Melbourne Travel Guide

When to visit Melbourne: December to February is Melbourne's summer; weather is famously changeable so layers help year-round

When is the best time to visit Melbourne?

Avg Temp

14–26°C

Rainfall

Moderate, ~48mm/month

Best Time

December to February is Melbourne's summer; weather is famously changeable so layers help year-round

Packing Tips (3)

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Local currency: AUD

Chin Chin
Thai/Southeast Asian · $$$
A perpetually busy Flinders Lane restaurant serving bold Southeast Asian street-food-style dishes.
Attica
Modern Australian · $$$$
One of the world's most acclaimed restaurants, in Ripponlea, built around native Australian ingredients and degustation menus.
Cumulus Inc.
Modern European · $$$
A Flinders Lane all-day dining room known for its share plates and slow-roasted lamb shoulder.
Movida
Spanish · $$$
A laneway Spanish tapas bar off Hosier Lane credited with popularizing modern tapas dining in Melbourne.
Pellegrini's Espresso Bar
Italian/cafe · $
A tiny, legendary 1954 Italian espresso bar on Bourke Street, one of the oldest in the city.
Vue de Monde
Contemporary · $$$$
A fine-dining restaurant atop the Rialto tower with panoramic skyline views and elaborate tasting menus.
Section 8
Laneway bar
A shipping-container laneway bar off Tattersalls Lane, a quintessential piece of Melbourne's alternative bar scene.
Eau de Vie
Cocktail bar
A speakeasy-style cocktail bar in the CBD renowned for classic and inventive cocktails.
The Night Cat
Live music venue
A Fitzroy live-music venue with a long-running Afro-Latin and soul night, plus regular gigs.

NGV International
Art
Australia's oldest and most-visited art museum, spanning old masters to contemporary design on St Kilda Road.
Melbourne Museum
Natural history & culture
The Southern Hemisphere's largest museum, with the taxidermied racehorse Phar Lap and a Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre.
Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
Media & film
A museum dedicated to film, television and video games at Federation Square.
Old Melbourne Gaol
History
A former prison where bushranger Ned Kelly was hanged, now offering tours through original cells.
Astor Theatre
A restored 1936 art deco single-screen cinema in St Kilda screening classic double features on 35mm.
Cinema Nova
A large independent arthouse cinema in Carlton with an extensive program of world and Australian cinema.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
March–April
One of the world's largest comedy festivals, with shows across dozens of venues each autumn.
White Night Melbourne
February
An all-night arts and light festival illuminating the CBD with projections and performances (historically held, check current status).
Australian Open
January
The Grand Slam tennis tournament held at Melbourne Park each January, drawing huge crowds citywide.

St Kilda Beach
Bay beach · 6 km
Melbourne's most popular bayside beach, backed by Luna Park and known for its little penguin colony at the pier breakwater.
Dandenong Ranges
35 km
A forested hill range on Melbourne's fringe with fern gullies, the Puffing Billy steam railway, and lookout points.

Fitness First Melbourne Central
A large gym in the CBD with extensive equipment and classes.
Melbourne City Baths
Indoor pool · 1 km
A heritage-listed indoor pool complex in the CBD dating to 1904, still in use today.
Luna Park Melbourne
Amusement park
A historic 1912 amusement park on St Kilda foreshore, famous for its giant laughing Mr Moon entrance and wooden Scenic Railway coaster.