Melbourne – quick travel guide

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Small-middle sized hip city in Australia.

In reality, it’s Australia’s 2nd largest city only behind Sydney. But the main central areas are quite compact. At least from the POV of someone from Los Angeles. It’s the classic city with tons of bars and restaurants and shops. And some gardens. Melbourne tends to run cooler than Sydney…which I loved! (Although some Sydney people like to say Melbourne has “shit weather”, but I personally prefer not being sun-roasted all the time.)

I think Melbourne is hipper, cooler, and also a better food scene than Sydney. It’s just more compact and easier to get around and get a feel for things. I imagine also a safer choice for cool restaurants opening up as their rent would be cheaper and there’s better traffic density…whereas Sydney might have more international acclaim but the land is more expensive and people are more spread out. I don’t know for certain, just my feeling about it.

Melbourne can be easily seen in 2 days. But you’ll want an extra day to feel the vibe. It’s a cool, hip place to be.

Where to stay:

  • Melbourne CBD – city central is best. Basically anywhere between the Melbourne Museum and the Yarra river is most ideal. Too far away from the water and you may feel it’s too long to walk into the busy city area.

Hostels:

  • The Mansion Melbourne – great location, comfy rooms, nice staff and guests, laundry machines. BUT TERRIBLE INTERNET! I would seriously look elsewhere.

Neighborhoods & Walking areas:

  • CBD area – Flinder’s station, Chinatown Melbourne, Galleria Melbourne (shopping mall), Federation Square. That whole busy area around there. It’ll be obvious.
  • Southbank – walk across the Yarra River on St Kilda Rd and also South Melbourne if you have time. Don’t forget the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV museum) is free! It’s a great museum. I really enjoyed it. Solid 1-2hrs of different stuff to see.

These 2 areas alone should feel like you saw everything.

Activities to do:

  • Buildings & architecture –
  • Parks, gardens, green spaces – Fitzroy Gardens (nice and near center), Melbourne Museum (another green space near city center), Kings Domain (big park on South Bank).
  • Eco reserves & wildlife parks – many people told me to visit Phillip Island since you can see many wildlife animals there, like koalas and little penguins. It’s a 2 hour public transportation from Melbourne.
  • Bridges & water-points –
  • Arts & museums – National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) museum is free, and also nice!
  • Sunset views –

Restaurants & Cafes:

  • Chinese food – there is really good Chinese food in Melbourne. I recommend a Google review rating of 4.3 and up.

Overall, the Melbourne food scene is really good and really hip. Tons of highly-rated restaurants all over. You won’t have to go far from anywhere you are.

Bars & Clubs:

Miscellaneous tips:

  • General travel tips for Australia.
  • Public transportation – needs the MyKi card. Really annoying for first timers. Also the central tram is free!
  • Rideshare apps – in order of most available…Uber, DiDi & Ola, InDriver. Also 13cabs.

Nearby towns:

  • Tasmania – beautiful island state with lots of nature. I hear it’s worth going even if only for 2 days. And also that it’s not at all like New Zealand.

Unfiltered notes:

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