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Melbourne Overview
If Sydney is the New York of the Southern Hemisphere, then Melbourne is Boston and Philadelphia -- with attractions centralized rather than sprawling, a low-key atmosphere, traditional look, and tons of restaurants, cafes, nightlife and cultural destinations. Melbourne prides itself on being one of the world's most livable cities, and while that may indeed be true, the capital of the state of Victoria is certainly one of the most delightful to visit -– welcoming, relaxed, international and cultural.
Melbourne was and still is the most English of Australia's cities, and yet it also has a highly cosmopolitan population of over three million. Waves of British, Italian and Greek immigrants began arriving after World War II, and when immigration restrictions changed to allow Asians to become residents, a huge influx arrived, including lots of students at Melbourne University.
The Yarra River runs through the city center, and leafy parks and open spaces give relief from the vehicular traffic that travels, as in Britain and New Zealand, on the left. North of the Yarra River, you will find the commercial heart and to the south most of the museums, theaters, concert halls and open spaces -- including the lovely Royal Botanic Gardens. Nearby neighborhoods such as Carlton, Fitzroy, Richmond, Toorak and St. Kilda are worth exploring by foot with each area having its own distinctive flavor.
Happily, pedestrians have lots of rights and walking is free-flowing and safe. It's also ever so easy to navigate the city via its wonderful tram (trolley) system. The first electric models began running in 1889, and unlike so many other cities, they were never abandoned. In fact, the network is expanding.
Being in the south of the country, Melbourne gets cloudy, rainy and cold in the winter months (Northern Hemisphere summer) and warms to pleasantly hot in summer. Given that Melbournians complain a lot about their winters, travelers are usually pleased to find out that most cruise ships call at Melbourne during the Australian summer. Consider coming out early for a stay of several days before (most likely) joining your ship in Sydney, a short flight or a pleasant day-long train ride away. Nonstop flights leave daily from Los Angeles.
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Other Australia & New Zealand Cruise Ports:
Auckland • Brisbane • Cairns • Darwin • Dunedin • Melbourne • Sydney • Wellington
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Language
English is spoken, but with various distinctive Melbourne accents, including an upper-middle-class one often close to British English. The city, by the way, is pronounced Mel-bun not Mel-born. The first meal of the day is "breakie," food is "tucker" and a response to a “thank you” is usually "no worries." Once, for me, it was even "no dramas." A hotel may actually be a "pub" and an institution of higher education is simply called "uni."
Currency & Best Way to Get Money
Bank ATM's are available all around the city. The largest denominations of coins are the tiny gold-colored one dollar and the larger gold-colored two dollar pieces. Check www.XE.com for the latest exchange rates. Also you should know that Australia no longer uses pennies, so all prices are rounded to the nearest five cent increment.
Where You're Docked
Cruise ships tie up at Station Pier in Port Melbourne, the dock formerly used for overseas liners and the current facility for the Spirit of Tasmania, the overnight ferry sailing across the Bass Strait to Devonport on the island of Tasmania.
Hanging Around
The immediate port area is relatively quiet with a few restaurants and stores near the pier. More retail outlets are available just north along the tram line in South Melbourne.
Getting Around
By Tram: One of Melbourne's famous city tram routes has a terminal at Port Melbourne, a five-minute walk from Station Pier. Trams have onboard coin-operated ticket machines (no conductors) for buying one-way tickets, roundtrips and Metcard daily tickets (a day pass for unlimited tram and bus travel -- very good value). Melbourne's many trams glide about almost everywhere you want to visit, and if not, buses supplement.
The ride from Port Melbourne to the city center takes 20 minutes, and once there, lots of the best sites are within walking distance. The central district also has a free City Circle tram that operates daily in both directions every 12 minutes, making a large loop along the perimeter bounded by Flinders, Spring and Latrobe streets and the Harbour Esplanade at Docklands. A complete circuit takes about an hour. These trams provide a commentary, are maroon in color, marked "City Center" and provide a good overview.
By Taxi: Melbourne taxis are painted yellow and can be found in designated spots outside hotels and at the two railways stations. If you see a taxi with the rooftop light illuminated, it's empty and you can hail it from the street. Taxis are metered and drivers do not expect a tip, though sometimes rounding up the fare to the next dollar is appropriate. Surcharges only apply between midnight and 5 a.m. From the cruise terminal at Station Pier, a ride to the central business district will cost about $15, to and from the airport about $40 to $45.
By Foot: Melbourne Greeter Service matches visitors with a local resident and volunteer guide for free half-day walking orientations. Three working days' notice is required. For reservations, phone 03 9658 9658 or email greeter@melbourne.vic.gov.au. A good place to start an independent visit is the spacious underground visitor center at Federation Square, the city's principal meeting place. The personnel are helpful and the racked information brochures plentiful. In addition, City Ambassadors, volunteers wearing red outfits and hats, roam the city center to answer questions.
By Train: For trips into the suburbs and outlying cities, trains leave from either the brand-new Southern Cross station (formerly called Spencer Street) or Flinders Street station, both located in the city center. Flinders Street station, completed in 1911, is a fabulous mustard-colored pile of Edwardian Baroque architecture, decorated with arches, domes and a clock tower facing Federation Square.
By Bus: The red Skybus links Melbourne's airport (international and domestic terminals) with Southern Cross station every 10 to 15 minutes, and the journey takes about a half hour. A free shuttle links most hotels with the Skybus at Southern Cross station -- it must be booked in advance.
For information on public transportation by train, tram or bus, visit www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au.
Watch Out For
Be sure to observe what is called a hook at intersections where cars wanting to make a right turn across the tram tracks must move into the far left lane when entering the intersection and then proceed with the green light. Also, watch for the vertical white signal light that gives trams priority at intersections.
Don't Miss
 Federation Square is the indoor-outdoor Grand Central, the city's premier gathering spot. Geometrically designed buildings housing art galleries, cinemas, shops and cafes surround a large open area used for concerts, outdoor films, sitting, strolling and people watching. The excellent Visitor Center is located here in spacious underground premises.
The Ian Potter Centre: National Gallery of Victoria, with free access, has a wonderfully eclectic, three-level interior design, with each room varied in shape and color. It houses the largest collection of Australian art, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art on canvas and bark; intriguing sculpture made from wood and found objects such as metal and barbed wire; and Australian colonial art, landscapes and impressionists. (Federation Square; open Tuesday - Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday until 9 p.m.)
The National Gallery of Victoria International is located just south of the Yarra River and accessed by the Princes Bridge and St. Kilda Road. Admission is free to the general collection, which includes works by major European artists. Special exhibitions require a fee -- I saw one that featured London's Victoria & Albert's Art Deco extravaganza. The Arts Centre is also located here along St. Kilda Road; the complex includes the State Theater, The Playhouse and Fairfax Studio. The lobbies' art works are open to the public. (180 St. Kilda Road; open Wednesday - Monday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
The State Library of Victoria houses two million books, and its handsome reading room was copied after London's original British Museum Library Reading Room. The central dome provides galleries for two permanent exhibitions: The Changing Face of Victoria with historic artifacts, photos, drawings, maps and a video, and Mirror of the World: books and ideas, an exhibition from the library's valuable rare book collection. Admission is free. Internet use is also free -- there's a wireless hotspot here. (328 Swanston Street; open Monday - Thursday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday - Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
St. Paul's Cathedral, located at the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets and across from Federation Square, is English Gothic Revival in style with an interior of decorative mosaics, floor tiles and wood carvings. A boy's choir sings at 5:10 p.m. every Tuesday through Friday and at Sunday services. The church spire (321 feet) is climbable. On the opposite corner is the imposing mustard yellow facade of Flinders Street Railway Station with its long arcades stretching along Flinders Street and St. Kilda Road.
For a view of the city, Eureka Skydeck 88 (Riverside Quay, Southbank) affords the highest public view in the Southern Hemisphere -- 360 degrees and 935 feet up. For a truly scary experience, a glass cube called The Edge, taking 12 fearless souls, extends out beyond the building's top edge with views in all directions including straight down. Prices are $17 for the tower and an additional $12 for The Edge. Until 2007, the highest vantage point was the Melbourne Observation Deck, 830 feet atop the Rialto Building (525 Collins Street). Admission is $8.
Queen Victoria Market, off Elizabeth Street, a few blocks to the north end of the city's main street grid, is one of the largest pavilion-style markets of any major city in the world, replete with Australia's bountiful foods arranged in rows and rows of stalls, plus delis, quick eateries and clothing stalls. I would consider moving to central Melbourne to be able to shop here. (Open Tuesday and Thursday - Sunday from 6 a.m. to sometime between 2 and 6 p.m., depending on the day. Food stalls are closed on Sunday.)
Been There, Done That
The Royal Botanic Gardens comprise 99 undulating acres with 12,000 plant specimens from all over the world. Sections of the gardens include the rainforest, fern gully, camellia garden, and ponds with geese, ducks and swans. It's free and may be accessed by walking about a mile via Princes Bridge and then along the Yarra River, or from St. Kilda Road just south of the National Gallery of Victoria International. The area along the Yarra River has free barbecue setups and picnic tables, and the botanic garden has an attractive cafe with an outdoor terrace. (Birdwood Avenue, South Yarra; open daily)
Docklands -- an emerging commercial, residential, sports, marina, hotel and restaurant complex -- is still under construction in the old industrial port area, but its many restaurants, shops and public attractions are already open to visitors. You can reach Melbourne's largest new development via the free City Circle tram or river cruises.
St. Kilda is a quirky seaside suburb with a huge number of restaurants and pastry shops, an esplanade, beach, pier with an arts and crafts fair on Sunday, and Luna Park with its old-fashioned amusements including a rollercoaster. It makes a nice half-day outing. Ride out on tram numbers 10, 12, 15, 16 and 96. For a variety of city views, you can go via one route and come back another.
Sovereign Hill, near Ballarat, recreates Victoria's gold rush days during the 1850s when it was the richest alluvial gold mining area in the world. See the tented and mud-and-bark hut living quarters and watch horses hauling carts and carriages and propelling machinery. The town has candle and confectionary makers, blacksmiths and tinsmiths, carriage makers and wheelwrights, and furniture manufacturing. You can pan for gold, explore a mine and spend the night in a lodge overlooking the town. Take a V Line train from Southern Cross station and 90 minutes later arrive in Ballarat, itself an architecturally outstanding Victorian city of some 90,000. A free bus meets the train for the short drive to Sovereign Hill and back. Ballarat city bus 9 also provides a transfer. (Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; admission $37.50 for adults)
Shopping
The most intriguing places to shop are the one-block arcades, such as the Block Arcade between Collins and Little Collins and the Royal Arcade between Little Collins and Bourke Street Mall. Bourke Street Mall itself is a major pedestrianized shopping precinct with two department stores, David Jones and Myer, located there. Aboriginal art, paintings on paper, canvas and bark, sculpture and musical instruments are popular buys. The eastern end (used to be called the Paris end) of Collins is a center for high fashion. The brand Country Road is known for its quality Australian designs. Melbourne Central, between Latrobe and Lonsdale Streets, is a modern multilevel complex of 300 shops, restaurants and a multiplex theater.
Lunching
Melbourne's restaurants are as diverse as its population, and food in Australia is very good with plentiful fresh produce and fish. Chinatown, in the city center, has a plethora of Asian restaurants and Lygon Street in Carlton is lined with one Italian restaurant and cafe after another, creating a sidewalk buzz at night (though less so during the day). It's touristy but fun to walk past the eateries before choosing one that appears to be the most crowded with locals.
Il Primo, with three adjoining dining areas, is one of the Lygon Street favorites for Italian food. Main courses run from $17 to $30. (242 Lygon Street)
Hopetoun Tearooms, located in the Block Arcade off Collins Street (No. 280-282), is an old-fashioned and legendary café that dates to 1892. It offers sandwiches, grilled food and wonderful cakes at reasonable prices. Menu items $5 to $15.
Royal Botanic Gardens has an indoor-outdoor café restaurant overlooking Ornamental Lake, a lovely setting for lunch with cafeteria-style food ordered from the counter. Prices are very reasonable at $5 to $15. (Birdwood Avenue, South Yarra)
Italy 1, located behind the Grand Hyatt, is an intimate Italian restaurant that's a popular lunch spot for the locals who work in the central business district. It also makes for a highly romantic dinner. Main courses run from $25 to $38. (27 George Parade off Collins Street)
Shore Excursions
Shore excursions in Melbourne may include city tours by bus, bike or foot; active tours such as kayaking and snorkeling; and day trips to surrounding areas for wildlife or scenery viewing.
Puffing Billy Train and Farming Homestead: Start your day with a trip on a restored narrow-gauge steam train. Ride in open-sided carriages while passing over high trestles into forests and fern gullies in the Dandenong Ranges. Then head to a homestead furnished with colonial antiques, where you can observe sheep farming and sheep dog skills, take a hayride, feed kangaroos and wallabies, learn to throw a boomerang and enjoy a barbecue lunch. Other versions of this tour take guests to wineries, wildlife sanctuaries and forests.
Colonial Tramcar Restaurant Breakfast (or Tea): The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant is a long-time Melbourne institution. A maroon tram, plushly fitted out and air-conditioned, glides along city streets through trendy Prahan, Armadale, seaside St. Kilda and South Melbourne, while passengers enjoy a champagne breakfast or afternoon tea (finger sandwiches, scones and petit fours). Note for independent travelers: You can make your own reservations for a three- to five-course lunch or dinner paired with wines aboard the tram. It departs from tram stop #125 at Normanby Road.
Horseback Ride Through Wine Country: This tour includes a three-hour trail ride on horseback with stops at two vineyards for wine tasting and a barbecue lunch. The scenic 90-minute drive through Mornington Peninsula passes along coastal cliffs and beaches.
Accommodations
The Windsor (103 Spring Street, next to the Princess Theater and across from Parliament House) opened in 1881 and is now Australia's only original grand hotel. Owned by Oberoi Hotels International, the rooms have high ceilings and excellent appointments. An English afternoon tea is served Monday to Friday. Rates are $200 to $300; suites are higher.
Grand Hotel (33 Spencer Street) overlooks the Docklands. Built into a heritage-listed building that was started in 1887 and added to over the years, it became a hotel (now Sofitel) in 1997. Studios and one-bedroom suites range from $225 to $500. Some have balconies.
Citigate Melbourne (270 Flinders Street) opened in 2003 across from Flinders Street Railway Station and close to Federation Square. Its 180 rooms cost from $150 to $220 -- the more expensive rooms feature water views.
Staying in Touch
Several Internet cafes line Elizabeth Street in the heart of Melbourne between Latrobe and Flinders Streets. Rates are very reasonable.
For More Information
On the web: www.thatsmelbourne.com and www.visitmelbourne.com
Melbourne Visitor Centre: Federation Square, corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets (phone 03 9658 9658)
Cruise Critic Message Boards: Australia & New Zealand
Independent Traveler Forums: Australia
--by Theodore W. Scull. Scull, currently based in Manhattan, writes and lectures about travel on both sides of the Atlantic and has lived in Britain and France and has traveled throughout Europe. He has had eight books published including "100 Best Cruise Vacations," "Outdoor Escapes New York City," "Ocean Liner Odyssey, 1958-1969," and most recently, "Ocean Liner Twilight."
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