Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, the capital of the state of Victoria, the cultural centre of the country and one great city to explore. Nestled along the banks of the Yarra River as it meets the ocean at Phillip Bay, Melbourne is a wonderfully colourful city to discover with its street trams, unique modern and turn of the century architecture, endless shopping options and friendly people. Here we settled in for an extended stay to really get into the feel of Melbourne and find the real heart of this cosmopolitan city.

Views of Melbourne

The city core of Melbourne is built along a simple grid like pattern but it is a real gem to explore with hidden laneways, magnificent architecture and endless shopping possibilities. The main street through town Swanston Street is lined with wonderful art deco inspired buildings, modern sky scrapers and traditional turn of the century Australian store fronts, making for a very unique streetscape. At the one end is the magnificent State Library of Victoria with the spectacular domed La Trobe Reading Room, and at the other is the ochre colour Flinders Street Railway Station and modern architecture of Federation Square. And the main shopping mall of Bourke Street was lined with stunning art deco buildings decorated for the Christmas season and a buzz with Christmas shoppers. And beyond the main roads are countless small laneways and arcades with small cafes and unique shops, making exploring this city a real treat.

Flinders Street Railway Station

We of course took in several of the impressive museums in Melbourne. Most notably is the National Gallery of Victoria, which is an incredible collection of art from early European to modern, rivalling the collections of major museums of Europe. Laurence was in his glory taking in works by Reynolds, Gainsborough, Picasso and van Gogh, this truly was an unexpected find in this country. We also took in galleries at Federation Square, the Modern Art Gallery, Melbourne Museum and several small independent galleries throughout the city. In keeping with the enjoying the culture of the city we also took in two wonderful plays, Hairspray and Mary Poppins at historical theatres in the city centre.

National Gallery of Victoria

Melbourne Museum

As it is spring time here we were able to enjoy the wonderful spring flowers throughout this very green city. From the rolling hills of the Kings Domain to the flowers of the Botanical Gardens to the grandeur of the trees of the Fitzroy Gardens, there is a lot of green space to escape to in this city.

Fitzroy Gardens

 Botanical Gardens

But most notably about this city is that it is a collection of smaller neighbourhoods each with its unique style and flare. We toured the Italian neighbourhood of Lygon Street, lines with wonderful pasta eateries, to Brunswick Street with its offbeat secondhand stores and tattoo shops, to the posh shopping along Chapel Street. And we of course caught the street tram to the seaside community of St Kilda and strolled along the beach and boardwalk of Phillip Bay.

St. Kilda Park

Melbourne was a wonderful city to spend time in, we really got to know the neighbourhoods, meet the very friendly locals and take in all this city has to offer. We are definitely coming back here.