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Melbourne hotels

Overview                    Prepare                    Get Around                    Highlights

Melbourne is a huge neighbourhood, extending around the Port Phillip Bay area and out to the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges.  Considered to be the cultural and intellectual capital of Australia, the city hosts many writers and artists festivals throughout the year - which is why it is vital to book your Melbourne hotels well in advance and to use price comparison to secure a good deal.  Cheap hotels in Melbourne can be found amongst the superb selection of hotels available in the city, and many luxury hotels are also available.

Opt for the beach side region of St Kilda....... 

Inner city hotels in Melbourne are close to the trendiest bars, shops and nightclubs, whereas a more bohemian location will be found in the Fitzroy area.   Stay in Melbourne's trendy fashion district in South Yarra, or opt for the beach side region of St Kilda.   Whichever area you choose for your hotel in Melbourne, you will be well placed to experience the delights of its markets, ethnic precincts, Collins Street shopping, and river cruises.  Travel to the Yarra Valley wine region, or the Philip Island Nature Park or stay close to your hotel in the city and experience Melbourne Zoo, the Melbourne Observation Deck and the Melbourne Museum.

Overview

Overview

Melbourne is a duet between Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave. It's part tinselly, suburban good cheer; part shadowy, heartfelt neo-Gothic revival. The music they make is cosmopolitan, gently hedonistic and guaranteed to get into your brain.

See

Admire Federation Square, the biggest of the city's crown jewels, one of several on the strip that stretches out into St Kilda Road and Southbank. Most attractions are nestled in the city or in nearby suburbs such as Carlton, Fitzroy and Richmond. The long-ignored Docklands are being transformed into an architectural wonderland, while you can go mad-for-it in St Kilda – an attraction in its own right.
New

While the jury is still out on Federation Square, south of the city a revolution is quietly taking place. Witness the long-neglected docklands being given a capital ‘D' and slowly being transformed into the city's first truly 21st-century neighbourhood. Meanwhile, the inner western suburbs continue their slow rehabilitation from zero to hero.
Spend

Find anything and everything in the central business district, an open-air shopping mall. Art galleries and designer boutiques rub shoulders in Flinders Lane. Fitzroy's Brunswick Street, slightly grungier Smith Street and newcomer Gertrude Street attract the trend-setters, while Prahran is the place for the label-conscious.
Get Out

Technically Melbourne is a seaside town, and water-lovers will find the bayside beaches adequate to their needs. But where the city shines is in its green spaces. Spoil your eyes at the Royal Botanic Gardens, while at suburban parks such as the St Kilda Botanical Gardens and Fitzroy's Edinburgh Gardens see entire neighbourhoods gather.
Culture

Explore Melbourne's arts hub, the Southbank, where the city's major arts institutions are located. The galleries of Federation Square lie just on the other side of the Yarra river. Exhibition Street at the top end of the city has more popular theatre venues. Live music venues, such as the Corner and the Espy, are scattered throughout the inner suburbs.
Eat & Drink

There's really no such thing as Australian cuisine. In Melbourne, there's something from just about every corner of the world. As ever, the city offers some of the best, as do the inner northern and beachside suburbs. Try Brunswick for Middle Eastern fare or Footscray for cheap Asian or African grub.
New Perspective

Although a suburb of the city, Williamstown is on the other side of the Yarra river delta and seems caught in a colonial time warp. A box of fish'n'chips enjoyed on the waterfront is the best way to take in Melbourne's skyline. Watch out for the seagulls.

Prepare

Prepare

Melbourne's not a city often given to extremes, but summer can on occasion be hot and dry. Sunglasses and sun-cream are a must, and maybe a hat for those unconcerned by hat-hair.

Melbourne Year

Melburnians love a festival. Get animated in winter for Aussie rules football and critical for the Melbourne Film Festival. Come to life with the equine Spring Racing Carnival and the artsy Melbourne Festival (and its Fringey little sister). In summer, get into cricket and tennis and the rock festivals, and look the part in autumn, which is about fashion, comedy and the Grand Prix.
Public Holidays

New Year's Day (1 Jan), Australia Day (26 Jan), Labour Day (Mar), Good Friday (Mar/Apr), Easter Monday (Mar/Apr), Anzac Day (25 Apr), Queen's Birthday (Jun), Melbourne Cup Day (first Tue in Nov), Christmas Day (25 Dec), Boxing Day (26 Dec).
Weather

Melbourne's climate is never dull. Winters are very mild but moody (6-14°C). Spring is notoriously fickle and lends new meaning to the phrase, ‘four seasons in one day'. Summer heat is relieved by intermittent cool changes: when it's hot, it's never hot for long. Summer minimum and maximum temperatures range from 14°C to 25°C. Autumn's the most pleasant time of year.
Electricity

240V AC, 50 Hz, three-pin plugs are standard, but not the British variety. You can find adaptors in hardware shops, pharmacies, electrical goods stores and some travel agents.
Dialling Code

+61 (national), (3) from overseas and (03) from interstate, plus eight-digit number.
Money

Australian dollar ($ or AUD) is the currency.
GMT

GMT +11
Tourism Victoria Info

Visit Victoria website (for Melbourne)

Fit In

Melbourne's a city built for comfort. Melbourne style, even at its most self-conscious, is about looking good without compromising on comfort. Winters can be hardy enough to warrant bringing a good coat.

Get Around

Get Around

Spoiled by an abundance of space, Melbourne has put on something of a spread. Most attractions are within walking distance of the city. Further afield, trains, trams and bikes are the way to go.

In inner Melbourne, the central business district (aka the CBD or city) is well-served for public transport. Nearby are cosmopolitan Carlton, punky Collingwood, hipster Fitzroy and arty North Melbourne. Visitors based in beachside St Kilda in the south-east will find themselves making most of the trams. Travel west to the emerging Footscray and Yarraville neighbourhoods; while affluent eastern suburbs of note include Prahran, Toorak and Hawthorn.
Trams

Melbourne is one of the few cities in the world to have held on to its tram system. So much so the trams have become city icons. There's no better way of getting around the inner suburbs – there's even a free service circumnavigating the city.
Foot

Melbourne is a city designed to be seen by foot, and it has the climate to boot. Provided you're of moderate fitness, you should be able to get just about everywhere by foot except St Kilda.
Taxi

Melbourne's taxis are plentiful and yellow – yes, canary yellow. Taxi drivers are theoretically supposed to sit a test, but in practise if your destination is out of the ordinary the chances are you'll be giving directions.
Trains

Less important to visitors is the train system, designed mainly for suburban commuters. Visitors to Richmond, Prahran and Windsor will find the train a much quicker alternative than the tram.
Bus

The bus network is designed to complement Melbourne's train and tram networks. Services are concentrated in the outer suburbs and it's unlikely that visitors should be required to use them. The same tickets can be used on the buses as those used for trams and trains. The Skybus is a private link between the city and the airport.
Boat

Melbourne's one of Australia's busiest ports, but strangely it's not really a maritime town. Tourist ferries ply the Yarra river – which marks a significant dividing line between east and west – but they're not a serious transport option.
Transport Tips

Metcard tickets are valid for two hours, a day, a week, a month, even a year. The system is zoned, but most visitors will only need to buy a Zone 1 ticket. The tickets can be used on all public transport services. Users are encouraged to pre-buy their tickets (they're available online), but a limited range are available on trams and buses. Remember to start collecting that shrapnel, as tram ticket machines accept coins only.
Time Travel

In the 19th century, Melbourne was one of the leading cities of the world. Step back in time at the ornate Collins Street banks, in the Royal and Block Arcades in the city, in the streets of Carlton, Fitzroy, South Melbourne and Middle Park, or at Victorian homes such as Como House.
Melbourne Transport Link

Metlink Melbourne website

Highlights

Highlights

Melbourne doesn't jump out and grab you with iconic attractions. Rather, it's like a secret that can't wait to be revealed.

The postmodern heart of the city is Federation Square, with galleries, cinemas and places to eat and drink. It stands in stark contrast with its neighbours: the very British St Paul's Cathedral and colonial-era Flinders Street Station. On the other side of Yarra river, discover the Southbank precinct, with the recently renovated National Gallery of Victoria International; opposite find the lush Royal Botanical Gardens.

Along the river check out the casino, Tennis Centre and the monolithic Melbourne Cricket Ground, proving that – in Melbourne at least – sport and culture do mix. The city plays a host to a gamut of other attractions, including the glutton's feast that is the Queen Victoria Market.
Sightseeing Tips

The National Gallery of Victoria is split in two. The Federation Square NGV, NGV Australia, features a stunning collection of indigenous Australian art. The other NGV – NGV International – is located on nearby St Kilda Road. The Federation Square complex, meanwhile, is also home to the cutting-edge Australian Centre for the Moving Image.

Content provided by Frommer's Unlimited © 2009, Whatsonwhen Limited.



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