Things to do in Melbourne
Gaze at Ned Kelly's death mask at the Old Melbourne Gaol and the city's skyline from the Eureka Skydeck 88. The National Gallery of Victoria at Federation Square in the city houses Australian art. Trams go to the Royal Botanic Gardens, and to local sports fans' favourite, the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Relax by the Yarra River at Abbotsford Convent. Museums are mostly free and open 10am-5pm.
Melbourne Museum
Aborigine culture
Melbourne Museum focuses on Victoria's natural environment and cultural
history. Eight galleries of permanent and temporary exhibitions include a
living rainforest and Aboriginal cultural centre. Pride of place goes to
racehorse Phar Lap and Evolution Gallery's dinosaur and whale skeletons.
Likened to a modern airport, this new building will take you both back in
time and give you a glimpse into the future.
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Cost
A$6; concessions and children free; additional charge for special exhibitions
Opening Hours
Daily 10am-5pm
Address
11, Nicholson St, Carlton, Melbourne 3054
Telephone
+ 61 (0) 3 8341 7777
Transport
Parliament Train Station or Tram: 86 or 96 to the museum and Royal Exhibition Building, or free City Circle Tram to Carlton Gardens.
Website
National Gallery of Victoria
Outstanding art collection
Australia's finest international art collection is showcased in Federation
Square's bright and spacious National Gallery of Victoria. View artists from
Rembrandt to Warhol plus Australian classics by Tom Roberts and Sidney
Nolan. Admire the waterwall and Great Hall's stained-glass ceiling.
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Cost
Free; special exhibitions charge
Opening Hours
Wed-Mon 10am-5pm
Address
180, St Kilda Road, Melbourne 3000
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 8620 2222
Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
History of Australian art
Australia's most comprehensive display of native art is housed in Federation
Square's Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. The collection traces the history
of Australian art from the Heidelberg School to today and features galleries
devoted to indigenous artworks.
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Cost
Free; special exhibitions A$10-A$15
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 10am-5pm
Address
Federation Square, Corner Russell and Flinders Streets, Melbourne 3000
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 8620 2222
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
Modern art
Melbourne's leading Australian Centre for Contemporary Art surprises and
impresses with its programme of commissioned artworks by local and
international artists. The rust-red modernist exterior is as striking as the
visual art inside this gallery in Southbank's arts precinct.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Tue-Fri 10am-5pm; Sat & Sun 11am-6pm
Address
111, Sturt Street, Southbank, Melbourne 3006
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 9697 9999
Melbourne Aquarium
Walk-through fishbowl
Home to Australia's biggest walk-through fishbowl, the educational and
entertaining Melbourne Aquarium in Flinders Street introduces visitors to
ocean, billabong and mangrove inhabitants. Sharks and stingrays swim with
creatures like cuttlefish, seadragons, luminous sea jellies, long-neck
turtles and hermit crabs.
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Cost
A$31.50; concessions A$19.50; children A$18
Opening Hours
Daily 9.30am-6pm (until 9pm 1-26 Jan)
Address
Corner Flinders Street and King Street, Melbourne 3000
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 9923 5999
Federation Square
Melbourne's meeting piazza
Melbourne waited 165 years for a city square and this undulating cobbled
piazza was worth the wait. A popular venue for events and celebrations,
Federation Square is a bold landmark and arts precinct, featuring
geometrical patterning in sandstone and glass.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Daily all day
Address
Corner Swanston and Flinders Streets, Melbourne 3000
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 9655 1900
Eureka Skydeck 88
Panoramic city views
Nothing can prepare you for the awe-inspiring city views from the Southern
Hemisphere's highest viewing platform, the Skydeck at 88 Eureka Tower on
Melbourne's Southbank. Don't miss the 'Edge Experience' - a glass cube that
slides out from the building.
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Cost
A$16.50; concessions A$11; 4-16s A$9. The Edge Experience costs an additional A$12; concessions A$10; 4-16s A$8
Opening Hours
Daily 10am-10pm (last entry 9.30pm)
Address
7 Riverside Quay, Southbank, Melbourne 3006
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 9693 8888
Transport
By Tram and Train: to Flinder's Street Station or Federation Square
Website
State Library of Victoria
Domed reading room
The city centre's imposing State Library of Victoria opened in 1856 and now
has 19 public spaces including restored heritage reading rooms, galleries
and exhibition areas. For relaxed browsing, there's the impressively-domed
La Trobe Reading Room and Newspaper Reading Room.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Daily 10am-6pm (until 9pm Mon-Thu)
Address
328, Swanston Street, Melbourne 3000
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 8664 7000
Old Melbourne Gaol
19th-century prison
Old Melbourne Gaol in the city centre operated from 1842 to 1929. The 136
people hanged here included legendary bushranger Ned Kelly in 1880, whose
death mask is on display. Entrance includes admission to the city watch
house and magistrates' court.
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Cost
A$20; concessions A$16; children A$11
Opening Hours
Daily 9.30am-5pm
Address
Russell Street, Melbourne 3000
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 8663 7228
Royal Botanic Gardens
Victorian-era gardens
South Yarra's Royal Botanic Gardens are a textbook example of 19th-century
picturesque landscaping, with vistas at every turn. The exotic mix of
temperate and tropical plants, meandering pathways and ornamental lakes
provides a haven for native wildlife and city dwellers.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Daily 7.30am-sunsetTropical Display: daily 10am-4pm
Address
Birdwood Ave, South Yarra, Melbourne 3141
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 9252 2300
Como Historic House & Garden
Colonial mansion
Como Historic House & Garden was the home of an elite colonial family
for almost a century. Protected by the National Trust, the South Yarra
mansion is noted for its iron-lacework verandas, period furnishings and
landscaped grounds. There are guided tours only.
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Cost
A$12; concessions A$9; children A$6.50
Opening Hours
Daily 10am-4pm
Address
Corner Williams Road & Lechlade Avenue, South Yarra, Melbourne 3141
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 9827 2500
Capital City Trail
Cycle the city
Cycling through the city on the Capital City Trail is a great way to see the
sights. Hire a bike at Docklands and make your way to Southbank, the MCG or
zoo. Follow signs bearing the Capital City Trail logo.
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Cost
Free (cycle day hire A$35; family A$90)
Opening Hours
Daily 10am-5pm
Address
Vault 14, Federation Wharf, Riverside @ Federation Square, Melbourne 3000
Telephone
+61 (0) 417 339 203
Melbourne Cricket Ground
Football and cricket venue
Melburnians take their football and cricket seriously, and this Richmond
sporting venue is hallowed ground. The National Sports Museum is here, and
tours on non-event days include coaches' boxes, players' changing rooms and
a walk on Melbourne cricket ground itself.
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Cost
Tours A$15; concessions A$11
Opening Hours
Tours daily 10am-3pm
Address
Brunton Avenue, Richmond, Melbourne 3121
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 9657 8888
Hot-air Balloon Flight
Dawn ballooning over Melbourne
Melbourne comes to life on a hot-air balloon flight at dawn. You'll get a new
perspective on landmarks like Federation Square and Southbank, and see how
far the suburbs sprawl. Trips include a gourmet champagne breakfast with
your pilot.
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Cost
A$330
Opening Hours
Daily an hour before dawn
Address
Birdwood Avenue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne 3004
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 9427 0088
Abbotsford Convent
Riverside arts precinct
The former Abbotsford Convent of the Good Shepherd has been transformed into
a vibrant arts precinct overlooking the Yarra. Bordered by Collingwood
Children's Farm, the precinct includes heritage gardens and medieval-style
buildings. Tours, markets and on-site cafés complete the experience.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Daily 7.30am-10pm
Address
1, St Heliers Street, Abbotsford, Melbourne 3067
Telephone
+61 (0) 3 9415 3600
