Sights in Melbourne
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Bourke Street Mall
West of Swanston St marks the beginning of the Bourke St Mall. The mall is thick with trams, the sounds of Peruvian bands busking, shop-front spruikers and the general hubbub from shoppers. In a 60-year tradition, November to early January sees people lining up (sometimes for hours) to get a peek at the animated displays in Myer's Christmas windows.
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Melbourne Aquarium
This aquarium is home to rays, gropers and sharks, all of which cruise around a 2.2- million-litre tank, watched closely by visitors through a see-through tunnel. Three times a day divers are thrown to the sharks; for between $150 and $345 you can join them.
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Heide Museum of Modern Art
Heide Museum of Modern Art is on the site of the former home of John and Sunday Reed, under whose patronage the likes of Sidney Nolan, John Perceval and Albert Tucker created a new movement in the Australian art world. Set in a sprawling, riverside park, Heide has an impressive collection and exceptional temporary exhibits. The museum is signposted off the Eastern Fwy. Otherwise, take an Eltham train to Heidelberg station, and catch National Bus 291 to the corner of Manningham and Templestowe Rds, and walk from there.
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Station Pier
Station Pier is Melbourne's main sea passenger terminal, and is where the Spirit of Tasmania, cruise ships and navy vessels dock. It has been in operation since 1854, and the first major railway in Australia ran from here to the city. It has great sentimental associations for many migrants who arrived by ship in the 1950s and 1960s, and for servicemen who used it during WWII. There has been significant development of the area over the last 10 years and there is now a gaggle of flash-looking restaurants built on and around the pier, as well as a marina.
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Melbourne General Cemetery
Melbourne has been burying its dead in this cemetery since 1852; it’s the final resting place of three Australian prime ministers and the ill-fated explorers Burke and Wills. Close to a million other people are interred here, mostly along sectarian lines. Dig up the dirt on the city’s history on a White Hat tour on Wednesday and Sunday at 1pm. For spook-seekers, two-hour guided night tours are led by the National Trust of Victoria twice a year, full-moon tours in April and a Halloween outing on October 31. Bookings are essential.
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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. It was named after the patron saint of Ireland, reflecting the local Catholic community’s main origin. Building began in 1863 and continued until the spires were added in 1939. The imposing bluestone exterior and grounds are but a preview of its contents: inside are several tonnes of bells, an organ with 4500 pipes, ornate stained-glass windows and the remains of former archbishops. It has been visited by two popes, Paul VI in 1970 and John Paul II in 1986.
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City Lights Projects
Melbourne’s rep for street art is not just a recent thing. The City Lights Project has been shining away for over a decade. Lightboxes are installed in a small alcove off Centre Place (look for the creperie, then down the alley opposite) and along Hosier Lane (also famous for its densely applied stencil work). Local and international artists make use of the illuminated minigalleries; view them 24/7. The project’s main man Andrew Mac has also opened a more traditional gallery space, Until Never; it highlights underground artists and is an interesting bridge between the two scenes.
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Royal Melbourne Zoo
Melbourne's zoo is one of the city's most popular attractions. Walkways pass through some enclosures; you can stroll through the bird aviary, cross a bridge over the lions' park or enter a tropical hothouse full of colourful butterflies. There's also a large collection of native animals in natural bush settings, a platypus aquarium, fur seals, lions and tigers, plenty of reptiles, and an 'am I in Asia?' elephant enclosure. In summer, the zoo hosts Twilight Concerts. Roar 'n' Snore allows you to camp at the zoo and join the keepers on their morning feeding rounds.
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Como House
This grand colonial residence overlooking the Yarra was begun in 1840, and underwent renovations up till 1959. The building has been faithfully restored by the National Trust and contains some of the Armytage family’s belongings, the last and longest owners. (Of course it’s all a matter of taste, but their period-furnishing style can seem more hysterical than stately.) The extensive well-tended grounds are faithful to 19th-century landscaping principles and include a croquet lawn and magnificent flower walks. Tours take around an hour: the first is at 10.30am, and then half-hourly until 3.30pm.
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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…
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Living Museum
This charming museum focuses on the unique history of the area, home to a high proportion of migrants and traditionally working class. The museum promotes local participation in its programme of documenting and interpreting the area's social, industrial and environmental history. It keeps 400 oral histories on various topics, such as migration, the role of women, and the meat industry. Old-school exhibits of photographs, maps, drawings and text thumbtacked to a display board are highly accessible. It's set in the grounds of Pipemakers Park, featuring a Discovery Park, wetlands area and indigenous gardens, which re-create the landscape of the basalt plains and valley as it…
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Herring Island
Once an unloved dumping ground for silt, Herring Island is now a prelapsarian garden that seeks to preserve the original trees, shrubs and grasses of the Yarra and provide a home for indigenous animals such as parrots, possums and lizards, as well as sculptures. Designated picnic areas, with barbecues, make for a rare retreat just 3km from the city centre. The island is theoretically open to visitors all year round, but can only be reached by boat. A Parks Victoria punt operates from Como Landing on Alexandra Ave in South Yarra.
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University of Melbourne
The esteemed University of Melbourne was established in 1853 and remains one of Australia’s most prestigious universities. Its blend of Victorian Gothic stone buildings, midcentury international-style towers and postmodern showpieces provide a snapshot of changing architectural aspirations. The campus sprawls from Carlton through to the neighbouring suburb of Parkville, and its extensive grounds house the university colleges. Most notable of these is the Walter Burley Griffin designed Newman College. The Ian Potter Museum of Art manages the university’s extensive art collection, which ranges from antiquities to contemporary Australian work. It’s a thoughtfully designed…
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Gem Pier
Gem Pier is where passenger ferries dock to drop off and collect those who visit Williamstown by boat. It's a fitting way to arrive, given the area's maritime ambience. Williamstown Ferries (tel: 9506 4144; www.williamstownferries.com.au) plies across Hobsons Bay, stopping at Southgate (daily) and St Kilda (weekends), visiting a number of sites along the way, including Scienceworks and the Docklands.
Melbourne River Cruises (tel: 9629 7233; www.melbcruises.com.au) also docks at Gem Pier, travelling up the Yarra River to Southgate. Ticket prices vary according to your destination. Pick up a timetable from the visitors centre in Williamstown or at Federation Square, or…
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Young & Jackson's
Across the street from Flinders Street Station is a pub known for more than beer (which it's been serving up since 1861); it's known for its painting of pre-pubescent Chloe. Painted by Jules Joseph Lefebvre, her yearning gaze, cast over her shoulder and out of the frame, was a hit at the Paris Salon of 1875. The painting caused an outcry in the pursed-lipped provincial Melbourne, however, and was removed from display at the National Gallery of Victoria. Eventually bought by publican and 'art lover' Henry Figsby Young in 1909, Chloe found an appreciative audience and permanent home at this pub.
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Victorian Arts Centre
The Arts Centre is made up of two separate buildings: the concert hall (Hamer Hall, which at the time of writing was undergoing a major redevelopment) and the theatres building (under the spire). Both are linked by a series of landscaped walkways. The Famous Spiegeltent, one of the last of the great Belgian mirror tents, occupies the forecourt annually between February and April, and is the stage for cabaret, music, comedy and circus. The George Adams Gallery and St Kilda Road Foyer Gallery are free gallery spaces with changing exhibitions. The Arts Centre hosts a makers market every Sunday from 10am to 4pm. Around 80 artisans sell everything from juggling balls to…
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Council House 2
CH2 was completed in 2006 in response to meeting the council's own targets for zero carbon emissions by 2020. Its design is based on 'biomimicry', reflecting the complex ecosystem of the planet. The building uses the sun, water and wind in combination with a slew of sustainable technologies.
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Bourke Street & Around
West of Swanston St marks the beginning of the Bourke St Mall. The mall is thick with the sounds of trams clanging, Peruvian bands busking, spruikers and the general hubbub from shoppers. The expansive entrances of the mall's main department stores, Myer and David Jones, consume waves of eager shoppers, regurgitating them some time later with signature shopping bags.
The GPO (cnr Bourke & Elizabeth Sts) is a cosy collection of select shops housed in a grand neo-Renaissance landmark building. On the other side of the mall, the Royal Arcade, built between 1869 and 1870, is Melbourne's oldest shopping mall; the upper walls retain much of the original 19th-century detail.…
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Southgate
Southgate was the first shopping and dining complex built along the south bank of the Yarra, replacing billowing chimneystacks 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 well connected to the city via an arched footbridge, and riverside promenades run all the way west to the casino complex. You’ll find restaurants and cafés among the three levels of dining rooms that all enjoy a stellar outlook over the river and city. (Quality ranges from some of the city’s best to those simply after the tourist dollar.) Night transforms the skyline,…
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Ceres Community Environment Park
The Ceres Community Environment Park has plenty of room for youngsters to chase chooks while parents can chow down on delicious organic breakfasts and lunchtime baguettes.
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Rod Laver Arena
A giant, versatile space used for headline concerts and the Australian Open tennis, with a huge sunroof. Not the most atmospheric of venues, but then it’s all about the spectacle. Ditto for the nearby Hisense Arena.
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State Library of Victoria
When the library opened in 1856, people entering were required to sign the visitors' book, be over 14 years old and have clean hands. The only requirements today are that you leave your bags in the locker room ($1 to $2 for four hours) and maintain a bit of shush.
When the octagonal La Trobe Reading Room was completed in 1913, the reinforced-concrete dome was the largest of its kind in the world. The Wheeler Centre, on the Little Lonsdale St side, was started up by Lonely Planet's founders, Tony and Maureen Wheeler, in 2010, and regularly features talks by local and international writers. Refresh at Mr Tulk.
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Luna Park
It opened in 1912 and still retains the feel of an old-style amusement park with creepy Mr Moon's gaping mouth swallowing you up whole on entering. There's a heritage-listed scenic railway and the full complement of gut-churning modern rides. For grown-ups, the noise and lack of greenery or shade can pall all too fast. Check website for seasonal opening hours.
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Parliament House of Victoria
The 1856 Parliament House of Victoria is a striking monolith of a structure preceded by a grand flourish of steps. Free half-hour tours take you through both houses and the library. Fascinating design features and the symbolism underlying much of the ornamentation are illuminated by the knowledgeable guides.
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National Gallery of Victoria International
Beyond the water wall you'll find international art that runs from the ancient to the contemporary. Completed in 1967, the original NGV building – Roy Grounds' 'cranky icon' – was one of Australia's most controversial but ultimately respected Modernist masterpieces. Interior remodelling was undertaken from 1996 to 2003, overseen by Mario Bellini. Don't miss a gaze up at the Great Hall's stained-glass ceiling.
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