Planning Your Visit


Why Visit Melbourne?
Melbourne is the capital city of the State of Victoria; the cosmopolitan cultural hub of Australia, renowned for food, fashion, music and the arts. Melbourne is known for its diverse cultural backgrounds that are reflected in its restaurants that serve a multiplicity of foreign cuisines. It also holds its own in being at the forefront in fashion, style and the arts in Australia. The city has thrice shared top position in a survey by The Economist of the World's Most Livable Cities on the basis of its cultural attributes, climate, cost of living, and social conditions such as crime rates and health care.

Melbourne is very sport focused and the locals are typically fanatics. This is reflected in the fact that Melbourne is the only city in the world that has five international standard sporting facilities (including three with retractable roofs) on the fringe of its central business district. The major sports are cricket, Australian Rules Football and horse racing.

Each year Melbourne plays host to tens of thousands of interstate and overseas visitors who come to see the Australian Open Tennis Championships, the Australian Grand Prix, the Australian 500CC Motorcycle Grand Prix, Spring Racing Carnival, and the Australian Football League Grand Final.



Getting There

Beyond Melbourne

Many visitors do not realise that there are hundreds of interesting destinations in other parts of Australia that are easy to reach and relatively inexpensive to travel to from Melbourne. Though Australia is a big country and it takes time to travel from one destination to another, with a little careful planning and some local knowledge, it is easy to fit other worthwhile destinations beyond Melbourne into your itinerary with little or no extra demands on your budget or time. By planning wisely and travelling overnight, some destinations can end up costing nothing to visit because you pay for your travel with the money you saved on that night's accommodation. And if you live in Melbourne, we show you too what each state of Australia has to offer as a holiday destination.

Destinations Beyond Melbourne








Uniquely Melbourne

Shopping shopping in melbourne

Experiences manly ferry

Icons Melbourne icons

See and Do
Melbourne history and heritage History & Heritage

Historic Homes, Heritage Sites and Museums.


Melbourne beaches Beachside

Bay and ocean swimming; beachside suburbs.


parks, gardens, reserves Parks and Gardens

Explore Melbourne's beautiful gardens and reserves.


Melbourne national parks Regional Reserves

Discover the natural attractions in the regions surrounding the City of Melbourne


Melbourne tours Tours

Guided tours and activities in and around Melbourne.


Not To Miss

Puffing Billy Tourist Railway

Puffing Billy Tourist Railway

When it comes to an enjoyable day out, the steam-operated Puffing Billy Railway has a been a favourite since it was resurrected as a heritage tourist railway in 1962. This popular attraction operates every day along 24 kilometres of narrow gauge railway line through cool temperate rainforest, lush ferns and towering timbers, semi-urban development and rural farmland. The journey takes an hour in each direction and there are stops along the way where you can take a way, or have a picnic. It starting point is Belgave station, which is on a suburban railway line, so you don't need a car to get there.

A Day in Ballarat

A Day in Ballarat

Take a 1 hr 20 min train ride through regional victoria to Ballarat, one of the iconic boom towns of ther famous Victorian goldrush of the 1850s. There is lots to do in and around Ballarat to make your trip an overnight one, or to come back a second time. On weekends, when you arrive by train you are greeted by some lovely ladies from the Visitor Information Centre who are armed with whatever info. you need to make vour visit a pleasurable one. There is a free music concert at the Ballarat Art Gallery every Sunday afternoon. Day trip activities: Sovereign Hill historic park; Eureka Centre; Gold Museum; Art Gallery; heritage buildings walk; Lake Wendourie  walks, heritage tram ride, Botanical Gardens.

Yarra Valley

Yarra Valley

The closest wine region to the city of Melbourne, the Yarra Valley is Victoria's oldest wine region, with over 3,600 hectares under vine. It is also Victoria's most visited wine area, located just one hours drive from Melbourne's CBD. There is far more to the Yarra Valley than just wineries, however, it is equally well known for its art galleries, accommodation, restaurants, cafes, antique stores, markets, woodland nature walks and recreational attractions such as the Healesville Sanctuary, Paintball Skirmish, Ballooning (Global Ballooning and Balloon Sunrise), Hedgend Maze, Marysville Salmon & Trout Ponds, Lavender Farm and Tourist Railway.