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Melbourne Museum
Museum Victoria's flagship site is truly a world-class museum. The modern exhibition space eschews glass cases of dusty, taxidermic objects in favour of vibrant thematic displays that take visitors on a journey through natural and cultural history. Walk through the 1950s, imagine yourself in 1890's or become immersed in the legend of champion racehorse (and national hero) Phar Lap.
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Melbourne River Cruises
Cruise the Yarra River upstream in this sleek boat, which passes the Royal Botanic Gardens , Herring Island and the city's sporting precinct. Or you can head downriver to the port and docks. Tours depart every half-hour from Federation Wharf (on the north bank of the river, east of Princes Bridge) and from Berths 5 and 6 at Southgate.
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Melbourne Sport Tours
Footy fiends get to touch the turf at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and smell the liniment in the change rooms on the half-day Sports Lovers Tour. But not before checking out the track at Flemington Racecourse, cruising by the Commonwealth Games Village and driving Albert Park's Grand Prix circuit - albeit in a bus.
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Melbourne Town Hall
The Melbourne Town Hall has been used as a civic and entertainment venue since 1870. Most famously, Queen Elizabeth II took tea there in 1954, and the Beatles waved to thousands of screaming fans from the balcony in 1964. In 2001 the Grand Organ (built in 1929) was given an overhaul. Take a free tour ( and Monday to Friday) to find out exactly what having the 'largest grand romantic organ in the southern hemisphere' actually means.
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National Design Centre
The NDC brings the public together with local and international designers through its retail shop and its nifty ShowBox exhibition space, which displays and interprets designer wares. The centre also hosts workshops and events, including the annual Melbourne Design Festival, held in July.
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National Gallery of Victoria: International
There's much to discover behind the wonderful water wall. The NGVI space pays close consideration to its permanently displayed artworks, regarded as Australia's best international collection. Key works, such as Rembrandt's self-portrait, feature in the open spaces, promoting a sense of discovery. You might also bump into Monet and Modigliani, or Bacon and Rubens.
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Old Melbourne Gaol
This sinister old prison and penal museum was built of bluestone in 1841 and used until 1929. The tiny cells display plaster casts of some of the 130-plus people who were hanged here. A science of the day, known as phrenology, studied the shape of the head to try to understand the criminal mind. Other displays explain 19th-century Melbourne's dire social conditions and give insight into the desperation that may have motivated the criminals.
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Optus Oval
The last surviving suburban ground, Optus Oval, in Princes Park , has been Carlton's home venue and training base since the club entered the league competition in 1897. The Blues still train but no longer play here. It accommodates 35,000 fans, and is the closest suburban ground to the city.
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Parliament House
Building began in 1856 with the two main chambers: the lower house (the Legislative Assembly) and the upper house (the Legislative Council). The library was added in 1860 and Queen's Hall in 1879. Original plans included an enormous dome, which was deemed too costly. Gun slits are visible just below the roof, and the dungeon is now the cleaners' tearoom. Australia's first federal parliament sat here from 1901, before moving to Canberra in 1927.
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Point Gellibrand Coastal Heritage Park
Along the waterfront of this expansive stretch of parkland, the roadway has intermittent information panels. These explain the area's significance as the first disembarkation point for early Victorian settlers and for convicts 'imported' as labourers. Historic buildings also dot the area, such as the convict-built Timeball Tower, once used to calibrate ships' gauges, and the remains of Fort Gellibrand, which staged many a mock battle. Access to the park is via Nelson Pl.
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Prahran Market
The Prahran Market has been an institution for over a century and is one of the finest produce markets in the city. Established in 1881 it provided an outlet for the area's small farms and market gardens. Back then, horses parked out the back and added to the rich odours. Through the '70s and '80s a man positioned in an enclosed box used an intercom to direct queuing cars. In the mid-'90s a gourmet food hall and a multilevel car park were added.
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Princes Park
Joggers and walkers make early morning pilgrimages to pound the 3.2km gravel path around the perimeter of the park. Home to the Carlton football ground, which is known as Optus Oval, the sprawling park has a number of sporting ovals, a children's playground and barbecues. From here it's a 10-minute tram ride to Melbourne's CBD and a quick walk to the vibrant shopping strip on Sydney Rd.
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Queen Victoria Market
The Queen Victoria Market is a thriving community of over 600 traders, all bellowing special prices from behind colourful produce stalls. It's the largest open-air market in the southern hemisphere and attracts thousands of shoppers. You can buy everything the most fickle palate could desire here.
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Rialto Towers
The Rialto was once the highest building in the southern hemisphere and, until recently, the city's highest building - pipped in 2006 by the Eureka Tower. The Rialto's most distinctive feature is its semireflective glass exterior, which changes colour as the day advances. The observation deck is on the 55th floor; to get there you could climb the 1254 steps or take the 25km/h lifts. The lookout platform provides a spectacular 360-degree view of Melbourne's surrounds - a great way to get your bearings. The admission fee includes a 20-minute video screening about Melbourne city.
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Royal Botanic Gardens
Certainly the finest botanic gardens in Australia, and among the finest in the world, this is one of Melbourne's most glorious attractions. Sprawling beside the Yarra River, the beautifully designed gardens feature plants from Australia and around the world. Mini-ecosystems, such as the cacti and succulents area, herb garden and Australian rainforest are set amid the vast lawns. Take a book, picnic or Frisbee; most importantly, take your time.
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Royal Exhibition Building
The stately Royal Exhibition Building, next door to the Melbourne Museum, was built for the International Exhibition of 1880. The exhibition ran for eight months and included such industrial advancements as lawn mowers and tinned foodstuffs. Still a venue for major events and exhibitions, this is the world's oldest surviving 19th-century exhibition hall. It was the site of the first Australian parliament in 1901 and was used for the Victorian parliament for 27 years. Beautifully restored, the building became Australia's first to win Unesco World Heritage status - in 2004. Tours (1300 130 152; adult/concession around A$5 /around A$4 ) operate daily at from the museum; phone for bookings.
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Royal Melbourne Zoo
Melbourne's zoo is one of the city's most popular attractions, and deservedly so. Established in 1861, this is the oldest zoo in Australia and the third oldest in the world. In the 1850s, when Australia was considered a foreign place full of strange plants and animals, the Acclimatisation Society was formed for 'the introduction, acclimatisation and domestication of all innoxious animals, birds, fishes, insects and vegetables'. The society merged with the Zoological Society in 1861 and together they established the zoo on its present site.
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Royal Park
Royal Park's vast open spaces are great for a variety of activities. You'll find you quicken your jogging pace when you hear lions roaring behind you. Royal Park contains the Royal Melbourne Zoo, a number of sports ovals, netball and hockey stadiums, a golf course and the Games Village. The village housed athletes and officials participating in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and is gradually being turned over to public and private housing. Neighbouring the Village is Trin Warren Tam-boore, a new wetlands area with boardwalks and interpretive signs for spotting native plants and animals. In the park's corner closest to the University of Melbourne is a garden of Australian native plants.
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Scienceworks & Melbourne Planetarium
Why is it so? Scienceworks could have the answers. To find them, you'll have to push a button, lift a flap, pull a lever, jump as high as you can, bend down, race a machine and smell rotting fruit. Built on the site of the Spotswood pumping station, Melbourne's first sewerage works, Scienceworks incorporates these historic buildings. The museum's range of permanent interactive displays includes the science of sport, household items and the human body. Occasional touring shows, such as Licence to Spy, usually coincide with school holidays. Scienceworks is very popular with school groups; the quietest times are weekday afternoons during school terms and Saturday morning. The museum is a 10-minute signposted walk from Spotswood train station.
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Shrine of Remembrance
Beside St Kilda Rd stands the massive Shrine of Remembrance, built as a memorial to Victorians killed in WWI. Its distinctive design is partly based on the Temple of Halicarnassus, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, and it was built between 1927 and 1934. Visible from the other end of town, planning regulations continue to restrict any building that would obstruct the view of the Shrine from along Swanston St (as far back as Lonsdale St).
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South Melbourne Market
This neighbourhood institution (operating on this site since 1864) sells everything from carpets to bok choy (Chinese greens). A teeny window on Cecil St doles out the city's best dim sims (be prepared to queue). The market's labyrinthine interior is packed to overflowing with an eccentric collection of stalls. Turn a corner and you could find organic wine, a hairdresser, a masseuse or a novelty singing trout. The produce is excellent, the pace is leisurely and the surrounding streets are conveniently dotted with decent cafés.
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Southgate
Southgate was the first shopping and dining complex built along the south bank of the Yarra, replacing billowing chimney stacks and saw-toothed factories. The complex joined its illustrious Southbank neighbours (the Arts Centre, Australian Ballet and Opera Australia) in the early '90s. Southgate is also well connected to the city via an arched footbridge, and riverside promenades run all the way west to the casino complex.
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St Kilda Botanic Gardens
Only a few blocks from Acland St, the Botanic Gardens are an unexpected haven from St Kilda's signature bustle. Wide gravel paths invite leisurely strolling, and there are plenty of shady spots to sprawl on the lawns. Botanically there's something for everyone, from local indigenous plants and a subtropical rainforest conservatory to the springtime splendour of the Alister Clarke Rose Garden. Dogs stay leashed and kids chase ducks, leaving the grown-ups to get down to some serious picnicking.
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St Kilda Foreshore
Palm-fringed promenades, glassy water, grassy parkland and a perky crescent of sand epitomise the foreshore's pleasure-zone status. Replete with a number of historic buildings, a low-key marina and upmarket restaurants, the St Kilda foreshore is at the forefront of weekend activity. Two popular St Kilda restaurants are superbly located in converted foreshore buildings: the stylish Donovans, once a bathing pavilion, and the Stokehouse, originally an Edwardian teahouse.
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St Patrick's Cathedral
One of the world's largest and finest examples of Gothic revival architecture, St Patrick's Cathedral was designed by William Wardell. Building began in 1863 and continued in stages until the spires were added in 1939. The imposing bluestone exterior and grounds are but a preview to its contents: inside are several tonnes of bells, an organ with 4500 pipes, ornate stained-glass windows and the remains of former archbishops.
