By air
Melbourne Airport (MEL), ~23 km
Australia & New Zealand · Australia
Melbourne, Australia
Laneway cafés, street art and sport
Getting there
Best time to visit
March to May and September to November — mild (summer can swing hot)
Don't miss
Federation Square
Hosier Lane
The Royal Botanic Gardens
The MCG
Things to do
Laneway coffee and Hosier Lane's street art
The Queen Victoria Market
A match at the MCG
St Kilda's penguins at dusk
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Shkuru Afshar · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Layers — the weather changes by the hour — and an umbrella
A quieter corner
The Abbotsford Convent's gardens and galleries
Questions travellers ask
When should I go to Melbourne, and what should I pack?
March to May or September to November, when it's mild; summer can swing hot. Pack layers and an umbrella — the weather changes by the hour.
What are the best things to do in Melbourne?
Start with laneway coffee and Hosier Lane's street art, then Federation Square and the Royal Botanic Gardens. Catch a match at the MCG and see St Kilda's penguins at dusk.
Is there a quieter spot in Melbourne worth finding?
The Abbotsford Convent, with its gardens and galleries.
What should I eat and drink in Melbourne?
Coffee in the laneways, a wander through the Queen Victoria Market, and a meal on Lygon Street's Italian strip.
About Melbourne
- Coastal
- Riverside
Where it is
Melbourne is the capital of Victoria in south-eastern Australia, built on the Yarra River at the head of Port Phillip Bay, with the Dandenong Ranges to the east.
History
The peoples of the Kulin nation, among them the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung, lived around the bay for many thousands of years before European settlers founded Melbourne in 1835. The Victorian gold rush of the 1850s made it one of the richest cities in the world, remembered as Marvellous Melbourne, and it was the seat of Australia's federal parliament from 1901 until Canberra was ready in 1927.
People
Melburnians come from around the world, with large Greek, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian communities, and after English the most common home languages include Mandarin, Vietnamese and Greek. The city is devoted to Australian rules football, coffee and food, from Lygon Street's Italian cafés to the Vietnamese kitchens of Footscray and Richmond.
Known for
- Laneway cafés and coffee culture
- Hosier Lane's street art
- The Melbourne Cricket Ground
- The Queen Victoria Market
- The Australian Open and the Melbourne Cup
Did you know?
Melbourne's tram network is the largest urban tram network in the world, with around 250 km of double track.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.