One of the most oft-asked questions for the doctor is a list of must-dos for a weekend trip to Melbourne.
When answering, I assume that most visitors are either aware of or have done the usual ‘touristy’ stuff. So here are my Melbourne Top 10 to do/eat/see suggestions which are slightly more hidden, in no particular order. Most of them I’ve reviewed before so you can find further info on the site.
1. Eat at Italy 1, MoVida Aqui, Cutler & Co, Grossi Florentino Grill, The European. You may need to book…
2. Wander down Centre Place, between Flinders Lane and Collins St then Degraves St. I recommend the almond chicken baguettes and crepes at Aix, the lunch food at Jungle Juice, Hell’s Kitchen for drinks, Body for subtle, Melbourne-esque clothing. Further on try Journal Cafe at the City Library or Journal Canteen (Rosa’s Kitchen) next door. Oh, and have a waffle at Waffle On for dessert.
3. Do the Characters and Spaces free guided walk, which covers a similar area to 2. You’ll appreciate new views of Melbourne that even the locals miss.
4. Do a free guided tour at NGV International. Guildford Lane has 2 independent galleries worth checking out – Utopian Slumps and Guildford Lane Gallery.
5. Shop at GPO, Flinders Lane, Lt Collins St, Brunswick St, Smith St, Gertrude St.
6. Walk in any of the parks. My favourite is Fawkner Park in South Yarra.
7. Poke around Queen Vic Markets (or any of Melbourne’s food markets), maybe buy some food for a night in.
8. See a movie at old-fashioned Astor in Windsor or The Sun in Yarraville. Lots of shopping/eating around those areas too – Windsor end of Chapel St in particular has great vintage and designer shops.
9. Have dinner one night along Southbank and ask for a table with a river view. I recommend Walter’s Wine Bar, Tutto Bene, Rockpool, Nobu, The Brasserie and Number 8. Also heard Bistro Guillaume is very good.
10. Lunch at St Kilda on a Sunday…Donovans and The Stokehouse are institutions by the water. Otherwise head to St Kilda East which is very cool and an eclectic Eastern European/Jewish area.
There’s so much more! What are your Melbourne must-dos for visitors?
thanks for this useful post! Although the food choice seems to be more skewed towards western / modern Australian dining. I have to find traditional Chinese / Cantonese restaurants for my inlaws coming soon!
Hi Akisa
That’s true – personally I wouldn’t be coming to Melbourne to eat Chinese/Cantonese food if you only had a weekend. Possible options – Tea House, Hutong Dumpling, Shark Fin? Otherwise I think Doncaster/Eastern suburbs way will have more authentic Chinese options.
Jetsetting Joyce
Centre Place in on my list too!
A couple of years ago, Michael and I put together our own “12 hours in Melbourne” tour here.
Hi Cindy
Thanks for the link and the ‘choose your own adventure’ style posts! You’re right Ceres and Sydney Road are pretty special, they’d go on my list if the visitors were foodies (and confident about using public transport to get out).
Jetsetting Joyce
Guillaume’s was great, sadly closed. Sarti’s is fantastic. Riverland on a summer’s day is pretty unbeatable, as is the view fr transit lounge at night – our nightline is not often seen from that angle. Coffee on a crate. Beer in section 8 or cocktails at murmur show off our alleys.
Hi Olivia
Yes you’re right! I had my post-wedding drinks at Transit, can’t believe I forgot to put it on the list. And yes for including some laneway bars.
Jetsetting Joyce
A couple of suggestions:
1. Accept that Melbourne is geographically boring before you get here (kind of implicit in what was posted .. eating, drinking and shopping are really the main pastimes on offer)
2. Make contact with the Yarra at some point (notwithstanding 1 above, its really the only geographical feature of note). There are a few options: Abbottsford Covenant, riding to the Covenant and onto Dights Falls and/or doing the capital city trail (a loop of around 20 odd K, but you can cut parts off). All else fail you can hire a blue tank, I mean bike, from various spots around the city (bring a helmet, possibly impractible I know, but..)
3. Go to the Mediterranean Wholesaler on Sydney Road just to look or stock up on dried meats and imported cheeses (beware the odd weekend hours tho)
Hi Hugh
Thanks for your comments. Yes, I have no idea what visitors do in Melbourne if they don’t like to eat! For foodies it’s more like there’s not enough meals in a day to fit in all the potential outings. Good idea re cycling to Abbotsford Convent too – it’s a lovely and easy stretch of the river and you can feel away from the city briefly. As for Mediterranean Wholesalers, I have yet to convince the Jetsetting Parents that it’s well worth a trip to Sydney Road to visit it – maybe next time.
Jetsetting Joyce
It’s posts like this that bring me back to your blog, it’s just such a great summary of to-do’s, but it looks like you suffer a similar problem I find about showing people around Melbourne – there’s just not enough meals in a day.
Seems most of your tips are eating related Joyce – mine would be the same probably!
Unfortunately, Bistro Guillaume has closed
I’m not sure if it’s permanent or just for renovations.
Hi Rachel
Gosh really? Guess we strike that one off the list. I never got to try it, sadly.
Jetsetting Joyce
I just came across this list, and this whole site actually- now making it my homepage! What a great list! My family visit from regional Victoria and my boyfriends family are from Singapore so visitors to Melbourne are always a great time to get out and take people to places you wish you had time to go to more often!
Some regular tour points for me are:
1. Park on Boathouse drive, near the boat sheds and walk along the Yarra and into the city – Great view of the city and pass some great visitor photo ops on the way (Arts Centre, Princes Bridge, Flinders Street Station, St Paul’s Cathedral, Fed Square).
2. The Latrobe Reading Room at the State Library – one of my favourite rooms in Melbourne.
3. Union Lane, off Bourke Street Mall – a laneway filled with amazing graffiti. One look at this laneway should change the minds of those who doubt graffiti is art and question its place in Melbourne’s culture!
I’m still finding my feet with great eateries in Melbourne, so your list was very helpful. I think I’ll be visiting this site regularly!
Hi Leonie
Thanks for your comment and your ideas – I have not done 1, 2 or 3 (though I guess I have cycled 1 since I go along the Yarra a lot)! So will make an effort to visit your recommendations.
Jetsetting Joyce
Well, thanks for giving fantastic ideas foe weekend trip. I wish all doctors like it.
Thanks for your post and giving wonderful ideas for a weekend trip!