Melbourne Travel Guide
Weather, best time to visit, and the best food, culture, nature and activities.
Typical prices
- Budget mealA$20.00≈ $13.90
- Mid-range mealA$45.00≈ $31.28
- CappuccinoA$4.50≈ $3.13
- Domestic beerA$10.00≈ $6.95
- Taxi (per km)A$2.30≈ $1.60
- Public transport ticketA$5.00≈ $3.48
- Museum entryA$0.00≈ $0.00
- Mid-range hotel (night)A$190.00≈ $132.06
Food & Drink
- Chin ChinThai/Southeast Asian · $$$
A perpetually busy Flinders Lane restaurant serving bold Southeast Asian street-food-style dishes.
- AtticaModern Australian · $$$$
One of the world's most acclaimed restaurants, in Ripponlea, built around native Australian ingredients and degustation menus.
- Cumulus Inc.Modern European · $$$
A Flinders Lane all-day dining room known for its share plates and slow-roasted lamb shoulder.
- MovidaSpanish · $$$
A laneway Spanish tapas bar off Hosier Lane credited with popularizing modern tapas dining in Melbourne.
- Pellegrini's Espresso BarItalian/cafe · $
A tiny, legendary 1954 Italian espresso bar on Bourke Street, one of the oldest in the city.
- Vue de MondeContemporary · $$$$
A fine-dining restaurant atop the Rialto tower with panoramic skyline views and elaborate tasting menus.
- Section 8
A shipping-container laneway bar off Tattersalls Lane, a quintessential piece of Melbourne's alternative bar scene.
- Eau de Vie
A speakeasy-style cocktail bar in the CBD renowned for classic and inventive cocktails.
- The Night Cat
A Fitzroy live-music venue with a long-running Afro-Latin and soul night, plus regular gigs.
Culture & History
- NGV International
Australia's oldest and most-visited art museum, spanning old masters to contemporary design on St Kilda Road.
- Melbourne Museum
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)
A museum dedicated to film, television and video games at Federation Square.
- Old Melbourne Gaol
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
One of the world's largest comedy festivals, with shows across dozens of venues each autumn.
- White Night Melbourne
An all-night arts and light festival illuminating the CBD with projections and performances (historically held, check current status).
- Australian Open
The Grand Slam tennis tournament held at Melbourne Park each January, drawing huge crowds citywide.
Nature & Outdoors
- St Kilda Beach
Melbourne's most popular bayside beach, backed by Luna Park and known for its little penguin colony at the pier breakwater.
- Dandenong Ranges
A forested hill range on Melbourne's fringe with fern gullies, the Puffing Billy steam railway, and lookout points.
Active & Fun
- Fitness First Melbourne Central
A large gym in the CBD with extensive equipment and classes.
- Melbourne City Baths
A heritage-listed indoor pool complex in the CBD dating to 1904, still in use today.
- Luna Park Melbourne
A historic 1912 amusement park on St Kilda foreshore, famous for its giant laughing Mr Moon entrance and wooden Scenic Railway coaster.