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Published: January 5th 2009
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Melbourne from Southbank
I took this last year. You can see the dome of Flinders Street Station on the left. Okay, so I don't know if you can really write a travel blog for the place you grew up in but what the heck, it's a start.
The People People in Melbourne are generally pretty easy going. You'll find all kinds of people here. It's common place to see any number of goth's or emo's hanging around Flinders Street station for example, and nobody bats an eyelid. It's easy to get help when you need it and it's also generally pretty safe. (I walked from one end of the city to the other at 1am alone dressed in nightclub clothes and nobody bothered me at all. Not to say you should try it also, but our scum element isn't as easy to find as it can be in some cities). That said, we do have a few resident homeless people who will still ask for money. I give it to those who are selling drawings or The Big Issue (at least they're trying to
do something) but it's up to you really.
The Culture We Melbournians love our funky boutiques for awesome (though sometimes pricey) shopping and of course stopping regularly for good coffee (the milky kind!). There's any
Melbourne Skycrapers
We have some fabulous shapes in our city if you like taking photo's. number of festivals on during the year eg. The Arts Festival and The Fringe Festival. We love our theater almost as much as we love our nightclubs and pubs. There's always
something to do here.
A word of warning: we are fairly competitive with Sydney. We know we're better, they just
think they are. Lol
Transport I suggest you avoid Taxi's as they're expensive and avoid driving in unless you know some secret cheap parking places. It's not that parking is exactly difficult to
find it's just not cheap. Our train network is pretty good (although often late so always catch the train
before the one you think you'll need if you have a deadline). It's easy to get into the city via train and then travel around it on foot or by tram. There
are buses but most of us never use them. If you're visiting for the first time I suggest getting off at Flinders Street Station (it's historic) which is located right near The National Gallery, The Arts Centre (theaters), Federation Square and some of our best arcades. You can make your way up through the city from there.
If you've arrived via train and
Melbourne Central
More fabulous shapes. gotten off at Flinders Street Station then there's a big information building right across the road. Go there, ask questions, collect billions of pamphlets and a map.
Tip:The CBD of Melbourne is gloriously easy to navigate. It's basically a big square with all of the main roads running parallel. Also the clocks on the steps of Flinders Street Station are a local landmark and great place to meet if you get lost. Tip: We used to have a station on the city loop called Spencer Street Station. When they upgraded it they changed its name to Southern Cross Station. Most locals still use the old name. Things To Do As previously mentioned there are heaps of festivals. The Information building will have info.
When it comes to shopping, it's everywhere. The best places for boutiques (and even just for a wander because they're beautiful in themselves) are
The Royal Arcade and
The Block Arcade (very photogenic if you look up!). I suggest going to Degraves Street (a little hidden but just off Flinders Street opposite the train station) which has some fabulous cafes then follow it through to get to all of the arcades. One of my favourite places.
We're
The Royal Arcade
I love the ceiling in this arcade. well known for our wide range of cuisine, we've got everything from Italian to Portuguese. As a big fan of Italian food I recommend
Lygon Street (Little Italy) as the place to go.
The
Melbourne Museum is pretty cool especially if you're interested in learning more about Australia's Aboriginal history. They have an IMAX theatre there also. My favourite bit is the native flora section with all of the ferns. :D
The
National Gallery of Victoria is fantastic, it has a great range of art genres and forms and there's always a new exhibition on. Entry is free to all except the exhibition which is optional.
If you decide you'd like to see a live show you can usually get half price tickets on the day from
Half.Tix which is at the Melbourne Town Hall on Swanston Street. We have so many theaters you'll have a lot to choose from!
Tip:If you like a more intimate (no more than 50 in the audience) and independent show I love La Mama Theater. And it's pretty cheap too. If you're a fan of film then
Federation Square is for you. I personally don't find much to do there but it is a very strange and funky looking building
Graffiti
We're fairly well known for hidden streets of artistic graffiti. with a few good cafes and shops if nothing else. And you'll take some great photo's!
If you're vising on a Sunday there's the
Arts Centre Sunday Market which is one of my all time favourite things to do. Very crafty. Awesome stuff. It's along Southbank which is another beautiful place to wander (along the river). I suggest wandering at night when you get all the coloured lights reflected off the water.
The
Melbourne Aquarium is in that area too. It's worth a look if you're interested in underwater animals, but it's not all that big and it's a bit expensive. If you're stuck for time or on a tight budget I'd give it a miss.
Crown Casino is as it's name suggests, but it also has some good restaurants, night clubs, hotels, shows and a video arcade with bowling and laser wars. Check out the atrium, it's beautiful and has dancing water. You'll find the Casino if you keep wandering down Southbank.
Interested in seeing Melbourne from up high? Well now there are
three ways to do it. I've only been to the Eureka Skydeck. The original option is
The Rialto 360 Observation Deck but it's recently been dwarfed by the
Eureka Skydeck which is
State Library.
The State Library is a lovely building opposite Melbourne Central. on top of the tallest apartment building in the world. It also has this funky glass cube you can stand in and feel like you're hanging off the side of the building but I dind't think it looked that great for what you pay so I didn't do that bit. In December 2008
The Southern Star Observation Wheel also opened. It's basically our version of The London Eye.
The Royal Botanic Gardens are a bit of an oasis if you want to slow down, have a picnic and check out some beautiful Australian flora. In summer there's an outdoor cinema too.
So those are a few of the most iconic things to do that I can think of and many of them are my favourite things about the city. You could get most of them done over 2 or 3 days depending on how much time you like to spend in museums and galleries etc. There are heaps of other little galleries hidden around, but they're so hidden I don't know where they are. 😊 Southbank shops have some great ones on the upper levels.
So welcome to my home town! I hope you love it as much as I do and let me know what you think!
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atmrtwbike
Stephen
A great blog entry, Stacey! I really should make another trip to Melbourne, some time. As for Melbourne being better than Sydney, I love both equally. :)