city
Southbank
- Shopping
- Eating
- Spectacular views
Southbank is a retail therapist's dream. Do lunch and lattés along the promenade while watching regular street performances, or just drink in city skyline views.
Further along the Yarra River, try your luck at Crown Casino, catch a movie or ogle at top-end boutiques including Versace, Burberry, Mont Blanc and Prada.
If cultural arts are more your thing, get along to the Victorian Arts Centre, where you can catch theatre productions performed by local, national and international troupes, or take in a spot of ballet, opera or an exhibition.
www.vicartscentre.com.au
www.crownltd.com.au
Federation Square
- Art
- Architecture
- Food and bars
Since opening in 2002, this architectural wonder has become the city centre's vibrant social hub. Art, food and entertainment are the main drawcards. The National Gallery of Victoria's Ian Potter Centre regularly hosts touring exhibitions and the state-of-the-art Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) offers a brave new world experience of multi-media art. Across the square, Champions: Australian Racing Museum and Hall of Fame is a favourite of those who like the Sport of Kings. Outside, a stage and permanent big screen provide free entertainment, several bars and cafés are dotted around and the nearby Melbourne Visitor Centre is a one-stop shop for planning what to explore next.
www.federationsquare.com.au
www.ngv.vic.gov.au
www.acmi.net.au
Little Collins Street
- Fashion
- Hideaways
- Cool bars
A melting pot of haute couture and on-the-edge fashion, Little Collins Street is a magnet for backpackers with style and dollars to spare. Some of Melbourne's best designers and boutiques line the strip, as do many of the city's ‘hot spot' bars, most tucked secretively away in small European-style alleyways like The Causeway or Howey Place. For mellow ambience, try the Gin Palace, Tony Starr's Kitten Club, Il Bacaro Cucina e Bar or Hairy Canary.
Chinatown
- Flavours
- Colour
- Diversity
Despite it being the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the world, outside of China, there's more than just the culinary flavours of China here. Nearly every Asian nation flies a neon flag in this precinct, which runs along Little Bourke Street and off into the many alleyways.
Dumpling houses serve up some of the best and biggest meals at prices that weigh in well under even the tightest backpacker budget, or try restaurants renowned for yum cha, such as the Dragon Boat.
Arcade shops here sell everything from chinoiserie to fungi, paper lanterns to ancient herbal medicines. Parties worth attending include the Asian Food Festival, the Lantern Festival and of course, Chinese New Year.
Arcades
- History
- Shopping
- Surprises
Melbourne is famous for its shopping, but it's not all massive malls and department stores. The real treasures are found in historic arcades, where small retailers peddle their wares with flair.
The best shopping arcades are within walking distance of each other, off Little Collins Street between Swanston and Elizabeth streets. Particularly striking for the window shopper are the beautiful 19th-century Block and Royal arcades – the oldest still trading in Australia. Then there's The Walk, the Galleria Shopping Plaza, Centrepoint Mall, Collins two3four and Australia on Collins, all featuring a mixed shopping bag of brand-name stores, smaller unique retailers and cafés.
Laneways
- Mystery
- Live music
- Coffee
Most old city centres have plenty of laneways darting off into their unknown hearts, but few make such prolific use of them as Melbourne does. Alleyways are jam packed with cafés, restaurants and bars. In every nook and cranny, around every corner, at the end of every cobblestone lane, is a new hole in the wall offering everything from the supremely quirky to the sublimely luxurious.
Uncover the secrets of Melbourne's hidden night life in Meyers Place, Bennetts Lane, Bullens Lane, Sniders Lane and Market Lane.
The hustle doesn't stop just because the sun is up, with a stream of alfresco dining choices along the likes of Degraves Street, Block Place, The Causeway, Centre Place, and the mother of all eatery strips, Hardware Lane.
