home of Alfred Nicholas in the Dandenongs was donated to the public after his death. The gardens are charming especially during the fall season, a profusion of colours with a pristine lake, waterfalls and moss-lined paths . A popular retreat for Melburnians, when the park is teeming with people over theweekends, so better get there early.

6. Street Art Hopping

The art and passion of Melbourne is visible on its streets as over 200 graffiti artists revamp the 20 odd iconic graffiti lined lanes on a weekly basis. The state's view on street art has only recently changed in favour of preservation from an earlier view of treating it as an eyesore. But to the bystander, these colourful walls depict an interesting side to Melbourne's artistic expression.

To see some of the city's best street art, head to the following streets: AC/DC Lane and Duckboard Place, Hosier and Rutledge lanes, Centre Place, Flinders Court, Union Lane, Presgrave Place, Russell Place, Croft Alley, Stevenson and Tattersalls lanes, Drewery and Sniders lanes, Caledonian Lane, Corner 361 Little Bourke Street and Rankins Lane, Finlay Lane, Behind corner of Queen and Franklin streets, Blender Lane.

7. Taking in the Music Scene

Melbourne is famous for its live music scene, hosting over 62,000 concerts annually, with countless artists embarking on their careers on the city's stages. The Esplanand Hotel at St Kilda is where it all started with the emergence of regular dance and jazz features in the 1920s at the "Eastern Tent Ballroom" eventually to transform into the flashing dance floors of the Gershwin Room in the 1970s. Still going strong, the Esplanade Hotel continues to host live music even today.

Apart from the various stadiums, the popular venues include Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Forum Theatre, Melbourne Recital Centre, Festival Hall, Palais Theatre, Abbotsford Convent, Testing Grounds - Southbank and Victorian Arts Centre. The well-known concert clubs on the likes of The Esplanade Hotel include, Corner Hotel (Richmond), The Tote Hotel (Collingwood), Empress Hotel (Fitzroy North), The Old Bar (Fitzroy), Cherry Bar (CBD), Manchester Lane (CBD), Bennetts Lane Jazz Club (CBD) etc.

Melbourne also plays host to several festivals such as the : Melbourne Music Week (November), Melbourne International Arts Festival (October), Future Music Festival, Melbourne Fringe Festival, What Is Music, Big Day Out, St Jerome's Laneway Festival, St Kilda Festival, Sydney Road Street Party, Melbourne Jazz Festival, Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival.

Music is also integral part of some other events that take place in the iconic monuments of Melbourne and as side-events to the International Film Festival. There are also classical performances and musicals hosted at the various theatres and venues through out the year.

You cannot help wonder how Melburnians manage to work in such a lively city. Everywhere you turn there is something that holds your attention and teases your senses. This city is about experiencing its youthful spirit, varied cultures and cuisines, energetic vibes and cheery greetings of "Cheers Mate".