5 Awesome Things to do in Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne is one of the coolest cities I have been to in a while and is very different than I remembered it. I have been to Australia 10 times but this was only my second trip to Melbourne and first since 2003. Melbourne is vibrant, buzzing, sporting, secretive, hidden, bohemian, beautiful and there are a ton of things to do in Melbourne. Melbourne has a café and street culture like no city I have seen and the people of Melbourne are proud of their world-class city.
Federation Square, Melbourne
I have always contended that Sydney is my favorite city and it may still be but I no longer even know if it’s my favorite city in Australia! That is how much I enjoyed my time in Melbourne.
Flinders Street Station, Melbourne
Melbourne reminds me of San Francisco in many ways: in looks, attitude, tolerance, cultural mix and streetcars. Some Melbourne neighborhoods like Collingwood and Fitzroy are very similar to the Haight in San Francisco and a refreshing change from the Central Business District (CBD).
Australian Open, Melbourne
All this said, there is so much that I enjoyed in my week in Melbourne that I don’t even know where to begin in choosing five awesome things to do in Melbourne but here are 5 (or so) that you 100% should not miss!

Street Art Tour
street art, Melbourne Street Art Tour, Hosier Lane, Melbourne, art, Lee Abbamonte
Melbourne street art tours are actually run by street artists. Street artists can range from graffiti artists, sculptors, poets and a variance of many different alternative arts. All of which are fascinating and none I knew anything about.
Melbourne Street Art Tour, Hosier Lane, Melbourne, art
When I first found out I was going to be doing a street art tour for 3 hours, I was not exactly thrilled. I was thinking, how will I be able to look at graffiti for 3 hours? But this ended up being one of the coolest things to do in Melbourne.
street art, Melbourne Street Art Tour, Hosier Lane, Melbourne, art
After meeting in Federation Square, which is basically the new central meeting point in Melbourne across from Flinders Street Station, we walked down to Hosier Lane. Hosier Lane is basically the mecca of Melbourne street art and there were some unbelievable spray paintings.
street art, Melbourne Street Art Tour, Hosier Lane, Melbourne, art
Hosier Lane is one of the places where graffiti is legal and people come every day to paint their art-sometimes over other peoples. There is some hierarchy here and respect amongst artists. Street artists are interesting people and they mark their territory in strange ways but that is part of what’s cool about seeing it as an outsider.
street art, Melbourne Street Art Tour, Hosier Lane, Melbourne, art
The guides are excellent, and as I said, street artists themselves. They really know where to find the best and most subtle examples of cool street art. They basically take you through arcades, laneways and trash-lined alleys to show you the street art.
poems, street art, Melbourne Street Art Tour, Hosier Lane, Melbourne, art
The tour ends at Blender Studios; which is where you can actually see street artists in studio doing some contract work. It is pretty cool and even the bathrooms are graffiti covered of course. After several miles of walking around Melbourne they also give you a few beers and refreshments at the end of the tour; which costs AUD$69 a person. I highly recommend checking out a Melbourne street art tour.

Hidden Secrets Tours
Melbourne, Hidden Secrets Tours
Melbourne is a secretive and hidden city. The real Melbourne happens in the laneways, alleys and arcades. This is the Melbourne that locals love and the hidden secrets tour I did showed me things I never would have seen without doing it. This is definitely one of the best things to do in Melbourne!
Melbourne, Hidden Secrets Tours
The tour, which again, meets in Federation Square, is basically a casual stroll around the CBD. Your guide will literally show you the Melbourne that even locals don’t know about. They will show you local, shops, cafes, retailers, historical lanes, arcades and architecture. The tour also includes morning tea or in my case chili hot chocolate and lunch.
Melbourne, Hidden Secrets Tours, chili hot chocolate
The hidden secrets tour is great because you see Melbourne through the eyes of locals over the generations. They show you the small places that have been operating for decades and give great background information that is not just lost in translation.
Melbourne, Hidden Secrets Tours, nude art
As a New Yorker, I see how the city of Melbourne is subsidizing long standing small shops and retailers that would normally not be able to afford to stay in the CBD with the rate of inflation. I wish New York City would do this as much of the character that Melbourne is fighting to maintain has already been sucked out in a city like New York-especially where I live in Greenwich Village.
Melbourne, Hidden Secrets Tours, pastries
Personally, after this tour I went back to many of the places my guide, Sarah, showed us. These places and cafes ended up contributing to my inflated opinion of Melbourne because I saw a side of it that I never would’ve seen otherwise. I feel like I really know Melbourne now. I know some of its secrets and hidden treasures. I like that. The hidden secrets tour costs AUD$95 without lunch or AUD$120 with lunch and lasts 3-4 hours. Again, I highly recommend it.

Melbourne Bike Tour
Real Melbourne Bike Tours, Melbourne, bike tours
If you know me, you know I love riding bikes around cities. I think it’s a great way to see a city and cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. I do it at home in New York all the time. I did a bike tour in Melbourne with a company called Real Melbourne Bike Tours.
Real Melbourne Bike Tours, Melbourne, bike tours
Murray, the owner, took me out for a 10-mile ride throughout much of Melbourne. This was a great to see the city and we didn’t focus on the main sites; he took me to the outskirts of town and some of the new areas that have been gentrifying lately.
Real Melbourne Bike Tours, Melbourne, bike tours
This was a great way to get acquainted with the neighborhoods of Collingwood and Fitzroy. They reminded me a lot of San Francisco; which is a common theme in Melbourne-less the hills! Murray, showed me around to the local shops, restaurants and cafes. We stopped into a few places for some coffee, snacks and even a big brat from the Bratwurst Shop; a place made famous by Anthony Bourdain in Queen Victoria Market.
Real Melbourne Bike Tours, Melbourne, bike tours, bratwurst shop, brat
If you go, tell Murray I said hi and ask him for some photography tips because he does that professionally as well!

Sports
Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia, Roger Federer
My main reason for going to Melbourne this time around was to watch the Australian Open tennis tournament. You can read about my Australian Open Experience but for this article, I am going to focus on the other sporting events in Melbourne that caters to a raucous sporting public.
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
The Melbourne Cricket Ground or MCG to many but to Melbourners, it is simply known as the G. This historic stadium is one of the most famous in the world. Perhaps not in America but if you follow Cricket, Australian Rules Football (AFL) or even the Olympics then you’ll know the name.
MCG, The G, Melbourne Cricket Grounds, Melbourne
When I first visited Melbourne in 2003, I went to several AFL games in Melbourne at the MCG and the then called Telstra Dome (now Etihad Stadium). The MCG was run down and just felt like an old crappy stadium that needed to be ripped down. The 1956 Olympics were a long time ago! Yes Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympic Summer Games and was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to do so.
MCG, The G, Melbourne Cricket Grounds, Melbourne, host for 1956 Olympics
(Another small tidbit of information from my incredible mind of useless sports knowledge…the equestrian event from the 1956 Olympics didn’t actually occur in Melbourne; it occurred in Stockholm, Sweden because the Australian authorities wouldn’t let the horses come into the country!)
MCG, The G, Melbourne Cricket Grounds, Melbourne
Nowadays the MCG still hosts the AFL Grand Final every year and was refurbished for the 2006 Commonwealth Games and looks fantastic. It is located right next to Melbourne Park where the Australian Open is held. They have also built a few other sporting venues right there including a new soccer stadium and even more tennis stadiums.
MCG, The G, Melbourne Cricket Grounds, Melbourne
Melbourne is also a host city for a massive Formula One (F1) Grand Prix (GP) every March. I am not a big F1 fan but I am aware of the best guys and results. I also know how much the GP means to Melbourne and I hope to go one day. And finally, Melbourne also hosts the famous horse race called the Melbourne Cup. I am not a huge racing fan but the whole country of Australia stops for the three minutes this race goes on every year!

Food
vegemite, toast, australia
Over a week in Melbourne I ate at a bunch of fantastic places but of course I had a few favorites; including Vegemite and toast of course!. Melbourne is chalk full of restaurants to fit any budget and type of food. Melbourne is very multi-cultural and it shows in their cuisine and their neighborhoods.
Chin Chin, son in law eggs, Melbourne
My favorite restaurant in Melbourne was Chin Chin on Flinders Street. This Pan Asian restaurant that doesn’t take reservations will blow your mind. It was so good. The menu is vast and covers many areas of Asia. Luckily, they have an option called ‘Feed Me’ where you don’t have to decide and they just bring you food. That is what I did and everything was delicious! I especially recommend the son in law eggs and the short rib. I heard the desserts are amazing too but I was too full I could even consider it.
Gazi, food, ceiling, Melbourne
Another great spot in the CBD was a Greek restaurant called Gazi with an awesome ceiling. This is conveniently located just across from Melbourne Park and really does good Greek and Mediterranean style food. Melbourne has a massive Greek population. It has been said, it is the second largest Greek city after Athens. I don’t know if that’s true but the food at Gazi sure was good! Try the variety of dips to start and then the skirt steak!
Gazi, food, dips, Melbourne
Saint Crispin on Smith Street in Collingwood was a recommendation that was really good. It is worth the trek out of the CBD to try this new Melbourne hot spot. The portions are small but the inventive dishes are really good. I recommend just doing a 3 course tasting menu and go from there. Ask the waiter what’s good and just take their word on it because it’s one of those menus that sounds almost too fancy to understand but it’s all good!
Saint Crispin, Melbourne, food
I already mentioned the Bratwurst Shop; which was awesome in Queen Victoria Market. There’s also Phamish in St. Kilda; which has excellent Turkish fare. Then there’s the Meatball and Wine Bar. This place is clearly a takeoff on the wildly successful Meatball Shop in New York and why not, it’s excellent. The Melbourne version on Flinders Street is excellent as well and offers some interesting sauces including a green mint sauce-which you cannot get in New York.
Eureka Tower edge, Lee Abbamonte
So there are five awesome things to do in Melbourne although I could easily rattle off a bunch more including going to the beach in St. Kilda or the top of the Eureka Tower. The views from all sides are excellent and definitely try the edge for an extra AUD$12. It is pretty cool. I actually did it the day after Rafael Nadal did it…I wonder if the Aboriginal Elvis has ever done it!
Aboriginal Elvis, Melbourne
Disclaimer: I received financial compensation from Tourism Australia and was comped all tours mentioned but not all food. The words and recommendations here are my own and have not been coerced in any way, as always.

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Comments

  1. Great list mate but you gotta come back for the Melbourne Cup or a Grand Final. What a time!

  2. I live here and I’ve never eaten at any of those restaurants or done any of those tours. I have to get my ass in gear!

  3. Amazing pics and seems like a great city. I love SF, so I will put Melbourne on my list!

  4. Aboriginal Elvis is amazing! Does he play a didgeredoo as well?

  5. Great representation of Melbs, Lee…cheers

  6. Sounds like an amazing place to visit. I am hoping to go to Australia on my next big trip, hopefully November or December. I will definitely reference these recommendations….thanks Lee!

  7. Melbourne rocks man, you nailed it. Good stuff on the Aussie Open too; would kill to hit the finals of that grand slam.

  8. great city great country great people . i hope i can visit Australia specially melbourne

  9. Great list! I visited Melbourne in November for the first time and the street art tour was such a highlight and it’s interesting to see your photos as the art is constantly changing. I agree that it has a bit of San Francisco especially with all of the great foods (and dessert cafes). Sadly I wasn’t able to do the bike tour due to the rain but on the list for next visit.

  10. Duane Harrison says

    I highly recommend a visit during March when the F1 is on and the AFL season is starting. The weather is great and the atmosphere around the entire city is at its peak.

    Some recommended AFL games to see at the MCG:
    Hawthorn vs Geelong
    Essendon/Collingwood/Carlton/Richmond vs each other
    Hawthorn vs Essendon

    You will not be disappointed with any of those games, the crowds are large and the rivalries fierce.

  11. Hi Lee,
    Another event your forgot to mention is the Moto GP every October at Phillip Island. It is considered one of the best race tracks in the world and is a fantastic weekend to be had. Especially if you stay in Cowes where, if lucky, you may get a chance to meet some of the riders.

  12. Hey, great list! I freakin’ love those street art tours—also love just wandering the alleyways to discover my own! http://melbournemum.com/2013/07/26/melbourne-urban-art/ I HAVE to visit that Greek restaurant, looks brilliant! Gosh, I live here and you’ve given me a stack of inspiration, here! Kim

  13. I’ve lived in Melbourne my entire life and it’s awesome to see it through someone else’s eyes. Might even take some tours myself

  14. Yes! I’m glad you mentioned some of those places! Melbourne is a great city to come for a tour. I live here as well and know many of the places!

  15. Zinayla Uleof says

    Wow, Wonderful Post. . . Want to visit more beautiful countries of

    Asia then check this link: Trekking Nepal
    Thank you!!

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