Melbourne: Itineraries

Melbourne loves its good livin', so here's a thumbnail sketch three day itinerary to get you into a Melbourne-style state of mind. Follow this and you'll be lapping up lattes like a local.

Start your first day getting to know the beachside inner-city suburb of St Kilda on the southside of Melbourne. Grab some breakfast and coffee at Benedykt Too (and get a superb Portugese tart to go) and take a stroll along the renowned pastry-lined Acland Street. Divert towards the beach and walk along the Esplanade, hooking back up to take in the busier Fitzroy Street with its landmark buildings. From here, catch a ubiquitous tram citybound and go to the Halftix booth in the Melbourne Town Hall on Swanston Street. Snag a couple of cheap Melbourne Theatre Company tickets for the evening. Walk back down Swanston Street past the iconic Flinders Street Station to the magnificently revamped National Gallery of Victoria for an afternoon of great art and bookshop browsing. Stay in the vicinity for dinner, taking an outside table at one of the many restaurants in the Southbank complex, and enjoy the view of the Yarra River and the city skyline before heading to the nearby State Theatre building for some quality performance. Top the evening off with a nightcap in the atmospheric dining hall at city-central Cookie.

Melbourne is known for its shopping so make this day all about sniffing out some unique designs, punctuating each discovery with a good shot of coffee. Start your second day northside, with breakfast at the legendary Mario's on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy then start to stroll. Be warned that some of these stores along this strip are masters at the art of time suckage and you can easily while away hours in Polyester Books, Kleins Perfumery and Jaspers Coffee, to name but a few. Walk the length of Brunswick Street (grabbing yet more coffee at Newtown Social Club on the way) into the city and aim towards Flinders Lane and its labyrinthine alleyways. Keep your eyes peeled because yes, it may look like a dumpster down a lane, but just behind it may be the greatest new jewellery you've ever seen, so be intrepid. By late afternoon, make your way to the innovative architecture of Federation Square and see what movies are playing that night at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). Pick up a couple of tickets and then zip around to Chocolate Buddha for some high-quality Japanese food, a bottle of Australian wine, some good people-watching and a great view of the arts precinct.

There is so much more to Melbourne than the CBD and its inner suburbs, so day three will give you another dimension. Hire a car and drive southeast along the beach towards the awesome wineries of the Mornington Peninsula around 90 minutes out of the city. Spend a leisurely day meandering from one winery to another, sampling locally produced wine, cheese and other delectables. Drive back around sunset for the most picturesque version of the landscape - the sparkling sea and the meloncholy trees. By the time you get back into the city you should be well and truly relaxed, so shoot that out of the water by diving into the chaos of Chinatown on Little Bourke St for dinner. Looks can be deceiving, and often the most down-at-heel places will serve the greatest food. Finish off by getting cocktails and going sky-high - either to the rooftop of the Sofitel Hotel or the Adelphi Hotel, where you can see the whole glittering carpet of marvellous Melbourne laid out in front of you and know that you've at least peeked under one corner.