Must-see attractions in Melbourne

  • Melbourne Royal Botanical Gardens on a clear summer's day in Victoria, Australia

    Royal Botanic Gardens

    Melbourne

    Considered one of the finest examples of Victorian-era landscaping in the world, Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens draw over two million visitors a year…

  • Melbourne, Australia - March 22, 2014: people walking past graffiti wall in Hosier Lane in Melbourne

    Hosier Lane

    Melbourne

    Melbourne's most-celebrated laneway for street art, Hosier Lane's cobbled length draws camera-wielding crowds to its colorful canvas of graffiti, stencils…

  • December 25, 2017: Shrine of Remembrance, now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war.

    Shrine of Remembrance

    Melbourne

    One of Melbourne's icons, the Shrine of Remembrance is a commanding memorial to Victorians who have served in war and peacekeeping, especially those…

  • MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 30: Melbourne's famous skyline with Melbourne Cricket Ground stadium in the foreground on a cool autumn morning in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on May 30th 2018.

    Melbourne Cricket Ground

    Melbourne

    With a capacity of 100,000 people, the "G" is one of the world’s great sporting venues, hosting cricket in summer and AFL (Australian Football League,…

  • Melbourne, Australia: April 12, 2018: Customers buy pastries and other food goods from a stall in Queen Victoria Market.

    Queen Victoria Market

    Melbourne

    With more than 600 traders, 'Vic Market' is a large open-air market brimming with food, shopping and cultural experiences. Early mornings are best for…

  • St. Kilda Pier, Melbourne, Australia

    St Kilda Foreshore

    St Kilda, Elwood & Elsternwick

    With a palm-fringed promenade, sandy beach and eclectic architecture, St Kilda’s seaside appeal lands somewhere between Brighton in England and Venice…

  • NGV International entrance with water fountain.

    NGV International

    Melbourne

    Housed in a vast, brutally beautiful, bunker-like building, the international branch of the NGV has an expansive collection, from ancient artefacts to the…

  • Ornithoptera euphorion

    Melbourne Zoo

    Melbourne

    Established in 1862, this compact zoo remains one of the city’s most popular attractions and continues to innovate, having become the world's first carbon…

  • Australia, Melbourne - September 2018 - People sitting on beanbags and chairs in front of main stage at Federation Square

    Federation Square

    Melbourne

    One of the city's newest public spaces and an urban focal point, Federation Sq is a place to meet, celebrate, protest, watch major sporting events or…

  • Royal Exhibition Building Melbourne

    Royal Exhibition Building

    Melbourne

    Built for the 1880 International Exhibition, this Victorian edifice in Carlton Gardens symbolises the glory days of 19th-century Melbourne's economic…

  • Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

    Melbourne

    The National Gallery of Victoria's impressive Fed Sq offshoot was set up to showcase its extraordinary collection of Australian works. Set over three…

  • Abbotsford Convent

    Fitzroy, Collingwood & Abbotsford

    This former convent, dating back to 1863, is a rambling collection of ecclesiastical architecture that's home to a thriving arts community of galleries,…

  • Justin Art House Museum

    Melbourne

    The geometric, zinc-clad home of Melbourne art collectors Charles and Leah Justin doubles as the Justin Art House Museum. Book ahead for a tour of the…

  • Melbourne Museum

    Melbourne

    This museum provides a grand sweep of Victoria’s natural and cultural histories, incorporating dinosaur skeletons, a 600-species-strong taxidermy hall, a…

  • Birrarung Marr

    Melbourne

    Multi-terraced Birrarung Marr is one of Melbourne’s most unique parks, featuring grassy knolls, river promenades, thoughtful planting of Indigenous flora…

  • Chinatown

    Melbourne

    For more than 150 years this section of central Melbourne, now flanked by five traditional arches, has been the focal point for the city's Chinese…

  • Food hall inside the South Melbourne Market.

    South Melbourne Market

    Melbourne

    Trading since 1867, this market is an institution, its labyrinthine guts packed with a brilliant collection of stalls selling everything from organic…

  • Buxton Contemporary

    Melbourne

    Weird, wonderful and thought-provoking Buxton Contemporary, located at the University of Melbourne’s art school, opened in 2018 powered by the Michael…

  • Starward Distillery

    Melbourne

    This sleek distillery-warehouse-bar is massive, with a public area up the front and copper stills at the rear. Sample the Distillery's Selection flight (…

  • 2AW6EA0 Heide III, is a purpose built museum space with a black titanium zinc facade, one of four main buildings on the site of the Heide Museum of Modern Art

    Heide Museum of Modern Art

    Melbourne

    The former home of John and Sunday Reed, Heide is a prestigious not-for-profit art gallery with a stunning sculpture garden. It holds regularly changing…

  • State Library of Victoria

    Melbourne

    This grand neoclassical building has been at the forefront of Melbourne's literary scene since 1856. When its central La Trobe Reading Room was completed…

  • Parliament House

    Melbourne

    The grand steps of Victoria’s parliament (1856) are often dotted with tulle-wearing brides smiling for the camera as well as placard-holding protesters…

  • Collins Street At Dusk.

    Block Arcade

    Melbourne

    This beautiful Victorian shopping arcade, built in 1891 and inspired by the Galleria Vittorio in Milan, features ornate plasterwork and mosaic floors…

  • MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA -7 DEC 2016- The Royal Botanic Gardens is located in the center of Melbourne by the Yarra River. It includes a herbarium and a children's garden.

    Australian Garden

    Melbourne

    Located 55km southeast of the city centre, this outpost of the Royal Botanic Gardens celebrates Australian flora through an impressive expanse of themed…

  • Werribee Open Range Zoo

    Melbourne

    Meerkats greet you at the entrance to this 225-hectare partly free-range zoo, 34km southwest of Melbourne. Admission includes a guided tour in a safari…

  • Fitzroy Gardens

    Melbourne

    The city drops away suddenly just east of Spring St, giving way to Melbourne’s beautiful backyard, Fitzroy Gardens. The park's stately avenues are lined…

  • Australian Centre for the Moving Image

    Melbourne

    Managing to educate, enthral and entertain in equal parts, ACMI is a visual feast that pays homage to Australian cinema and TV, offering insight into the…

  • Flinders St Station

    Melbourne

    Melbourne's first railway station, which turned 100 years old in 2010, is also its most iconic building. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Melburnian who…

  • Australian Sports Museum

    Melbourne

    Hidden away in the bowels of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, this sports museum features exhibits focusing on Australia’s favourite sports and historic…

  • St Patrick’s Cathedral

    Melbourne

    Designed by William Wardell, Melbourne's Catholic cathedral is among the world's finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture and the largest church…

  • Ceres

    Melbourne

    The best Ceres (pronounced ‘series’) experience is on Saturday mornings, when locals shop for organic produce and browse the flea market (9am to 2pm…

  • Chinese Museum

    Melbourne

    The fascinating and often fraught history of Chinese people in Australia is showcased in this wonderful little museum in the heart of Chinatown. Start on…

  • Old Melbourne Gaol

    Melbourne

    Dating back to 1841, this bluestone prison was in operation until 1924 and decommissioned in 1929. It's now a museum where you can tour the tiny, bleak…

  • Government House

    Melbourne

    On the outer edge of the Botanic Gardens, this Italianate Government House dates from 1872. A replica of Queen Victoria’s Osborne House on England’s Isle…

  • Immigration Museum

    Melbourne

    The Immigration Museum uses voices, images and memorabilia to tell the many stories of Australian immigration. It's symbolically housed in the old Customs…

  • Yarra Bend Park

    Melbourne

    Escape the city without leaving town in this large area of native bushland flanking the river, about 5km northeast of the city centre. It's an area…

  • University of Melbourne

    Melbourne

    The esteemed University of Melbourne was established in 1853 and remains one of Australia’s most prestigious universities. Its blend of Victorian Gothic…

  • Prahran Market

    Melbourne

    Prahran Market is a Melbourne institution and foodie paradise. The facade – designed by Charles D'Ebro in Queen Anne revival style – dates back to 1891…

  • Ian Potter Museum of Art

    Melbourne

    This museum manages Melbourne University’s extensive art collection – the largest university collection in the country – over three levels. The collection…

  • Centre for Contemporary Photography

    Fitzroy, Collingwood & Abbotsford

    This not-for-profit centre exhibits contemporary photography across five gallery spaces. Shows traverse traditional techniques and the highly conceptual,…