Luxury things to do in Melbourne
Kaiseki, grand arcades and the best wine lists the city has to offer.
This is Melbourne with the ceiling removed: tasting menus at the city's most serious Japanese and contemporary Australian tables, mornings in ornate 19th-century arcades, and nightcaps poured from exceptional wine lists. It suits anyone who measures a trip by the quality of what's in the glass and on the plate, and who wants the city's grandest version of itself rather than its scrappiest.
Day 1: East End, kaiseki and natural wine
The day opens with Korean-inflected coffee near the Princess Theatre, moves through Red Emperor's celebrated Chinese lunch in Chinatown, and closes with Ishizuka's multi-course kaiseki followed by a glass at Embla.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:15 AM
Princess Theatre
Melbourne's grand 1886 Princess Theatre, iconic East End landmark worth a lingering look.
Map - 12:30 PM
Red Emperor (Chinatown) Chinese Restaurant
Red Emperor is one of Melbourne's most celebrated Chinese tables, the city's famous lunch in the heart of the East End.
Map - 2:30 PM
Treasury Gardens
Treasury Gardens, a leafy, grand escape a short walk east; perfect for a post-lunch stroll.
Map - 7:30 PM
Ishizuka
A hushed basement counter for a seasonal kaiseki of many small courses; book well ahead.
Map - 9:30 PM
Embla
Embla, Melbourne's best natural-wine bar, a quick walk from Ishizuka; perfect nightcap before midnight.
Map
Day 2: CBD: Korean BBQ to Vue de monde
CHAM's Vietnamese café sets the tone, Mansae delivers a serious Korean BBQ lunch spread, and Vue de monde crowns the evening from its Rialto tower perch above the city grid.
- 9:30 AM
CHAM
Vietnamese coffee done properly: try the salted cream or egg coffee before heading up Swanston Street.
Map - 10:30 AM
State Library Victoria
Free: climb to the top balcony of the domed La Trobe Reading Room and look down on six storeys of desks.
Map - 12:30 PM
Mansae Korean BBQ - CBD QVM
Charcoal Korean barbecue cooked at the table; get the marinated short rib and the pork belly.
Map - 2:30 PM
Flagstaff Gardens
An old hilltop park on the CBD's west edge, big Moreton Bay figs and a lawn to lie on after lunch.
Map - 7:30 PM
Vue de monde
Tasting menu on level 55 of the Rialto, built on native Australian produce, with the whole city lit up below.
Map - 9:30 PM
Mitre Tavern
One of the CBD's oldest pubs, an 1860s bluestone house in a laneway off Queen Street.
Map
Day 3: Arcades, NGV and Flinders Lane
Higher Ground, Block Arcade's mosaic floors, Gimlet's impeccable Australian lunch and the NGV's national collection fill the day before Circl Wine House and a late pour on Flinders Lane close it out.
- 9:30 AM
Higher Ground
Breakfast under the soaring ceiling of an old power station on Little Bourke Street.
Map - 10:30 AM
Block Arcade
An 1890s arcade with mosaic floors and a glass roof; stop for tea at the Hopetoun Tea Rooms window.
Map - 12:30 PM
Gimlet
Gimlet is the main table of the day, the city's most celebrated room, impeccable Australian cooking, the obvious lunch.
Map - 2:30 PM
Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
Ian Potter Centre holds the finest collection of Australian art in the country, free, grand, and a short walk from Flinders.
Map - 7:30 PM
Circl Wine House
A wine-first dining room in the East End; let the sommelier pair the long list with a European menu.
Map - 10:00 PM
The Meatball & Wine Bar - Flinders Lane
The Meatball & Wine Bar on Flinders Lane, a lively late-night wine bar right in the East End to close the evening.
Map
Where to stay
Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto
A restored 1890s Collins Street wool store, next door to the Rialto tower and its level-55 Vue de monde.
Ovolo Laneways
Ovolo Laneways drops you into the East End laneways culture that runs through all three days, with design-forward rooms and a strong bar of its own for when you don't want the night to end.
Make Melbourne your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Melbourne Cricket Ground: weeks ahead
- St Kilda Pier: weeks ahead
- Great Ocean Road: weeks ahead
- Phillip Island Nature Parks - Penguin Parade: weeks ahead
- Royal Melbourne Golf Club: months ahead
- Kingston Heath Golf Club: months ahead
Skip these
- Rushed one day Great Ocean Road coaches listing 10 stops and general admission Penguin Parade viewing.
- Lygon Street restaurant spruikers, Eureka Skydeck as a must do, and Crown Casino as a night out in itself.
- Souvenir end of Queen Victoria Market and Docklands factory outlet shopping sold as local culture.
The full Melbourne travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around