Melbourne — cultural capital. More European than Sydney; colder, denser, more about food and culture than harbour. Coffee obsession was born here in the 1950s; the laneway café culture is downstream.
Also the start of the Great Ocean Road.
Don’t miss: a footy game at the MCG (singularly Australian), the laneways on foot, Lune croissants, NGV (free), little penguins at St Kilda Pier at dusk.
Neighbourhoods
- CBD / laneways — Hosier Lane, Centre Place, Degraves Street. Walk
- Fitzroy & Collingwood — inner north, vintage, vinyl, bars
- Carlton — historic Italian. Lygon Street
- St Kilda — seaside, faded grandeur, little penguins at dusk
- South Yarra / Prahran — fancier, Chapel St
- Brunswick — current hipster heart
Coffee
- Patricia Coffee Brewers — CBD, standing-room espresso
- Market Lane — Prahran Market
- Seven Seeds — Carlton
- Auction Rooms — North Melbourne
- Proud Mary — Collingwood
- Industry Beans — Fitzroy
- St Ali — South Melbourne institution
Food
- Chin Chin — Thai, Flinders Lane, no reservations
- Cumulus Inc. — modern Australian
- Embla — wine bar / small plates
- Tipo 00 — pasta, CBD
- Lune Croissanterie — Fitzroy. Among the best croissants on earth, book ahead
- Supernormal — Asian, Flinders Lane
- Attica — three-hat fine dining
- Pellegrini’s — old-school Italian since 1954
- Brunetti — classic Italian pasticceria
Things to do
- NGV — biggest gallery in Australia, free
- Queen Victoria Market — 19th-c. market
- MCG — catch a cricket or AFL match. One of the great sporting cathedrals. A footy game = singularly Australian
- Trams everywhere — largest network in the world; the City Circle Tram is free
- Penguins at St Kilda Pier — at dusk, free
- Brighton Beach Boxes
Day trips
- Phillip Island — Penguin Parade, ~1.5hr
- Yarra Valley — wine, ~1hr
- Mornington Peninsula — beaches, wineries, hot springs
- Great Ocean Road — the big one
Practical
- myki card or tap card on trams/trains/buses
- Weather: famously fickle. “Four seasons in one day” is real. Pack layers
- Locals wear black
Where next
- Great Ocean Road — pick up a car, drive west to Adelaide
- Tasmania — fly or ferry
- Back to Sydney