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Things to Do in Melbourne — A Local’s Guide

Overview

Melbourne consistently ranks among the world’s most liveable cities — laneways, rooftop bars, world-class sport, gardens and a working harbour. This guide covers the best things to do in Melbourne for first-timers and locals alike, plus the one experience most visitors miss: seeing the city from the water.

Melbourne rewards the curious. It hides its best bars down laneways, takes its coffee seriously, and lives for its sport and its events. Here’s how to see the best of it — however long you’ve got.

Melbourne at a glance
Known for Laneways, coffee & food, sport, the arts, events
Getting around Free City Circle tram in the CBD; very walkable
Best area to start The CBD & Docklands, on the waterfront
Don’t miss The skyline from the water on a bay cruise

The best things to do in Melbourne

The essentials, from a local operator who’s been on the bay since 2005:

  • Laneways & street art

    Hosier Lane, AC/DC Lane and the hidden bars in between.

  • Coffee & food

    Some of the best in the world — start on Lygon or Degraves St.

  • The MCG & sport

    Footy, cricket and the Australian Open at the ‘G’.

  • Royal Botanic Gardens

    38 hectares of calm on the edge of the CBD.

  • Rooftop bars

    Melbourne’s after-dark specialty, with skyline views.

  • Queen Victoria Market

    150 years of produce, street food and finds.

  • Docklands & the waterfront

    The modern harbour precinct — and cruise departures.

  • A cruise on the bay

    Dinner, drinks and the skyline from the water.

See Melbourne from the water

Most visitors never see Melbourne the best way — from the middle of the harbour, skyline glittering. A dinner or high-tea cruise from Docklands changes that: a cruise on Port Phillip Bay aboard the twin-level Kingfisher II, with everything taken care of.

The Kingfisher II cruising Melbourne’s waterfront with the city skyline behind

Things to do by season

Melbourne through the year
Season What’s on
Summer (Dec–Feb) The Australian Open, beaches, festivals, long twilight cruises
Autumn (Mar–May) Food & wine season, Moomba on the Yarra, comedy festival
Winter (Jun–Aug) Rooftop heaters, galleries, cosy laneway dining
Spring (Sep–Nov) The Melbourne Cup Carnival, blooming gardens, AFL finals

See the best of Melbourne — from the water

Round off your Melbourne itinerary with a dinner or high-tea cruise on the bay. All-inclusive, fully hosted, unforgettable.

Explore our cruises

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Explore the laneways and street art, drink the world-famous coffee, catch sport at the MCG, wander the Royal Botanic Gardens, browse Queen Victoria Market, hit the rooftop bars — and see the city from the water on a bay cruise, the experience most visitors miss.

Coffee and food, laneways and street art, world-class sport (the MCG, the Australian Open, the Melbourne Cup), the arts, and its waterfront. It’s regularly ranked one of the world’s most liveable cities.

Walk the laneways and Hosier Lane street art, stroll the Royal Botanic Gardens and Birrarung Marr, wander the Docklands harbour promenade, and ride the free City Circle tram around the CBD.

See the skyline from Port Phillip Bay. A dinner or high-tea cruise from Docklands gives you a view of the city most visitors — and locals — never get, with dinner and drinks included.

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