20 Best Melbourne Attractions

The city center of Melbourne represents the city's cultural, entertainment and financial heart. Locally called the Central Business District, the CBD or simply the City, it is where international and interstate visitors spend the bulk of their time. Most must-see attractions sit within the city's grid-planned center, as is much of the accommodation and nightlife. The main visitor information center is in Federation Square, right near the intersection of Swanston and Flinders Streets. Another information center exists near Cooks Cottage in Fitzroy Gardens, and a small information booth is in the Bourke Street Mall. Additionally, volunteer city ambassadors dressed in a distinctive red uniform are stationed along Swanston St to help tourists with inquiries and directions. The City Centre is Melbourne's hub of public transport. Every train line and most tram routes pass through or terminate in the city. All suburban trains will stop at the city's busiest interchange, Flinders Street Station. Country trains terminate at Southern Cross Station. Trams mostly run east to west along Bourke and Collins Streets, and north to south along Swanston Street.

A short one-hour drive from the Melbourne city sits the beautiful Yarra Valley. Best known for producing excellent Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the Valley is home to more than the 120 wineries. Whether you take the family, run away for romance with your partner, or round up some friends, the Yarra Valley is the perfect weekend escape. Float high above the Yarra Valley in a hot air balloon for unprecedented views of rolling hills strung with vines, lush greenery, and pastures. With boutique wineries around every bend in the valley, you'll soon be attuned to its charms. Enjoy a meal accompanied by a local wine amid the vines as you travel around. See alternate views of the valley from both inside and outside the curved Tarra Warra Museum of the Modern Art, built to integrate into the landscape. Pick up some winery specials to enjoy a gourmet picnic in the peaceful fern gullies and mountain ash at the Badger Weir Park near Healesville. Venture into the Christmas Hills and Sugarloaf Reservoir. Go bushwalking along the 18-kilometre trail, bird watching, sightseeing, sailing and shoreline fishing. Have a picnic at Ironbark Ridge or Saddle Dam overlooking the reservoir.

Puffing Billy travels through the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne (sometimes referred to as 'The Dandenongs') All aboard Puffing Billy – Australia's most popular steam train ride! Running daily from the foothills at Belgrave to the mountain town of Gembrook, Puffing Billy is the most fun way to tour the Dandenong Ranges. Puffing Billy's rattling red carriages run across three historic timber bridges, uphill and down dale, through valleys and plains filled with tree ferns, and under the shadow of towering mountain ash. The route runs through the eucalyptus of Sherbrooke Forest, past the steam museum at Menzies Creek and the picnic grounds at Emerald Lake, in the pretty town of Gembrook. The one-way journey is 24 km (15 miles), taking just under two hours. Puffing Billy is Australia's favorite steam train and is one of the finest preserved steam railways in the world. This century-old steam train is still running on its original 25-kilometer mountain track from Belgrave to Gembrook, through the beautiful forests and fern gullies of the Dandenong Ranges.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is located a short distance from Melbourne's city center in the Melbourne Sports Precinct at Yarra Park, which also includes the Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena, and AAMI Park. With a total capacity of 100,000 people, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is the largest stadium in Australia, the tenth-largest stadium in the world, and the world's largest stadium for playing cricket. The Melbourne Cricket Ground has been the scene of many great sporting events and 'firsts' in Australian sporting history since being built in 1853, just 19 years after the founding of the City of Melbourne itself. It is the home of the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), the oldest sporting club in Australia. In 1877 the first game of Test cricket in history was played between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In 1971, the ground hosted the first One Day International cricket match. The Boxing Day Test match on Boxing Day (26 December) each year attracts huge crowds. In winter, it serves as the home of Australian Rules football (AFL). The stadium fills to capacity for the AFL Grand Final in late September.

 

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is Australia’s oldest and pre-eminent public art museum, hosting blockbuster exhibitions and one of the world’s finest art collections. The collection encompasses treasures from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and the pre-Columbian period, in addition to an Oceanic gallery dedicated to the indigenous cultures of the Pacific area. The collection also includes nearly 16,000 international prints and drawings, a distinguished array of European and Asian decorative arts, and a gallery space dedicated to 4000 works representing the art of Asia. You will also find an outstanding collection of European and British paintings dating from 1200 to today, fashion and textile exhibits, photography, furniture and sculpture. Dining options include Persimmon, the Gallery Kitchen, and the Tea Room. The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest, largest and most visited art museum.

 

Take a fascinating journey from the coast to the ocean depths through 12 themed zones, including one of the world’s largest Saltwater Crocodiles residing in the state-of-the-art the Croc Lair exhibit. Don’t miss the Australia’s most interactive rainforest; get up close to the 10,000 creatures, including Australia’s largest collection of Sub-Antarctic penguins, the world’s largest collection of Sea Horses and the only Elephant Sharks in the captivity. Find out how it feels to touch a starfish and the other creatures living in our interactive rock pool. Fun talks and an animal feeds, special events and our Dive Adventure Trail means that there’s always a load for everyone to enjoy at the SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium. The all new SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium, with 12 amazing habitat zones to discover, is on top of the list of things to do in the Melbourne. No trip to Melbourne is complete without visiting the Melbourne Aquarium. Situated on the riverside, just opposite to the Crown Casino, the Melbourne Aquarium is a home to the thousands of animals, including sharks, turtles, stingrays, sawfish, tropical fish and much, much more.

There are lots of spacious arcades and hidden lanes in Melbourne that are still not explored by many tourists. These hidden gems can be unravelled only through exclusive tours that solely focus on hunting for these lanes & arcades and bring them to the eyes of the public.

Highlights – When you come to Melbourne, set some time aside exclusively to discover more about the hidden/lesser-known/unexplored lanes that will surprise you to a great extent. There are various walking tours available to take you through all these lanes in the city.

Half day tours usually start from a particular place with the guide explaining about the history and moving over to various laneways for morning tea, chocolate tasting etc.

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Location – Federation Square, Degraves Street, Majorca Building, Centre Place, Centre Way, Block Arcade, Block Place, Royal Arcade etc. are some places covered.

Timings – All through the year.

 Price – Around AUD73per person.

Melbourne Zoo is Australia's oldest zoo and was modeled on London Zoo. The zoo was opened on 6 October 1862 at the Royal Park site in 55-acre (22 ha) on land donated by the City of Melbourne. Before this, animals were housed at the botanical gardens in Melbourne. Visitors can see historical cages, including the heritage listed Elephant House, which has been renovated and adapted for use for customers paying to sleep overnight in tents at the zoo in popular Roar and Snore evenings. These evenings allow the public to see some of the nocturnal animals at the zoo in evening guided tours by keepers. One of the most famous exhibits was Quinine the elephant. The zoo is set among flower gardens and picnic areas. Many of the animals are now organized in bioclimatic zones: African rainforest featuring gorillas, mandrills, pigmy hippos and parrots; Asian Rainforest with tigers and otters; and the Australian bush with koalas, kangaroos, emus, echidnas and endangered hairy-nosed wombats.

 

This little hiding hole is a perfect spot when you're in a group looking to head to the beach where not many people are around. Normally, you will be able to find a quiet spot to enjoy with your friends and hang out, but recently more and more people have discovered this area of the beach where it may be a little more crowded. Either way, it has the sandiness you want, plus a few rock pools and also a beautiful looking cliff's edge to admire also. Maybe Half Moon Bay isn't as private as it used to be but it's still one of my favorite beach positions to hang out at. Looking for a nice beach within Melbourne is a little difficult, to say the least. Half Moon Bay, on the other hand, is a gorgeous little spot and a real surprise in comparison to other Melbourne beaches. Great for swimming, tanning, reading and picnicking this is the perfect spot for when you don't want to leave the city in search of some sand, sea and sunshine. Half Moon Bay had been setting for yachting since the 1890s, and a branch of the Brighton Yacht Club formed the Black Rock Yacht Club in 1919.

Exclusively known for its bar food and amazing night-life experience, Ecau de Vie in Melbourne, offers some of the best drinks and dishes from the world to its guests.

Highlights – Whiskeys and cocktails offered here are considered to be the best among all the bars in Melbourne. The best thing that you will find here is that the staff members are quite knowledgeable about the menu and will suggest some great drinks for you that you would have never heard of earlier! You have to reserve here in advance on all the days, because the bar gets too crowded within a short time of opening.

 
Location – 1, Malthouse Lane, Melbourne CBD. Price for two – Close to 90AUD. Speciality dishes – Oceanside Cocktail, Nitrogen Espresso Martini, Smoky Rob Roy, espresso zabaione, Kingston, 4 cheese sandwich and many more.

Timings – 5PM to 1AM.