Things to do
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Federation Square
Angular zinc and sandstone blocks on a raised plaza face Flinders Street Station across the road, and the square functions as the city's meeting point and its screen for live broadcasts. The Ian Potter Centre inside holds Australian art, and ACMI covers film and video games. Free events run on many weekends. The design still divides opinion, which is part of the appeal.
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Great Ocean Road
Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, this coastal highway runs southwest from Torquay past surf breaks, rainforest and limestone cliffs. Driving it as a return trip from the city makes for a very long day, while a night in Apollo Bay or Port Campbell opens up the walks and the koalas at Kennett River. Traffic crawls in summer and the road is winding.
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Hosier Lane
Stencil work and aerosol murals cover every surface of this bluestone lane off Flinders Street, repainted so often that a photograph dates within weeks. Artists work in the open and the lane stays a through route for pedestrians, with bars at the far end. It takes minutes to walk and much longer to look, and mid morning gives the best light.
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Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sport in this city runs through the MCG, a hundred thousand seat bowl in Yarra Park that hosts Australian rules football through winter and the Boxing Day test each December. Tours go into the rooms and onto the turf on non event days, and the National Sports Museum sits inside. Tickets for an ordinary home and away football match are easy to come by.
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National Gallery of Victoria
Behind a water wall on St Kilda Road, the international collection fills a bluestone building by Roy Grounds, with a stained glass ceiling by Leonard French over the great hall. Old masters, Asian textiles and contemporary installation share the floors. General entry is free and major exhibitions are ticketed. The summer architecture commission in the garden repays the walk through.
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Phillip Island
Ninety minutes southeast by car, this island is known for the penguin parade at Summerland Beach, where little penguins cross the sand after sunset under floodlights and ranger commentary. Cameras are banned outright. A motorcycle grand prix circuit, a koala reserve and the Nobbies boardwalk above a fur seal colony fill the rest of it. Book the parade ahead in summer and dress for wind.
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Queen Victoria Market
Sheds of produce, meat and delicatessen stalls have traded on this block since 1878, covering a corner of the grid north of the centre. Mornings are for shopping, and the summer night market turns the sheds over to food stalls and music. It closes on Mondays and Wednesdays. The deli hall empties by mid afternoon, so early arrivals get the pick of it.
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Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria
Lawns and lakes spread across the south bank of the Yarra, planted from 1846 and now holding a fern gully, a rainforest walk and an Aboriginal heritage tour led by Wurundjeri guides. Runners use the Tan track around the perimeter. Entry is free, the visitor centre sells maps, and a hot afternoon passes far more easily here than in the city grid.
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St Kilda
Bayside suburb a tram ride south of the centre, with a pier, a wooden rollercoaster at Luna Park and a strip of cake shops along Acland Street left by Jewish immigrants. Little penguins come ashore on the breakwater at dusk while volunteers keep watch. Sunsets over Port Phillip Bay draw a crowd, and the water is calm, with no surf to speak of.
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Twelve Apostles
Limestone stacks stand offshore in Port Campbell National Park, cut from the cliffs by the Southern Ocean and reached through a tunnel under the highway from the car park. Fewer remain than the name suggests, and another collapsed in 2005. Sunrise and sunset carry the colour, and helicopters run from the same site. Gibson Steps nearby leads down onto the beach itself.