Melbourne

We’ve compiled the best of the best in Melbourne - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.

Sort by: 36 Recommendations {{numTotalPoiResults}} {{ (numTotalPoiResults===1)?'Recommendation':'Recommendations' }} 0 Recommendations
CLEAR ALL Area Search CLEAR ALL
Loading...
Loading...
  • 1. Arts Centre Melbourne

    City Center

    Melbourne's most important cultural landmark is the venue for performances by the Australian Ballet, Opera Australia, Melbourne Theatre Company, and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. It encompasses Hamer Hall, the Arts Centre complex, the original National Gallery of Victoria, and the outdoor Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Take a 60-minute tour of the five floors of the complex, plus the current gallery exhibition and refreshment at the café, or its longer Sunday backstage tour. Neither tour is suitable for children under 12 and both must be booked in advance. At night, look for the center's spire, which creates a magical spectacle with brilliant fiber-optic cables.

    100 St. Kilda Rd.
    - 03 - 9281–8000
  • 2. Block Arcade

    City Center

    Melbourne's most elegant 19th-century shopping arcade dates from the 1880s, when "Marvelous Melbourne" was flush with the prosperity of the gold rushes. A century later, renovations scraped back the grime to reveal a magnificent mosaic floor. Take a guided walking tour back to the Block's origins, back in 1892; reservations are essential.

    282 Collins St., Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
    03-9654–5244

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
    View Tours and Activities
  • 3. Chapel Street

    Prahran

    The heart of the trendy South Yarra–Prahran–Windsor area, this long road is packed with pubs, bars, notable restaurants, and upscale boutiques—more than 1,000 shops can be found within the precinct. Australian icons like Dinosaur Designs and Scanlan Theodore showcase their original work at the fashion-conscious, upscale Toorak Road end of the street (nearest to the city). Catch the 78 tram or walk south along Chapel Street to Greville Street and visit a small lane of hip bars, clothing boutiques, and record stores. Past Greville Street, moving into Windsor at the south end of Chapel Street, things get hipper, with cafés and vintage shops; this part of Chapel Street has three great markets selling everything from fresh produce to vintage records.

    Chapel St.
    - 03 - 9529–6331
  • 4. Hosier Lane Street Art

    City Center

    Melbourne's best-known laneway for its vibrant street art scene, Hosier Lane is easily accessible off Flinders Lane, and may whet your appetite for further exploration. The ever-changing nature of the art means you can wander at will, or join a walking tour. With tours run by street artists, Blender Studios also conducts walks past the large-scale murals of Fitzroy, and even runs street art workshops for adults and kids.

    Hosier La., Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: From A$69, 3-hr tour
  • 5. Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

    City Center

    The Aboriginal and modern Australian art collection of the National Gallery of Victoria hangs on the walls of this gallery in Fed Square. Key pieces include pioneering Indigenous artist Emily Kam Kngwarray's vast work, Anwerlarr Anganenty (Big Yam Dreaming) 1995, as well as paintings from the famous Heidelberg school, such as Frederick McCubbin's Lost and Tom Roberts's Shearing the Rams. Other displays include textiles, sculpture, and photography. A gallery highlight is the Indigenous collection, which changes every six months and includes both traditional and contemporary art.

    Flinders St. at Russell St.
    - 03 - 8620–2222

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free; special exhibitions have varying ticket prices
  • Recommended Fodor’s Video

  • 6. Luna Park

    St. Kilda

    A much-photographed Melbourne landmark, the park's entrance is a huge, gaping mouth, swallowing visitors whole and delivering them into a world of ghost trains, pirate ships, and carousels. Built in 1912, the Scenic Railway is the park's most popular ride. It's said to be the oldest continually operating roller coaster in the world. The railway is less roller coaster and more a relaxed loop-the-loop, with stunning views of Port Phillip Bay between each dip and turn. Luna Park is a five-minute stroll southeast of St. Kilda.

    Lower Esplanade, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
    03-9525–5033

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: A$15 entry and first ride, subsequent rides from A$12
  • 7. Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

    East Melbourne

    A tour of this complex is essential for an understanding of Melbourne's sporting obsession. You can get the stories behind it all at the National Sports Museum. The site is a pleasant 10-minute walk from the city center or a tram ride (Nos. 48 and 75) to Jolimont Station.

    Jolimont Terr.
    - 03 - 9657–8888

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: A$30
  • 8. Middle Brighton Beach

    Brighton

    Most commonly known for its colorful and culturally significant bathing boxes, which were built more than a century ago in response to Victorian ideas of morality and seaside bathing, Brighton Beach is also ideal for families since its location in a cove means that it's protected from the wind. Perfect for those looking for a quieter spot to bathe than St. Kilda Beach, the Middle Brighton Baths (www.middlebrightonbaths.com.au) is a nice place to view the boats and have a bite to eat. Good views of the bathing boxes and Melbourne's skyline can be enjoyed from the gardens at Green Point. Amenities: parking (fee); toilets. Best for: solitude; swimming.

    Esplanade, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • 9. Acland Street

    St. Kilda

    An alphabet soup of Chinese, French, Italian, and Lebanese eateries—along with a fantastic array of cake shops dating from the 1930s—lines the sidewalk of St. Kilda's ultrahip restaurant row. The street faces Luna Park.

    Acland St.
  • 10. Bridge Road

    Richmond

    Once a run-down area of Richmond, this street is now a bargain shopper's paradise. Track down factory outlets selling fashion and leather goods, refuel at independent brewery Burnley Brewing or Oster Italian osteria. Take Tram 48 or 75 from the city.

    Bridge Rd.
  • 11. Brunswick Street

    Fitzroy

    Along with Lygon Street in nearby Carlton, Brunswick Street is one of Melbourne's favorite places to dine. You might want to step into a simple kebab shop serving tender meats for less than A$12, or opt for dinner at one of the stylish, highly regarded bar-restaurants. The street also has many galleries, bookstores, bars, arts-and-crafts shops, and clothes shops (vintage fashion is a feature).

    Brunswick St.
  • 12. Carlton Gardens

    Carlton

    Sixty-four acres of tree-lined paths, artificial lakes, and flower beds in this English-style 19th-century park are the backdrop for the outstanding Melbourne Museum, and the World Heritage–listed Royal Exhibition Building, erected in 1880.

    Victoria Parade, Melbourne, Victoria, 3053, Australia
    View Tours and Activities
  • 13. CERES Community Environment Park

    Brunswick East

    On the banks of the Merri Creek in East Brunswick, this award-winning sustainability center is home to a permaculture and bush-food nursery. Buy local produce and crafts here, eat at the Merri Table Cafe, and explore the green technology displays. The Merri Creek bike path passes CERES.

    45 Roberts St., Melbourne, Victoria, 3057, Australia
    03-9389–0100

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
  • 14. Cooks' Cottage

    City Center

    Once the on-leave residence of the Pacific navigator Captain James Cook, this modest two-story home, built in 1755 by Cook senior, was transported stone by stone from Great Ayton in Yorkshire, England, and rebuilt in the lush Fitzroy Gardens in 1934. It's believed that Cook lived in the cottage between his many voyages. The interior is simple, a suitable domestic realm for a man who spent much of his life in cramped quarters aboard sailing ships.

    Lansdowne St. at Wellington Parade, Melbourne, Victoria, 3002, Australia
    03-9658–7203

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: A$8, Closed Tues. and Wed.
  • 15. Eureka Skydeck

    City Center

    Named after the goldfields uprising of 1854, the Eureka Tower (which houses the 88th-level Eureka Skydeck) is the highest public vantage point in the southern hemisphere. The funky-shape blue-glass building with an impressive gold cap is the place to get a bird's-eye view of Melbourne and overcome your fear of heights, especially on the Skydeck. An enclosed all-glass cube, known as the Edge (A$12 additional charge), projects about 10 feet out from the viewing platform—here you can stand, seemingly suspended, over the city on a clear glass floor.

    7 Riverside Quay, Melbourne, Victoria, 3006, Australia
    03-9693–8888

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: A$25
  • 16. Federation Square

    City Center

    Encompassing a whole city block, the bold, abstract-style landmark was designed to be Melbourne's official meeting place, with a variety of attractions and restaurants within it. The square incorporates the second branch of the National Gallery of Victoria (Ian Potter Centre), which exhibits Aboriginal and modern Australian art, as well as the Australian Centre for the Moving Image; the Edge amphitheater, a contemporary music and theater performance venue; and the Koorie Heritage Trust, which runs exhibitions and programs relating to Aboriginal Melbourne, and sells Victorian Aboriginal products and designs. Regular events are held in the square and along the path beside the Yarra River. Crowds often gather to watch live performances and events televised on the giant "Fed TV" in the center of the square.

    Flinders St.
    - 03 - 9655–1900

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
    View Tours and Activities
  • 17. Fitzroy Gardens

    City Center

    This 64-acre expanse of European trees, manicured lawns, garden beds, statuary, and sweeping walks is Melbourne's most popular central park. Among its highlights is its 90-year-old Conservatory and the Avenue of Elms, a majestic stand of 130-year-old trees, one of the few in the world that has not been devastated by Dutch elm disease.

    Lansdowne St. at Wellington Parade, Melbourne, Victoria, 3002, Australia

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
  • 18. Flinders Street Station

    City Center

    Much more than just a train station, Flinders Street Station is a Melbourne icon and a popular meeting place. The term "meet me under the clocks" is widely used, indicating the timepieces on the front of this grand Edwardian hub of Melbourne's suburban rail network. When it was proposed to replace them with television screens, an uproar ensued. Today there are both clocks and screens.

    Flinders St. and St. Kilda Rd.
    View Tours and Activities
  • 19. Lygon Street

    Carlton

    Known as Melbourne's Little Italy, Lygon Street is a perfect example of the city's multiculturalism: where once you'd have seen only Italian restaurants, there are now Thai, Egyptian, Caribbean, and Greek eateries. The city's famous café culture was also born here, with the arrival of one of Melbourne's first espresso machines at one of the street's Italian-owned cafés in the 1950s.

    Lygon St.
    View Tours and Activities
  • 20. Melbourne Museum

    Carlton

    A spectacular, postmodern building (in Carlton Gardens) offers visitors insights into Victoria's histories, cultures and natural environments. Visit such globally recognized exhibitions such as Te Vainui O Pasifika, Bugs Alive!, 600 Million Years, The Mind, and Dinosaur Walk, along with brilliant temporary and touring exhibitions from near and far. In the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Center, First Peoples presents the Koorie experience and hosts three exhibitions a year of works by Koorie artists, while the Melbourne Story tells the history of this city.

    11 Nicholson St.
    - 131–102 - local

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: A$15
    View Tours and Activities

No sights Results

Please try a broader search, or expore these popular suggestions:

There are no results for {{ strDestName }} Sights in the searched map area with the above filters. Please try a different area on the map, or broaden your search with these popular suggestions:

Recommended Fodor’s Video