Melbourne

• General Info
• Fitzroy
• St Kilda
• Going Out

General Info

Many backpackers will list Melbourne as their favourite city in Australia. It's incredibly multicultural, it has great restaurants and nightlife, a big sporting culture and its people are quite friendly.

In the CBD, the main streets are Collins Street and Bourke Street. The city is easy to get around as it's small and there's a good public transport infrastructure in place such as trams and buses. Federation Square is probably the city centre and the Flinders Street is also nearby. Go up to the Rialto Tower observation deck to get a birds' eye view of the city. Queen Victoria Market is a great place to while away a few hours looking at the many stalls. Old Melbourne Goal goal on Russell Street is where the legendary bushman, outlaw Ned Kelly was hanged and it's good to do a night tour here and listen to the ghost stories and stories of the many people that were incarcerated there.

In Yarra Park you will find some very famous sports grounds such as the MCG - the Melbourne Cricket Ground which hosts cricket obviously and Aussie Rules Football. There's also Melbourne Park, the Rod Laver Arena (Australian Open tennis), and Olympic Park.

Fitzroy

Fitzroy has an astounding mix of people living and visiting here and this is what makes it such an interesting place to be. There is a huge amount of pubs, cafes and restaurnats here as well as a few galleries.

St Kilda

St Kilda is quite upmarket and trendy but you will still find lots of backpackers here. Fitzroy Street is the main street and here you will find lots of pubs, clubs and restaurants. At the end of Fitzroy is the beach and the pier. Follow the Esplanade past Luna Park to Ackland Street where you will find more restaurants and cafes. North of Fitzroy Street is Albert Park which has a beautiful lake around which the Australian Grand Prix is held.

Other inner city suburbs include Carlton, which has a large Italian and student population, and Richmond, which has a large Vietnamese population.

Going out

Pubs

Cookie (Swanston Street) and Ding Dong (Market Street) in the city.

Laundry (Johnston Street), and Evelyn Hotel (Brunswick Street) in Fitzroy.

The Espy (The Esplanade), Cushion (Fitzroy Street), Prince of Wales (Fitzroy Street), Elephant and Wheelbarrow(Fitzroy Street), in St Kilda.

Cafés and restaurants

Melbourne probably has the best and most diverse cuisine in Australia. There's Italian, Greek, Chinese, Indian, and possibly even Australian to be had. It can be incredibly expensive or impressively affordable.

There are lovely cafés such as the Blue Train in Southgate in the city, Marios' on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy, or the Galleon Café on Carlisle Street in St Kilda.

Restaurants include:

Becco (Crossley Street), Kimchi House (Little La Trobe Street), in the City.

Brunetti (Faraday Street) in Carlton.

Maos' (Brunswick Street) in Fitzroy

Cicciolina in St Kilda

You could eat somewhere different every night for a year and still not eat in all the great places in Melbourne. Sample as many as you can.