Melbourne Entertainment

  1. Alumbra

    Beware the meat-market antics on weekends; during the week it's worth a look for its good music and bar staff and stunning location.

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  2. Arthouse

    The Arthouse, at the Royal Artillery Hotel, is on the local indie-band circuit. Rock, country, hardcore punk, metal and ska, plays Wednesday to Saturday - mohawks and big wallet chains welcome. Sunday sees acoustic sets.

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  3. Arthur's

    Go glam at opulent Arthur's. Located down rockin' AC/DC Lane, Arthur's sits incongruously: like teaming a tiara with a tracksuit. Walk the length of the rubbish-bin lined laneway and turn left. Once inside, it's all cartoon colours, brightly upholstered wingback chairs and velvet padded pillars. Arthur's outlandish flair extends to Dirty Disco nights and underground-house tunes. Or tone it down a notch by slipping into the 'secret' back room.

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  4. Astor

    This classic screens all the classics in absolutely stunning Art Deco surrounds. The Astor is a bit of magic: the candy-bar staff appear to have stepped out of a noir set, and the Astor cat makes celebrity appearances now and then. This cinema is well known for a superb line-up of films that have attained classic or cult status. Its double features screen most nights and it has some of the city's best choc-top ice creams.

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  5. Australian Ballet

    Based in Melbourne and now more than 40 years old, the Australian Ballet performs traditional and new works at the Victorian Arts Centre. See, or visit the website for an extensive history as well as pending performances.

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  7. Back Bar

    Chapel St is known for its frontage. So Back Bar makes a refreshing retreat from the all-out-there street. Tucked behind the street frontage of Tusk Café on Chapel St, Back Bar is a cosy evening parlour with lavish décor. Take a spell on a settee and repudiate any knowledge of the outside world till late.

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  8. Bar Open

    Come to Bar Open with an open mind and you could discover the joys of experimental jazz improve, be moved by poetry readings or by a swinging big band; they, and many more, all perform in a not-so-big space upstairs. Downstairs, pull up a beer keg or slouch on a grubby couch and peer through the dimness to check out regularly changing exhibits. Bar Open is mostly free, always entertaining and usually stays open later than most.

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  9. Bennetts Lane

    Bennetts Lane has been a quintessential part of the Melbourne music scene for years. Attracting the cream of local talent, as well as regular international acts, this is the perfect pad if you love a good toe-tap to contemporary jazz.

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  10. Blue Bar 330

    A narrow and dimly lit sanctum away from the bustle of Chapel St, Blue Bar is a tunnel designed for total liquid salvation. Its linear architecture and street-smart clientele contrast with the sprawl of couches and microwave pizzas further within. Blue Bar debunks the theory that you have to look like a model to drink in Chapel St.

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  11. Bond Bar

    With curves in all the right places, this slick basement bar (capacity 500) has every detail covered, from wood furnishings to lush brown and cream tones. Eclectic sounds add a little groove to the swank.

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  13. Borsch, Vodka & Tears

    The Iron Curtain has been lovingly replaced with a red velvet one, which keeps Borsch Vodka & Tears dimly lit, intimate and moody. Old Polish posters and heavy recycled materials affect a deliberately faded opulence. The daunting vodka menu - 103 at last count - is no less so when trying to pronounce it: try saying Dziengielowka or Przypalanka krakowska. (The more you have, the easier it gets.)

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  14. Boutique

    Lots of hair gel, tans and white teeth get into Boutique's retro-plush opulence. Dappled light from chandeliers, plush booths and lush fabrics adorn a functional fitout. Boutique's Genie Room provides an iota of anonymity for the A List, usually made-up of wannabe celebrities. Fridays are '80s (many hearing it for the first time), Saturdays are glamour.

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  15. Butterfly Club

    This eccentric little place remains largely undiscovered; it's where acts that aren't really theatre, aren't quite straight comedy but contain a bit of music take shelter. The teeny rooms display an almost eerie collection of kitsch, which adds to the anticipation of never knowing what this place will serve up.

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  16. Candy Bar

    Time can easily melt away when you're ensconced in the surrealist décor of Candy Bar that harks back to Greville St's halcyon clubland heyday. A café by day, the DJs and drag queens move in of an evening. Come to watch the balls drop at drag bingo on a Monday night; Sunday is gay and lesbian night.

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  17. Chamber Made

    Founded in 1988, Chamber Made productions showcase contemporary music/theatre written locally as well as abroad. Performances aren't that frequent but all works are broadcast more regularly on ABC radio (105.9FM).

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  19. Cherry

    If you remember the days when music was made by musical instruments, rather than someone playing samples of someone else's songs, then you'll probably feel at home at Cherry. This rock'n'roll refuge is anti-chic: - you can carve your name on the bar and carve up the dance floor with some air-guitar moves. Enter from Duckboard Pl.

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  20. Chunky Move

    The state's contemporary dance company performs at its sexy venue behind the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. Chunky Move's pop-inspired pieces have toured to New York and are worth seeking out while you're in Melbourne. See for more on Chunky Move, which also runs dance classes .

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  21. Cinema Nova

    Apart from its stellar film selection of art-house, documentary and foreign films, Nova has bargain Monday screenings. Special events include Script Alive - readings of unproduced screenplays - and cry-baby sessions for parents with young children.

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  22. Corner

    Apart from being one of the city's favourite live-music venues, the Corner has a friendly front bar and stellar rooftop, with views across town. Even if you're not in the band room, the strains of Martha Wainwright or Interpol leak into the front bar - making quite a serenade to a game of pool or meal of basic pub grub.

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  23. Cornish Arms

    The Cornish Arms is a big, friendly venue hosting performances by local talents you're unlikely to have heard of, but who may have had some success in the Australian music scene (usually some time ago). There's some form of entertainment nightly (free to around A$20 ), be it music, comedy or cabaret. Sunday-afternoon sessions are popular with young families.

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  25. Croft Institute

    Located in a laneway off a laneway, the lab-themed Croft is a test of drinkers' determination. Prescribe yourself a beaker of house-distilled vodka in the downstairs laboratory and venture up the rickety stairs to inspect the Departments of Male and Female Hygiene (aka the toilets, complete with hospital beds).

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  26. Crown

    Recline in time for the Gold-Class blockbuster feature in your footrest-fitted chair with some macadamia-crusted chicken. Oh, champagne run out already? Table service throughout the film will keep your flute topped and your personal side-table clear.

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  27. Deco

    Why is it that journalists always open the best bars? Here the adventurous and considered wine list is well respected by connoisseurs, but still Deco manages to avoid any inkling of pretension. In the darkness you'll find locals ensconced in couches drinking red wines and eating delicious cheeses, while sports writers nurse Belgian beers and talk football at the bar.

    On Friday and Saturday nights the cocktail crowds descend for the driest martinis this side of the Yarra.

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  28. Der Raum

    Despite its German name and European influences, Der Raum (the Room) is reminiscent of your classic American-style cocktail bar. It takes drinking seriously, and its cocktails - muddled and mixed to perfection - consistently win praise from industry folk. Croon along to the '50s-inspired musical selection, but don't swing too wide, for this room is cosy.

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  29. Ding Dong Lounge

    This rock-and-roll bar also stages touring and local bands. Lounge and ambient artists need not apply. With a sister venue in New York, the Ding Dongs are keeping it real, hosting performers such as the Kills and Scout Niblett.

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