Melbourne travel guide
Where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Things to do in Melbourne, planned over three days
Best time to visit Melbourne
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Summer peak sport and peak prices, long evenings, rooftop bars, Boxing Day Test and Australian Open.
Autumn sweet spot, mild and stable, Grand Prix, Food and Wine, Comedy Festival and AFL opening.
Winter off peak, cosy and cheapest, RISING, Winter Masterpieces, MIFF and earlier penguins.
Spring second sweet spot, AFL Finals and Grand Final, Fringe, and Spring Racing Carnival to Melbourne Cup.
What's on
- Australian Open mid-late Jan
The city's biggest visitor event, tennis plus festival atmosphere, book months ahead.
- Boxing Day Test 26-30 Dec
Cricket at a full MCG.
- Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix March
Four days of racing and concerts at Albert Park, citywide price spike.
- Melbourne Food & Wine Festival Mar
The food city's showcase festival.
- Melbourne International Comedy Festival late Mar-Apr
One of the world's largest comedy festivals, hundreds of cheap shows nightly.
- RISING Jun
Winter light, music and food festival that makes winter worth choosing.
- Melbourne International Film Festival Aug
Australia's premier film festival, known as MIFF.
- AFL Grand Final late Sep
Melbourne's biggest single sporting day at the MCG.
- Melbourne Fringe Oct
Independent arts across the inner north.
- Melbourne Cup first Tue in Nov, 3 Nov 2026
Spring Racing Carnival highlight at Flemington, a Victorian public holiday.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Melbourne
National Gallery of Victoria
Australia's oldest gallery with a free permanent collection, water wall and major winter blockbusters.
Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
The Australian collection home, including colonial, modern and a major First Peoples collection.
Hosier Lane
Ever changing street art lane that anchors a wider network of lanes, arcades and hidden cafes.
Melbourne Cricket Ground
100000 seat home of AFL and cricket, best experienced on a match day or via tour and sports museum.
Queen Victoria Market
Historic two block market for produce, deli halls, boreks, food trucks and night markets.
State Library of Victoria
Free library centred on the vast domed La Trobe Reading Room, with Ned Kelly armour in the same building.
Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne
36 hectares of lawns, lakes and forest walks beside the Yarra, ideal for picnics and The Tan run.
Shrine of Remembrance
War memorial with a museum underneath and the city's best free skyline view from its balcony.
Where to stay in Melbourne
CBD east end
first trip, all-round base
Walk to laneways, theatres, Federation Square and NGV, inside the Free Tram Zone.
Southbank
views, arts precinct and easy luxury
NGV, Arts Centre and the Yarra promenade on the doorstep, CBD a five minute walk over the bridge.
Fitzroy
food, bars, live music and local life
Brunswick and Gertrude Street energy with Melbourne's best casual dining, 15 minutes to the CBD.
Carlton
quieter, leafy, university and Italian base
Lygon Street, Melbourne Museum and Carlton Gardens, a short walk or tram to the CBD.
South Yarra / Prahran
couples, shopping and a polished local base
Chapel Street boutiques, Prahran Market and the Botanic Gardens, about 15 minutes to the CBD.
Think twice about
- Flinders Street and Elizabeth Street corner
Most visible rough sleeping, begging and street drug use in the CBD. Stay east of Swanston instead.
- King Street, CBD
Nightclub and strip club strip flagged as violence prone late at night. Avoid as a base or route home at 2am.
- St Kilda Fitzroy Street and Grey Street pocket
Persistent reporting of open drug use and safety concerns at night. Visit St Kilda, base elsewhere for quiet or family stays.
- North Richmond Victoria Street
Open illicit drug trade around the supervised injecting facility area. Eat in Richmond, do not base on this strip.
Best restaurants in Melbourne
Attica
Australia's defining tasting menu using native ingredients at the highest technical level.
Gimlet at Cavendish House
Wood fired grand bistro in a 1920s building, the best one big night in the CBD.
Cutler & Co.
Precise produce led fine dining in Fitzroy, with a Sunday lunch that is a local institution.
Minamishima
14 seat sushi counter considered by most critics the best sushi counter in Australia.
Flower Drum
White tablecloth Cantonese institution since 1975, famous for Peking duck and banquets.
Supernormal
Pan Asian sharing room on Flinders Lane, known for dumplings, raw fish and its lobster roll.
Chin Chin
Loud, fun modern Thai with share plates and a permanent queue, best early or late.
Embla
Wood fired wine bar cooking with natural leaning wines and counter seats ideal for solo diners.
Best bars in Melbourne
Eau de Vie
Theatrical speakeasy in Malthouse Lane known for creative cocktails.
The Everleigh
Upstairs Fitzroy bar focused on classic cocktails in a refined room.
Beneath Driver Lane
Basement vault bar pairing blues music with whisky.
Rooftop Cinema
Summer rooftop cinema and bar at Curtin House, the warm weather version of a bar crawl.
Bar Liberty
Fitzroy wine bar from the Embla team, with bar seats that suit solo dinners.
HER
Multi level CBD venue with a rooftop bar, an easy after-dinner drink.
Bar Margaux
Late French basement bar in the CBD for after dinner drinks.
Best coffee in Melbourne
Proud Mary
Specialty coffee bar and roaster in Collingwood for a flat white or a Magic, Melbourne's own double ristretto order.
Market Lane Coffee
Specialty coffee bar with sites at markets and the CBD, a local morning ritual pick.
Industry Beans
Fitzroy specialty coffee roaster and cafe on Brunswick Street, ideal for a slow morning.
Outdoor things to do in Melbourne
Great Ocean Road
228 km cliff coast drive to the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, best done small group or overnight.
Phillip Island Nature Parks - Penguin Parade
Little penguins come ashore at dusk, with Penguins Plus giving a much closer view than general admission.
Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Sandbelt flagship ranked number one in Australia, with limited visitor access arranged well ahead.
Kingston Heath Golf Club
Sandbelt course ranked number two in Australia for conditioning, accessed via advance visitor arrangements.
Peninsula Hot Springs
Geothermal pools in bushland with a hilltop pool, book bathing ahead especially on weekends.
The Dunes Golf Links
Public access links style Peninsula course used as an accessible alternative to private Sandbelt golf.
St Andrews Beach Golf Course
Public access Tom Doak links course among the Peninsula's dunes and tea tree, a cheaper alternative to the Sandbelt.
Moonah Links
Peninsula golf resort with two courses, an easy stay and play on a Peninsula loop.
Best hotels in Melbourne
Park Hyatt Melbourne
Cathedral and Fitzroy Gardens outlook hotel on the East Melbourne edge of the CBD.
The Westin Melbourne
Collins Street luxury hotel at the quiet east end of the CBD, a walk to the theatres and Fitzroy Gardens.
QT Melbourne
Design hotel on Russell Street in the CBD.
Adelphi Hotel
Small design hotel on Flinders Lane with a rooftop pool.
W Melbourne
Design led hotel on Flinders Lane with indoor pool and Curious bar.
Space Hotel
Budget hostel hotel on Russell Street with rooftop and cinema perks.
The Langham, Melbourne
Riverside luxury hotel on Southbank with a big spa and a short walk over the bridge to the CBD.
Crown Towers
Luxury casino hotel splurge on Southbank.
Is Melbourne expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | A$150 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | A$295 a person |
| Splurge | A$600 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to 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
- Peninsula Hot Springs: weeks ahead
- The Dunes Golf Links: weeks ahead
- Attica books 2 to 3 months ahead. Minamishima and Gimlet book as soon as reservations open.
- Penguins Plus, Peninsula Hot Springs weekends, Puffing Billy in holidays and small group Great Ocean Road tours sell out.
- Sandbelt golf visitor times need enquiries weeks to months ahead, before booking flights if golf is the purpose.
Is Melbourne safe?
- Low violent crime for visitors, with late night alcohol risks around King Street and major event crowds.
- UV is fierce in summer and evenings can drop 10 degrees fast. Carry sunscreen and a layer.
- Swim between flags at patrolled bay beaches and use patrolled beaches or lessons for ocean surf.
- Emergency number is 000. Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Melbourne travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- 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.
Getting around Melbourne: public transport and more
- Trams are free in the CBD Free Tram Zone. Outside it tap on with a myki card, or a contactless bank card or phone where the new readers take it.
- Flinders Street and Southern Cross are the train hubs. There is no train to Melbourne Airport, use SkyBus or rideshare.
Who Melbourne suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
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.
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