Travel Guide: Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne, while beautiful has some of the craziest weather I have ever experienced. You can literally experience all four seasons in a day at any time of the year. Unfortunately, I was there in the winter and did NOT bring winter weather clothes haha. Despite being very cold, I hate a great trip with my friends and to this day, we still talk about how amazing the trip was.

What to do:

I think the best part of visiting Melbourne was road tripping the Great Ocean Road. It is incredibly scenic and beautiful and very popular. There are a lot of stops you can make along the way, including The Twelve Apostles, Cape Patton, Great Otway National Park, and more! We were a bit limited on time, but I would have loved a few days to really stop and explore and stay the night along the way, so if you have a chance, plan accordingly.

There is a lot of walking and scenic spots to visit in Melbourne. Fortunately, they have a pretty good public transport system so be sure to utilize that. If you love shopping and want some souvenirs, be sure to check out the Queen Victoria Market and if you like high end, check out Collins Street (which was window shopping only for us lol). Also check out Hozier Lane for beautiful street art and more shopping and food.

It is incredibly touristy, but if you go at the right time, the Eureka Sky Deck is an incredible view of the city. Or so I’ve been told since it was cloudy the entire time we were there lol.

St. Kilda Beach is famous for its beauty and its pier. Despite being super chilly, I loved checking it out and we got some great lunch while here. If you are willing to travel a bit outside of the city, check out Brighton Beach and the very colorful bathing boxes.

If you like relaxing strolls and time to sit and people watch and chill, check out the Botanical Gardens or the Fitzroy Gardens. This is one of my favorite thing to do while travelling, just bring a blanket and pop a squat on the grass for a relaxing afternoon.

Melbourne also has a lot of very cool, very old buildings that have become museums or popular spots to visit. This includes St. Paul’s Cathedral, State Victoria Library, Old Melbourne Goal, Shrine of Remembrance, and more. Melbourne also is home to the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum, and more.

I absolutely loved Fed Square and the artsy, cultural hub vibe. Art, cafes, bars, and loads of free public events, you really can’t go wrong.

Lets get to a very important part of visiting Melbourne, the Night Life! I was living in Sydney before this so I was so used to the Lock Out Laws. Coming to Melbourne was so fun and exciting and I forgot what it was like to literally party all night. There are so many different types of bars and clubs that cater to everyone. Check out this guide to night life.

There are loads of day trips you can take from Melbourne if you have the time. We only did one, which was to Phillips Island to see Penguin Parade. Was it totally worth it? Maybe not, but it was very cool to see Penguins not in captivity. Wear warm clothes because I was FREEZING being right next to the ocean, late at night, in the winter.

Conclusion:

If you ever have the chance to visit Melbourne, DO IT! It was such a fun city with SO MUCH to do. We were only here for 4 or 5 days and it was jam packed. I would have loved to literally spend 3 weeks here and still probably wouldn’t have experienced everything I wanted to. Also, if you are wimpy to cold weather like me, I would maybe plan your trip not in the dead of winter haha.

Thanks for reading!