Melbourne Specials

City Guide

MELBOURNE

Multicultured, multilayered, marvellously arty Melbourne.

Melbourne is dubbed marvellous for a reason. Healthy hedonism masquerades as high art: Melburnians are equally passionate about football and ballet, fashion and restaurants. They are ravenous for music and hot for theatre. It's a smorgasbord of a city that you'll want to sink your teeth into.

'And what was the origin of this majestic city and its efflorescence of palatial town houses and country seats? Its first brick was laid and its first house built by a passing convict.' Mark Twain

Timezones

Gmt +10 Eastern Standard Time
Daylight savings start: last Sunday in October
Daylight savings end: last Sunday in March

Environment

Latitude -37.8529586792
Longitude 145.07510376
Area_sqkm 2025
Population 3200000

Melbourne's suburbs extend around the huge Port Phillip Bay, into the plains to the west and east and out to the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. This huge area of settlement has been necessitated by the dying but intractable goal of the Great Australian Dream a detached home on a quarter acre block, 2.5 children and a couple of cars in the driveway.

Orientation

The city centre is about situated about 3km (1.8mi) inland, on the north bank of the Yarra River and is a neat grid of elegant (and kitsch) 19thcentury architecture and selfimportant skyscrapers. The main northsouth artery is Swanston St, while Bourke (a pedestrian mall for part of its extent) and Collins Sts, which cross it, are the city's other two main thoroughfares.

Eating

The best of Melbourne is edible.

Eating in Melbourne is a joy, and you'll be pleasantly surprised when you get the bill at the end. A culinary mix of European, Mediterranean and Asian flavours and a stable of imaginative chefs have resulted in a modern Australian style with a flair all its own.

Nightlife

Pub bands, standup and a seat in the Gods.

Melbourne has a thriving nightlife, a lively cultural scene and some great bars and clubs. You can laugh till it hurts at some standup comedy, check out the next big thing on the live music scene, sip cocktails at a lowlit bar, immerse yourself in experimental theatre or flaunt your jewels at the opera.

What to see

High culture to high streets Melbourne has few lows.

Melbourne's easygoing pace is perfect for enjoying its gracious Victorian architecture, its green wealth of parks and gardens, and its many cultural highlights. Most of the city's main sights are just a short walk or tramhop apart, with plenty of latte pickmeup opportunities on the way.

Shopping

Follow the hipster, usurp the mode, overtake the retro.

Melburnians' love of shopping is as great as their passion for food and that's saying
something. Whether you want to buy a look, a lifestyle or a kitsch souvenir, you've
come to shopping paradise. While there are lots of malls both downtown and in the
'burbs, try the street strips for fun.

Events

New Year's Day 1 Jan
Australia Day 26 Jan
Labour Day1st or 2nd Mon in Mar
Good Friday MarApr
Easter Monday MarApr
Anzac Day 25 Apr
Queen's Birthday2nd Mon in Jun
Melbourne Cup Day1st Tue in Nov
Christmas Day25 Dec
Boxing Day 26 Dec

Summer
Australian Open Jan
Chinese New Year Jan Feb
Midsumma Festival Jan - Feb
St Kilda Festival Feb
Australian Formula One Grand Prix early Mar
Moomba Festival Mar
Anzac Day Parade 25 Apr
Melbourne Fashion Festival Mar
Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Mar
International Comedy Festival Apr
International Flower and Garden Show Apr
Next Wave Festival May
St Kilda Film Festival May
Melbourne International Film Festival Jul Aug
Melbourne Writers' Festival Aug
AFL Grand Final late Sep
Melbourne Fringe Festival Sep
Royal Melbourne Show Sep
Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix mid - Oct
Melbourne International Arts Festival Oct
Oktoberfest Oct
Spring Racing Carnival Nov
Boxing Day Test Cricket 26 Dec

Communication

Area Codes 03

Telephone
Tollfree numbers start with the prefix 1800, while numbers that start with 1300 charge the cost of a local call no matter where you're calling from.

Transport

Getting there and away
Most international tourists will arrive via Melbourne's Tullamarine airport which is is 22km (14mi) northwest of the city centre. There are a few ways of getting into the city from the airport but a taxi or the 24hour Skybus are the most convenient modes. A second airport, Avalon Airport, southwest of the city, opened in mid2004 and the Sunbus service meets all flights that arrive there.

Bus travel within Australia is fairly cheap but Australia is a big country and what you save in dollars you pay for in boredom, as journeys can be agonisingly long. Trains are more comfortable but the network is less extensive and they are more expensive. Of course, there's always the option of hiring a car and taking to the wide open road by hitting the (largely excellent) highways between cities.

Getting around
Melbourne's an easy city to navigate unless you need to be in the suburbs, which can get confusing. It's designed in the classic mould: the thoroughfares fan out like the spokes of a wheel from the central business district. Public transport consists of trams, trains and buses and tends to be efficient and useful as long as your trip is along one of the spokes of the wheel. Public transport across suburbs can be a problem.

Air
The city's airport, Tullamarine, is 22km (14mi) northwest of the city centre. A second airport, Avalon Airport, southwest of the city, opened in mid2004.
The Skybus runs a 24hour shuttle between Tullamarine Airport and the city with complementary connections to your city accommodation. If there's more than three of you, it's probably worth splitting a taxi. Other shuttles run through St Kilda and around the bay, and west to Geelong. Public transport between the airport and city exists, but it's sporadic and you'll have to make a couple of changes. Taxis are available from both airports. The Sunbus service meets all flights at Avalon Airport.

Melbourne's airport services both domestic and international flights. While plenty of international airlines have direct flights into Melbourne, many flights still stop off in Sydney. Domestic flights run between Melbourne and all Australian capital cities, as well as to many regional centres and a few towns in Victoria.

Train
The country's train system is less extensive than the bus network and train travel is more expensive, but it's often quicker and almost always more pleasant than slogging it out on a bus. Interstate rail services really only operate between capital cities. Major centres in Victoria are serviced by trains, and the areas that don't have train lines can be reached by VLine (the train company) bus.

The interstate train station (Spencer St) and the main metropolitan station (Flinders St) are both in the city centre.

Melbourne's metropolitan trainlines fan out into the surrounding suburbs and operate an efficient service. Last trains leave the city around midnight.

Bus
Bus travel is the cheapest way to get around, but distances are large and it can be slow and tedious. Buses tend to travel the major highways, which can make the trip even more boring. Buses arrive in Melbourne from other Australian capitals, Victorian towns and tourist favourites like Alice Springs and Cairns. Small bus companies travel slower, more scenic routes such as the Great Ocean Road, through the Victorian High Country, along the east coast and through central Australia.

Buses are clean and efficient and include the 'Nightrider' bus service, which runs from the city to the outlying suburbs from midnight to dawn and is aimed at getting revellers home safely.

Car
If you're driving yourself, the main highways into Melbourne are the Hume (inland) or the Princes (coastal) from Sydney, and the Western (inland) or Princes (coastal) from Adelaide. Driving is on the left.

You can hire a car from the usual carrental places or the rentabomb variety. Be aware that driving in Melbourne can be confusing, particularly with the unique hook turns necessary in the city centre; traffic turning right must often do so from the left lane to avoid blocking tram tracks. If you are driving alongside a tram, you must stop when trams pull up to a tram stop, leaving the tram doorways clear for passengers to disembark safely. If you are using Melbourne's tollway road, CityLink, in the east (SouthEastern Fwy) and west (Tullamarine Fwy), ensure you have a daypass or an electronic pass ('eTag'), or you may be fined.

Ferry
Two ferries run between Melbourne and Devonport, in northern Tasmania.

Bicycle
Melbourne's generally flat terrain makes cycling a popular option for getting around, and there are good bike tracks, but watch out for those tram tracks and make sure your wheels don't get caught in them.

Tram
Melbourne's trams are a source of city pride and run on a fairly efficient and broad network within the city and the inner city suburbs. Coin only ticket machines are installed on trams.

Taxi
Melbourne has a plethora of cabs, which can be hailed on the street or booked by phone. There is a designated taxi rank at Flinders Street Station.