1. Walk round Fitzroy
We’re staying in Fitzroy, an older, elegant part of Melbourne, with some beautiful old buildings. We are enjoying staying in the Cairo building, Art Deco, built in 1936, with a bunch of interesting shops, restaurants and street art around. There’s also a tram stop right outside, and the Melbourne Museum across the road, what a great location!
As well as the fun street art, this area has some quaint cottages, and some incredible buildings with overhangs and balconies and intricate wrought-ironwork, that remind me of New Orleans or Havana, Cuba.
2. Lively, modern CBD
There’s such a contrast between the quiet elegance of crumbling Fitzroy and the modern architecture of the CBD, with a plethora of shopping arcades and the “Lanes” full of locals and visitors eyeing up the goodies for sale!
At night, central Melbourne is magically sparkling, with many great restaurants to choose from. I always think there’s something special about a city on a river 🙂
The city of Melbourne has also seen fit to have the trams in the central and docklands area be FREE, yes totally FREE! This alone is a great reason to visit 🙂
3. Vibrant Chinatown
Compared to the Chinatowns in many cities, Melbourne’s is quite small, but this is definitely the place to come for a different vibe, and a HUGE choice of restaurants!
4. Melbourne Museum
The Melbourne Museum is very large, and would take many visits to really do it justice. The exhibits range from dinosaurs, through natural history, modern culture, and history of the First Peoples. There’s an interesting section with indigenous art on display.
5. Night Market
The Queen Victoria Market is a fun place to visit at any time, but in the evenings it really comes alive! Full of stalls with practically every variety of food you can think of, entertainers, arts and crafts… whatever you’re looking for, you’re sure to find it here! We enjoyed some beautiful buildings on the walk there. Oh and trees with colourful woolly trunk warmers…
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I’ve heard Melbourne is the place to visit, and if it comes down to a choice between Sydney and Melbourne, make it Melbourne. I can see why. The idea of roaming the streets of Fitzroy, visiting the night market and looking out for the yarn-bombed trees is very appealing.
Hi Anne, thanks for reading and commenting! I must say I enjoyed Sydney just as much – don’t make me choose between the two cities!
cheers, Danila