THE GRANTOURISMO TRAVEL GUIDE TO

Melbourne

Melbourne Travel Guide

Melbourne Itineraries

WEEKEND IN MELBOURNE

Itinerary

Weekend in Melbourne Itinerary – How to Spend 2 Days in the Victorian Capital. Mural in Hosier Lane, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Copyright © 2023 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

48 HOURS FOR FOODIES

Itinerary

48 Hours in Melbourne for Food and Wine Lovers – A Lip Smacking 2-Day Itinerary. Movida, Melbourne, Victoria. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Stay in Melbourne

Things to Do in South Yarra, Melbourne – Where to Stay, Shop, Eat, Drink and Explore

6 Things to Do in South Yarra, Melbourne – Where to Stay, Shop, Eat, Drink and Explore

Things to do in South Yarra, Melbourne, include checking into the retro-cool Ovolo South Yarra for a rock star experience of one of Melbourne’s fashionable neighbourhoods, shopping Chapel Street for…

Crown Metropol, Melbourne, Victoria. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved. Where to Stay in Melbourne – the Best Melbourne City Centre Hotels From Mid-Range to Luxury.

Where to Stay in Melbourne – The Best Melbourne City Centre Hotels from Mid-Range to Luxury

Where to stay in Melbourne when it comes to the best city centre hotels depends on the kind of stay you’re planning to have in the Victoria capital and the…

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Accomodation

Booking.com

Insurance

Safety Wing Nomads Insurance

Eat in Melbourne

Things to Do in South Yarra, Melbourne – Where to Stay, Shop, Eat, Drink and Explore

6 Things to Do in South Yarra, Melbourne – Where to Stay, Shop, Eat, Drink and Explore

Things to do in South Yarra, Melbourne, include checking into the retro-cool Ovolo South Yarra for a rock star experience of one of Melbourne’s fashionable neighbourhoods, shopping Chapel Street for…

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Souk: An Arabian Pilgrimage. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2019 Guide – What to Do, Eat, Drink, See, and More

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2019 kicked off yesterday on Friday 8 March and will run for 17 days until Sunday 24 March. This year the programme features some 250…

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Drink in Melbourne

Things to Do in South Yarra, Melbourne – Where to Stay, Shop, Eat, Drink and Explore

6 Things to Do in South Yarra, Melbourne – Where to Stay, Shop, Eat, Drink and Explore

Things to do in South Yarra, Melbourne, include checking into the retro-cool Ovolo South Yarra for a rock star experience of one of Melbourne’s fashionable neighbourhoods, shopping Chapel Street for…

A Melbourne Cafe Culture Walk in the Land of the Long Flat White. Pelligrini's, Melbourne, Victoria. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

A Melbourne Cafe Culture Walk in the Land of the Long Flat White

A Melbourne cafe culture walk to get a taste of Melbourne’s coffee history should be high on your to-do list when you’re in the Land of the Long Flat White, as…

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Explore Melbourne

Things to Do in South Yarra, Melbourne – Where to Stay, Shop, Eat, Drink and Explore

6 Things to Do in South Yarra, Melbourne – Where to Stay, Shop, Eat, Drink and Explore

Things to do in South Yarra, Melbourne, include checking into the retro-cool Ovolo South Yarra for a rock star experience of one of Melbourne’s fashionable neighbourhoods, shopping Chapel Street for…

Murray River Paddlesteamers experience. Things to Do in Echuca, Victoria – Where to Stay, Cruise, Shop, Stroll, Sip, and Eat.

Things to Do in Echuca, Victoria – Where to Stay, Cruise, Eat and Explore on the Murray River

Things to do in Echuca on the Murray River in Australia’s southern state of Victoria, include taking a cruise on a paddle steamer, learning about the trading history of the…

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Experience Melbourne

A Melbourne Cafe Culture Walk in the Land of the Long Flat White. Pelligrini's, Melbourne, Victoria. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

A Melbourne Cafe Culture Walk in the Land of the Long Flat White

A Melbourne cafe culture walk to get a taste of Melbourne’s coffee history should be high on your to-do list when you’re in the Land of the Long Flat White, as…

Discovering Melbourne's Hidden Secrets on a Lanes and Arcades Tour. Basement Discs, Melbourne, Victoria. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved. Lanes and arcades Tour.

Discovering Melbourne’s Hidden Secrets on a Lanes and Arcades Tour

Discovering Melbourne’s ‘hidden secrets’ on a Lanes and Arcades tour wasn’t high on our list of priorities, I have to admit. But Paris has its boulevards, Venice has its canals, Barcelona has its ramblas, Sydney has its…

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Book Melbourne Tours

Absorb Melbourne

ACMI museum exhibition — David Bowie Is. Photo Credit: Mark Gambino. Best Melbourne Museums for Learning About the History and Culture of the City.

Best Melbourne Museums for Learning About the History and Culture of the City

A priority for us on trips back to Australia is soaking up as much culture as we can. After we’ve caught up on the newest restaurants, we can be found…

Meandering the Masala Trail in Dandenong in Melbourne. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Meandering the Masala Trail in Dandenong in Melbourne

Meandering the Masala Trail in Dandenong in Melbourne provides a taste of Little India in one of the world’s most cosmopolitan countries. Nowhere is Australia’s ethnic diversity felt more than in multicultural Melbourne and…

Shop Melbourne

Things to Do in South Yarra, Melbourne – Where to Stay, Shop, Eat, Drink and Explore

6 Things to Do in South Yarra, Melbourne – Where to Stay, Shop, Eat, Drink and Explore

Things to do in South Yarra, Melbourne, include checking into the retro-cool Ovolo South Yarra for a rock star experience of one of Melbourne’s fashionable neighbourhoods, shopping Chapel Street for…

Melbourne Shopping: The Most Eclectic Boutiques Of All. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Melbourne Shopping: The Most Eclectic Boutiques Of All

Melbourne shopping is some of the best shopping there is in Australia, especially for idiosyncratic fashion, jewellery and accessories. Designers are hand-making beautiful pieces while boutique owners are carefully curating eclectic…

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Festivals & Events in Melbourne

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Souk: An Arabian Pilgrimage. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2019 Guide – What to Do, Eat, Drink, See, and More

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2019 kicked off yesterday on Friday 8 March and will run for 17 days until Sunday 24 March. This year the programme features some 250…

River Graze – part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

River Graze, a Celebration of Food and Wine from Victoria

River Graze, which sprawls along the banks of Melbourne’s Yarra River on Southbank Promenade, is a celebration of food and wine, from across the Australian state of Victoria. Launched on…

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Melbourne Local Knowledge

Will Studd, the Cheese Guy and the Story of Australian Cheese. Will Studd, Australia's foremost cheese expert. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Will Studd, the Cheese Guy and the Story of Australian Cheese

When chatting with chefs around Australia for the feature stories we’ve been working on, one man’s name comes up repeatedly when talk turns to cheese – Will Studd. Or, Will…

Matt Skinner on Melbourne, Wine, Bars and Food. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Matt Skinner on Melbourne, Wine, Bars and Food

Melbourne wine guy Matt Skinner may be a comparatively young bloke as far as Australian wine icons go, but with a handful of wine books, an annual wine guide and a…

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Melbourne Resources

Monday Memories: Sublime Sunset at St Kilda Pier, Melbourne. Sunset at St Kilda Pier, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Monday Memories: Sublime Sunset at St Kilda Pier, Melbourne

We were blessed with brilliant weather during our Melbourne stay on this particular trip. No, really. While our Sydney friends griped about having experienced one of the worst summers ever,…

Melbourne on a Budget – How to Experience Melbourne More Affordably. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Melbourne on a Budget – How to Experience Melbourne More Affordably

Australia is an expensive destination to visit, regardless of the drop in value of the Aussie dollar, and the capital of its southern state Victoria is no exception, but it is…

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Melbourne Essentials

WHEN TO GO

Dec-Feb Can be extremely hot, but that doesn’t stop tennis, F1 and music fans from flocking to the city.
Apr-Sep April has the best walking weather, getting crisper as winter begins.
Oct-Nov Can be cool but is busy due to football finals and horse racing fanatics.

HEALTH

Melbourne has a very good healthcare system, but of course always buy comprehensive insurance. Despite its reputation for dangerous creatures, you won’t find many of these in urban areas, apart from the ocassional spider. Given Melbourne’s liberal drinking hours, hangovers are your main concern. Recommended Vaccinations

VISAS

Only New Zealanders do not need a visa for Australia. There are myriad classes of visas, but if you’re coming for a holiday (depending which passport you have) and you are staying for less than three months, apply for an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) with a cost of UAD$20. For other visas visit the visa finder page of the Australian Government.

LOCAL TIME

Time in Melbourne:

Melbourne’s Time Zone is (GMT+11) Melbourne’s daylight saving (one hour forward) generally starts in October and finishes in April.

WEATHER

CURRENT MELBOURNE WEATHER

TRANSPORTATION

AIR/LAND/SEA

Melbourne’s main airport, Tullamarine (MEL) is the city’s only international airport and main domestic airport. There is a convenient SkyBus service to the main Southern Cross train station and a free shuttle on to many hotels. There are taxis and Uber but trams, trains and buses are convenient, paying by using a ‘myki‘ debit-type card that’s better value the longer you stay. There is also a bike-sharing system (a helmet is required).