What to do in Melbourne

Advice on what to do in Melbourne, including culture, relaxation, nightlife, sport and food.

Cultural attractions in Melbourne
There is much to be enjoyed at Australia's oldest art gallery, the National Gallery of Victoria, which combines classic masterworks by the likes of Picasso in the gallery's primary hub on St Kilda Road, with top Australian artists' works exhibited in the Ian Potter Centre.

There is a disarming experience in store for visitors to the Handspun Visual Theatre where adult puppet shows are created using innovative techniques to update traditional puppetry styles.

The National Trust-owned Como House gives visitors the opportunity to see how the well to do of the 19th century lived in a grand mansion surrounded by lush lawns and myriads of flowerbeds.

Relaxation in Melbourne
The Royal Botanic Gardens are considered by many to be one of the best in the world, with more than 50,000 plants and a wealth of natural wildlife that have made the gardens their home.

Cruises are available down the muddy river of Yarra, which has plenty of parks and walks along its banks for those who do not fancy riding the water.

Luna Park is St Kilda's famous amusement park, with classic entertainment for kids as well as a historic, heritage-listed rollercoaster for fairground ride buffs to admire (if any such people exist).

Healesville Sanctuary is well worth a visit for animal lovers who want to see wildlife that is indigenous and unique to Australia.

Nightlife in Melbourne

The effortlessly cool Cookie bar on Swanston Street is a chilled out and snazzy-feeling drinking den with high ceilings and a bar with almost any drink of your choosing.

Honkytonks is a special bar for those in the know – and in the know you need to be if you are going to find this sky-rise drinkerie. You have to weave through a maze of alleys and climb flight after flight of stairs to reap the rewards of finding this vine-clad bar and DJs playing their records on a grand piano.

Art house electro and short films are le plat du jour at Revolver, which is a world away from the cheesier excesses of Chapel Street.

Sport in Melbourne
Enjoy the rough and tumble of a game of Aussie Rules with the Melbourne FC at the AAMI Stadium.

A normal game of football can be caught with the Melbourne Knights, at Knights Stadium.

Between 15th and 28th January, the world's best tennis players descend on Melbourne for the Australian Open, held at Melbourne Park.

Recommended restaurants in Melbourne
Centro Cafe on Clarendon Street blends the old with the new for a fine menu of northern Italian cookery.

There is plenty of Oriental goodness to choose from in Melbourne's Chinatown, a choice picking being Fortune Village on Little Bourke Street.

For something that bit more refined, with seafood dishes involving aquarian delights such as squid ink linguine, try Lynch's Restaurant on Domain Street.