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Melbourne is the capital of Victoria, set around Port Phillip Bay and the banks of the Yarra River in southeastern Australia. A gold rush in the 1850s made it briefly one of the richest cities in the world, funding grand Victorian buildings, and today it is known for its coffee culture, sports obsession, trams and arts scene.
Federation Square and the domed Flinders Street Station mark the center, and from there the laneway network fans out, with the graffiti of Hosier Lane and the elegant Royal Arcade and Block Arcade showing two very different sides of the city. The domed reading room of State Library Victoria is worth a look, and Queen Victoria Market brims with produce, deli counters and stalls. The Royal Exhibition Building, a World Heritage Site, sits in Carlton Gardens beside Melbourne Museum. South of the river, the National Gallery of Victoria holds an extensive international collection, and the Royal Botanic Gardens lead to the Shrine of Remembrance. Sports fans make for the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which hosts cricket in summer and Australian Rules football in winter. The inner suburbs of Fitzroy and Collingwood are packed with bars, vintage shops and street art.
Free trams within the central zone make the core easy to explore. The weather is famously changeable. The Great Ocean Road, Yarra Valley and Phillip Island are popular excursions.
WiserMap travel guideMelbourne Australia Laneway Street Art Coffee and St KildaPlan a Melbourne trip: street-art laneways, Victorian arcades, the MCG, Royal Botanic Gardens, St Kilda, coffee culture and easy day trips beyond the city.Read the guide
Melbourne's main civic square with angular modern buildings, public screens and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, across from Flinders Street Station with its yellow facade and row of clocks. Meet under the clocks as locals do, and visit ACMI for free exhibitions on film and games.
A UNESCO World Heritage exhibition hall built in 1880 in Carlton Gardens, with a grand dome and ornate interior, next to the modern Melbourne Museum with natural history, an indoor forest and First Peoples galleries. Building tours run on set days, so book ahead if you want to see inside.
Australia's largest stadium, home of Australian rules football and test cricket, with seating for about 100,000 and the Australian Sports Museum inside. Guided tours visit the change rooms and members' areas on non-event days. Better still, catch an AFL match in winter or a cricket test in summer.
A grand public library on Swanston Street with the famous octagonal domed La Trobe Reading Room, galleries of rare books and the armor of bushranger Ned Kelly. Entry is free. Climb to the upper balconies of the dome for the best view of the reading room below, and be quiet for readers.
A cobbled lane opposite Federation Square covered in ever-changing street art and graffiti, the best known of Melbourne's painted laneways. Nearby lanes like AC/DC Lane and Degraves Street add more art, cafes and bars. Go early for photos without crowds, and expect the art to differ every visit.
Australia's oldest public art museum, split between NGV International on St Kilda Road, with its water wall and stained glass ceiling in the Great Hall, and the Ian Potter Centre for Australian art at Federation Square. The permanent collection is free. Lie on the floor to view the Great Hall ceiling.
Two Victorian-era shopping arcades in the city center. The Royal Arcade, from 1869, has the giant figures Gog and Magog by its clock, and the Block Arcade has mosaic floors, a glass roof and the Hopetoun Tea Rooms. Stop for cake at the tea rooms, but expect a queue on weekends.
A large open-air market running since 1878 with sheds of fresh produce, a deli hall of cheeses and meats, and stalls of clothing and souvenirs. A night market runs on summer Wednesday evenings. It is closed on Mondays and Wednesdays outside the night market season, so check days first.
Expansive gardens along the Yarra River with lawns, lakes, fern gullies and over 8,000 plant species, next to the Shrine of Remembrance war memorial with city views from its balcony. Entry is free. Visit the Shrine in the morning for the light ray ceremony on special days, then walk the gardens.
Two inner northern suburbs known for vintage shops, live music pubs, street art, small bars and cafes along Brunswick, Gertrude and Smith Streets. They have a creative, alternative feel. Take a tram up Brunswick Street, browse the shops by day and stay for dinner and a gig.
A bayside suburb with a long pier, a palm-lined beach, Luna Park with its giant smiling face entrance, and Acland Street with its old-style cake shops. Little penguins come ashore at the breakwater at dusk. Watch them from the viewing area quietly, and never use flash photography.
A row of about 80 colorful wooden bathing boxes lining Dendy Street Beach in the bayside suburb of Brighton, with views across Port Phillip Bay to the city skyline. They are privately owned but free to photograph. Take the Sandringham train to Middle Brighton and walk along the foreshore.
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