Trip to Melbourne
Visiting Melbourne is recommended for many reasons; it is a large and beautiful city with many interesting sites in the city itself and its surroundings, as you will read in this article.
I have visited it several times to travel in and around it, to watch the tennis matches at the Australian Open, and I also combined a trip along the Great Ocean Road, which you can read about in my article: Great Ocean Road.
Recommended Centrally Located Hotels in Melbourne:
5-Star Hotels
Melbourne Marriott Hotel
A 5-star hotel in the heart of downtown, featuring a pool, sauna, gym, and restaurant.
The Langham Melbourne
A 5-star hotel in the heart of the city on the riverbank. Indoor pool, spa, sauna, and gym.
Sofitel Melbourne On Collins
A 5-star quality hotel in the city center, a 5-minute walk from Federation Square. Rooms feature floor-to-ceiling glass windows with panoramic views of the bay or park.
Crown Towers
A 5-star hotel in the city center on the south bank of the river. Spacious rooms, large windows with views, and guests have access to the adjoining complex of shops, bars, restaurants, and casino. Gym, indoor pool.
4-Star Hotels:
Travelodge Southbank
A 4-star hotel in the city center on the south bank of the river. Rooms include a kitchenette and dining area.
City Tempo Melbourne CBD
A 4-star hotel in the city center. Kitchenette with refrigerator, stovetop, and dishwasher.
Apartment Hotels:
Harbour Escape Apartments
A 4.5-star quality apartment hotel, near the stadium and Victoria Market. Includes an on-site restaurant and bar. Rooms feature a full kitchen, dining table, and balcony.
Melbourne Holiday Apartments
Flinders Wharf
A riverside hotel with beautiful views, adjacent to Etihad Stadium. A 10-minute walk from the convention center and aquarium. Features a full kitchen and washing machine.
Quay West Suites Melbourne
A 5-star suite hotel in the city center next to the Southbank Promenade along the river. Apartments are available with full kitchens or kitchenettes. Indoor pool, gym, spa, sauna.
Tours and Attractions in Melbourne
You can explore the city independently, but I recommend taking guided tours, at least in the beginning, to get your bearings as quickly as possible and get valuable information from a local guide. Here are several recommended guided tours in Melbourne that you can book here through Viator:
City Center Tour, Tennis Center Stadiums Tour, Museum Visit, and Ending with a Theater Show
On Saturday morning, we went for a walking tour through the city center streets to feel its atmosphere. The weather was excellent, 24 degrees. We walked around Federation Square and its surroundings:
Afterwards, we headed to the Australian Open Tennis Center to take a behind-the-scenes guided tour. The route passes along the river, on a beautiful promenade.
♦ Car rental from the reliable and convenient Booking site: Booking.com
We booked a tour starting at 11:30 AM and waited for the guide. We waited and waited, but who didn't show up? The guide. They couldn't find him, even by phone. We naturally complained at the ticket office, but they said they weren't responsible for the tour, though they agreed to refund our money and also gave us a free entrance ticket for the next 1-hour tour (if the guide shows up...). We used the remaining hour until the next tour to walk through the adjacent gardens, which feature a music performance amphitheater, the Music Bowl, and next to it, the Shrine of Remembrance honoring Australia's war fallen across generations.
The shrine is large and impressive, offering a beautiful view of Melbourne on this sunny day. We went inside the shrine and saw its high, impressive ceiling and the soldier statues inside. There was also a wall for medals and decorations awarded to the soldiers.
We returned to the tennis center and arrived right at one o'clock. This time a guide arrived, a Greek-Australian woman. We started the tour at the main stadium, named after the Australian former tennis player, Rod Laver. This is a covered stadium with a retractable roof, holding about 15,000 seats. There is another stadium on site of similar size, which is also covered (today called HiSense, formerly Vodafone). In this regard, Australians deserve praise, because out of seven covered stadiums of this size in the world, three are in Australia! There is no covered stadium in case of rain at Wimbledon, the US Open in New York, or Roland Garros in Paris. There, when it rains, all matches are stopped, and it rains quite often there.
First, we were taken into the interview room where players are interviewed for television.
We were shown a movie describing the bustling activity during competitions and all the processes and stages players and journalists go through. At the end of the short film, we could take pictures in the interviewee's chair of honor.
From there, you continue through the behind-the-scenes mazes to places only players are allowed to go: the men's locker rooms, showers, and restrooms. Men are not allowed to visit the women's locker room area, but women who are invited are allowed to visit the men's locker rooms.
The guide tells all kinds of interesting tidbits about the various players, and then you head down to the court surface along the path the players walk. You do this through the Corridor of Champions, whose walls display large pictures of all past tournament champions.
In one of the corners, you can see the trophies received by the players who win the competition.
We took the elevator up to the private boxes, which cost a fortune. For the finals day, a single box with twenty seats costs 60,000 dollars, not including refreshments (how money flies when you're having fun...).
We also received a bonus: a tour of the smaller stadium, Margaret Court Arena, which is the third largest in the complex.
This is a must-do tour for any tennis fan visiting Melbourne.
After the tennis tour, we continued walking through the nearby Queen Victoria Gardens and saw the floral clock.
We went to visit the NGV Museum (National Gallery of Victoria) in its international section, where we saw artworks and paintings from different periods and nations.
After that, we took a short tour of the Arts Centre and passed through Federation Square, where they were broadcasting a wheelchair basketball game on a giant screen. During the Australian Open, they broadcasted the tennis matches on this screen, and a large crowd gathered in the plaza.
We continued toward the Marriott Hotel and went into an Indian/Bangladeshi restaurant nearby that had a special offer for Ramadan: ten delicacies for ten dollars. We joined the Ramadan promotion.
Afterward, we returned to the hotel to rest so we would be refreshed for the evening show we were attending called Wicked at the Regent Theatre, which was close to us downtown.
For those interested in watching a show or musical, Melbourne is the place for it; it is considered the cultural capital of Australia. A very good website for purchasing tickets to shows, sports events, and various activities is: Viator.
The show/musical we chose, Wicked, is based on the story of The Wizard of Oz, about a girl born to the wizard from a love affair he had with the governor's wife.
In the waiting hall inside the theater, spectators drank a delicious green cocktail before the show in a glass lit with a flashing green light (for an additional fee); the glasses were kept as souvenirs. We bought a program. We sat on the side in a row fairly close to the center of the auditorium and had a really good view. The show was engaging throughout. The set design and costumes were beautiful, and the songs were pleasant and clear. Highly recommended.
Trip to St Kilda, Chinatown, and Going Up an Observation Tower
From the hotel, we drove in the rental car (you can also use public transportation) to explore the St Kilda neighborhood, located about a ten-minute drive southeast of the city.
St Kilda Beach:
We parked in the indoor parking lot of the pool near the beach and set out to find a restaurant for breakfast.
In St Kilda on Sundays (today), along the seaside street, there is a mobile market of stalls with pictures, souvenirs, jewelry, and various other finds.
There is also a rather old amusement park (Luna Park) there. The place is also known for its cafes and especially for its variety of bakeries and pastry shops.
On the busy main street, there is a pastry shop every few meters with a tempting variety of cakes. We went into one of the restaurants to have breakfast, a rather laid-back style place.
After breakfast, we continued along the same street and saw a restaurant with white, milk, and dark chocolate fountains serving a mug of warm liquid chocolate alongside churros sticks for dipping into the chocolate. Even though we had just finished breakfast, we couldn't resist and went in to eat chocolate with churros—woohoo, how delicious it was! For those interested in the address and many other branches in Australia, the chain is called: Chocolateria - San Churro .
We walked to the end of the main street and continued strolling through adjacent streets where we saw residential houses, mostly old and single-story—a complete contrast to downtown Melbourne. We walked only briefly near the coastline and pier because a strong wind was blowing.
We passed by the market stalls and admired some of the displays there.
Afterward, we drove back to downtown and went for a walk toward the Melbourne Museum and the adjacent IMAX. We passed by the beautiful Royal Exhibition Building, then continued toward Parliament House, the city's historical museum, the Kennedy Memorial, and Fitzroy Gardens with its beautiful conservatory full of blooming flowers that smelled so wonderful.
Next to the conservatory is the cottage of the famous explorer, Captain Cook, who stood at the entrance receiving guests (his statue, of course). You can take a tour of the home and garden for a modest fee.
From here, we returned to Chinatown, whose main street is Little Bourke Street; this time, we ate at a Japanese restaurant instead. We ordered rice with curry meat and vegetable tempura, including some unidentified sushi samples. For dessert, we received green tea ice cream topped with red beans! Yuck.
You can join a 2-hour guided tour of Chinatown starting from the Museum of Chinese Australian History.
A good viewpoint over the city is available from the building Eureka Skydeck 88.
In the evening, those who wish can also spend time at Melbourne's Crown Casino.
Victoria Market, Old Melbourne Gaol, Fitzroy District
Of course, shopping enthusiasts are recommended to visit Melbourne's most famous market, Queen Victoria Market, a great place to buy souvenirs at reasonable prices. Please note that the market is not open every day and closes early at 2:00 PM, so it is advisable to go early in the day.
An entertaining and interesting experience is a tour of the Old Melbourne Gaol. At the site, you can take a self-guided tour combined with a guided experience, where you temporarily become prisoners and learn firsthand about prisoner life in early Australia.
It is also interesting to wander through the bohemian Fitzroy district, drink coffee, or grab a bite while watching the diverse human scenery. Brunswick St in this district is the most vibrant street in the city, offering a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and fascinating people-watching.
Further along the trip, you can choose from the following destinations the city has to offer:
You can join a free tour of Melbourne's historical city hall (must be booked in advance), or another option: a tour of the ornate and impressive Parliament House of Victoria. It is also worth visiting Melbourne's large and impressive church, St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Another article about another wonderful day trip worth taking is:
Phillip Island – An Experience of Penguins, Seals, and Koalas.
Although this trip is not in Melbourne itself, a visit to Melbourne is not complete without traveling to neighboring Phillip Island.
♦ Booking from Viator:
Phillip
Island Penguins & Wildlife Day Tour from Melbourne
Includes hotel pickup and drop-off at central hotels. Lasts 12 hours.
