Some might be happy to shell out $30 for the view from the 120m-high Melbourne Star, but we'd rather spend $26 on a cocktail at this sophisticated bar perched 236m up the Rialto tower. Located beside and owned by Vue de Monde, it's Vue's view and liquid creativity without the price tag. Arrive early (and nicely dressed) for a table.

Come between noon and 2pm from Thursday to Sunday for a fancy main course from Vue de Monde and glass of beer or wine for $39. Up that to $90 for a three-course set meal during lunch or dinner.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Melbourne attractions

1. Immigration Museum

0.14 MILES

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

2. Sea Life

0.16 MILES

This interesting but extremely pricey aquarium is home to giant rays, gropers and sharks, all of which cruise around a 2.2 million-litre tank, watched by…

3. Crown

0.32 MILES

The Crown complex sprawls across two city blocks and includes three luxury hotels, restaurants and a casino that never closes. It’s another world with its…

4. Eureka Skydeck

0.41 MILES

Melbourne's tallest building, the 297m-high Eureka Tower was erected in 2006, and a wild elevator ride takes you to its 88th floor in less than 40 seconds…

5. Block Arcade

0.43 MILES

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

6. Polly Woodside

0.46 MILES

Polly Woodside is a restored iron-hulled tall ship, dating from 1885. After circumnavigating the world 17 times it now rests in a basin off the Yarra…

7. Royal Arcade

0.46 MILES

Built between 1869 and 1870, this Parisian-style shopping arcade is Melbourne’s oldest and has managed to retain much of its charming 19th-century detail…

8. Hellenic Museum

0.46 MILES

Housed in a beautiful neoclassical building that was once the Royal Mint, this small museum is dedicated to Greek immigrants who moved here in the 1950s…