Melbourne was not high on my list of places to see in Australia. I just hadn’t done a ton of research on it and not many people had told me “you have to go there”. Sydney, Great Barrier Reef (Port Douglas) and Ullru were high on the list. But Melbourne was just another big city in my mind – would it be all that different than seeing Sydney? Boy was I wrong. It is a vibrant city that has the feel of a European city. While this blog is about your first visit to Melbourne, for many it may be their only visit since it’s a long way to fly but definitely worth the trip.
Melbourne is an “outside” city – meaning you explore on foot and almost everything you want to do and see is outside. Walking along the Yarra River, you have a ton of options for dining outside and enjoying the nightlife. The city itself is like one big art installation with street art everywhere and some of the best art in hidden streets you have to find.
Day One
After breakfast, make your way to Federation Square. Walk around the area and enjoy people watching. One of the best parts of Melbourne is that it feels very relaxed. No rushing to see the next tourist attraction but rather an amazing city to just soak in the culture.
If you are interested in Australian Art, the Ian Potter Centre has some great options with over 25,000 works of art. If you prefer movies and TV, then a visit to the Australian Centre for Moving Images is also an option. Their permanent exhibition, Screen Worlds, is free and is a great way to hear more about the history of film.
From Federation Square, cross the street to Flinders Station, one of Melbourne’s most iconic locations. Explore the area and have a bite to eat.
From here we recommend you head over to the famous laneways for a guided tour like this one Melbourne Laneways Tour or this one Melbourne Street Art Tour. Tours like this give you all of the history of these 40+ laneways and a guide will take you to all the good ones and weed out the ones that aren’t as great. Of course, you can also find your way through the labyrinth but personally I wish I had done a tour. There are so many little shops, cafes and interesting art that you might find yourself staying here all afternoon. You may even find a nice place for afternoon tea. If you decide to wander the streets on your own, you can search for Hosier Lane, AC/DC Lane and Centre place to give you a good few highlights to hit. In addition, you could follow this map for sculptures in the area.
For dinner, take a stroll to China Town for some amazing dumplings. There are several places you can try. Or you could find a restaurant/bar to eat back along the Yarra River. Either way you will have a lovely evening.
Day Two
There are several day trips from Melbourne but the one that we recommend highly is the day trip to see the famous 12 Apostles. It’s a long day but you travel in comfort with a small tour group. Sure you could rent a car (if you don’t mind driving on the other side of the road) but you will miss out on all of the history. If you can do it, book it. We took this tour and would highly recommend it. There are many tour groups but after a lot of research and actually doing the tour itself, we recommend any that are in “reverse”. Meaning that you drive for a few hours in the morning to get to the 12 Apostles to beat the crowds. Other non-reverse groups get there much later after visiting some other locations first. You will either meet your tour guide at a designated location or they will do a hotel pickup. Either way you usually leave around 7am and won’t be back until about 7pm, so expect to be gone all day.
The 12 Apostles, formed by erosion (really we had a hard time getting to that number depending on how you count it – we got more) are limestone rocks off the Great Ocean Road. It’s one of the most beautiful sites I’ve seen. Our tour guide stopped at several locations including Gibson Steps to walk onto the beach and feel like you are just a small piece of this world as you look up at these major cliffs.
Most tours will also take you to Kennet River Koala Walk where you can try to spot the cute Koalas in the trees (we saw several) as well as other really cool birds.
Day Three
For us, it was our last day in Australia after a whirlwind two weeks so it was a final day to get ready for the trek back to America and just relax. We still needed some final shopping and went to the Queen Victoria Market. Lots of food, shopping and again just exploring the unique culture of Melbourne. We found aboriginal artwork that we have framed in our dining room today that reminds us everyday of this amazing country. Enjoy your last night along the Yarra River.
Check out my Australia Itinerary and Sydney Itinerary when you are planning your first trip.
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