thepinkginpassportMelbourne is a popular choice for a city break in Australia. While the likes of Europe are a day plus flight away, you get enjoy almost every country’s cuisine along with a European style nightlife (whereas Brisbane, Sydney and Perth it’s hard to find much going on once the sun goes down). This guide will help you decide where to go, what to see and importantly where to go for dinner and drinks.
Where to stay in Melbourne
I visited Melbourne towards the end of my backpacking trip. If on a backpacker budget I would recommend Space Hotel where I stayed. The facilities were super clean, amazing rooftop views and a very central location for taking public transport to other parts of the city. The only downside, is you are in the more “clinical” part of Melbourne. A bit like going to London and sating in Canary Wharf or the City. If I visited Melbourne again I would like to stay somewhere like Fitzroy or St Kilda to get more of a feel for the place. However, as I was going on day tours to Yarra Valley and Belgrave a central location saved me a lot of money on early morning cabs and trams
What to do in Melbourne
The first sight to see on my list was the State Library of Victoria. It was like that scene in Beauty and the Beast, where the Beast shows Belle the library. Very impressive to walk around and I used the study space to journal my trip so far.
Hop on one of Melbourne’s iconic trams over to St Kilda. Here I took a look at the famous Luna Park entrance (the theme park was shut on the day I was there) then did a coastal walk down to Brighton Beach which took around 1 hour.
Brighton Beach has bathing boxes coloured playfully and many were taking a dip in the beach itself. I then walked back to St Kilda for sunset to walk along the pier. While I didn’t see any penguins that you can spot coming back to shore, the views from the pier over to the city were quite spectacular.
If you have a spare few hours I recommend going to the Royal Botanic Gardens. They’re done really nicely, is free to enter and a great spot for a picnic.
Flinders Street Station is another iconic place to visit. If you’re doing any day trips you’ll likely be picked up or dropped off here so is a good chance to have a look around. You should also go to the original Flinders Street Photo Booth, a 1970’s black and white booth. It takes a good 5 to 10 minutes for your photos to develop and you’ll need to pay the $8 in coins but it was well worth it.
Across the road from Flinders Street Station is Hosier Lane which is covered in cool street art. There will be a few walking tours/school trips but midweek you should catch a quieter time.
How to get around Melbourne
You’ll need to get a Myki Card to take public transport around the city. You can buy the card itself and top it up at 7 Eleven (of which there are many). I did find this surprising, as Sydney has contactless payments across all transport and even Brisbane/Gold Coast offers contactless for all train journeys. However, 10 minutes of slight inconvenience makes it easier to get around the city. The fares are quite expensive especially travelling in the CBD. For example, it was cheaper for me to get the train to Belgrave than it was a return trip to the CBD from St Kilda.
Day trips from Melbourne
With cooler temperatures but still plenty of sunshine, the Australian states of Victoria and South Australia have some of the world’s best wines. I booked my trip to Yarra Valley through Get Your Guide which included 3 wine tastings, a gin tasting, a chocolate tasting and lunch. We met other girls on our tour so if you’re a solo traveller or just two of you you will make a few more friends when you’re 12 wines in if not before.
One of my favourite experiences on my trip in Australia was catching the Puffin Billy Train. A traditional steam engine train you get buy tickets for a return trip Belgrave to Lakeside. Getting to Belgrave from Melbourne Central takes around 1 hour but is a direct train and makes it so much cheaper than arranging a day tour through other agencies. I booked my Puffin Billy train ticket directly through their website but you do need to book weeks if not months in advance as it sells out. There is room for everyone to stick their legs out the side of the train as you go over high wooden stilts through the forest. I recommend sitting on the side closest to the platform (right hand side) so you get the iconic view first time round. Everyone on our carriage was pretty good by swapping sides on the return journey so those sitting on the other side got the iconic view on the way back. I recommend taking a picnic to enjoy in Lakeside as you only have an hour or two before the return journey.
Food and drinks in Melbourne
My personal experience was very hit and miss in Melbourne even getting a bout of food poisoning. However, there were some places that were amazing and made me realise why Melbourne has such a good reputation. All of the below I was recommended by friends who lived in Melbourne which is your best bet rather than looking at Google at the overwhelming amount of options:
Lune– this patisserie was so good I went back twice! I haven’t had a better croissant outside France and this place is definitely worth the queue you will see post 8am.
Zita’s Focaccia – I didn’t get a chance to visit myself but friends had recommended and it does look wonderful.
Her – options of two restaurants and a rooftop bar. We headed to the rooftop for cocktails and small plates from their Thai menu which was delicious. I loved the fact they had spicy margaritas and pineapple mojitos on tap. This is defiantly a girls girls bar- with even the plates looking like something from Barbie’s dream house. This was a wonderful way to finish a few action packed days in Melbourne.
