I have been to Melbourne
too many times to count in my life (honestly, it would have to be in the
hundreds) so I thought it was about time I shared some of my top picks for one
of my favourite cities in the world. Over the years I have seen and done some
fabulous things in this culture-rich city and never go more than a few months
at a time without another trip to visit family (and do some much-needed
shopping!).
Here are my Top 5 picks for Melbourne’s CBD:
- Spend
a day at the Flemington horse races, after all, Melbourne is home to ‘the race that
stops the nation’. There are plenty of carnivals on all year round if you
can’t make it to the Melbourne Cup and they all provide a great opportunity for
a day of fashion, fillies and plenty of bubbles. Plus you can shop for
your outfit in Australia’s
top fashion city; try Bourke Street Mall, Chapel Street (of course!), Bridge Road
for a bargain or Chadstone for an indoor mall.
- If
you’re in the city you’ve got to make time to wander the alleys and
laneways. These little backstreets are an iconic part of Melbourne culture and are home to a
veritable treasure trove of bars, restaurants, galleries and boutiques. I
recommend DeGreaves Street
(especially for breakfast, see my review here), Celestial Lane and Hosier Lane
(home to some of the city’s most fabulous street art). There’s a handy app
named ‘City Maps & Walks’ that will give you a great self-guided
walking tour of Melbourne as well as 470 other cities.
- Victoria isn’t called the Garden State
for nothing. On your next trip make sure you make some time to wander the
many parks and gardens of the city. Some of my favourites include the Fitzroy Gardens, the Botanic Gardens (the
tan track is great for running) and Albert Park, home of the Melbourne
Grand Prix.
- If
you’re a new-comer to Melbourne then I
highly recommend making it up to the top of the Eureka Tower
in Southbank, especially on a clear day. The views are panoramically
breathtaking and really do provide a great vantage point for the city. You
can see through the CBD, up to Carlton and the zoo, the East Melbourne
sporting complex including the MCG and Rod Laver Arena, south to St Kilda
and the ocean and over towards the West-Gate Bridge.
- Finally,
make sure you explore the coastline (this activity is probably best on a
warmer day as the wind off the water can get pretty chilly). Start your
day with coffee and pastries from one of Acland Street’s many bakeries in St
Kilda then just keep following the water. There are plenty of café’s,
shops and photo opportunities and Elwood and Brighton
have some beautiful beachfront real estate. If you’re willing to stray outside
the city, then continuing along this direction, all the way to the
Mornington Peninsular, is a fabulous trip. This area of Melbourne
is like Victoria’s version of the Hampton’s, check out Mount
Martha and Sorrento for some incredible beach-front
property.
Photo by Melbourne
Tourism.
P.S. Pearls is very excited to have a
guest post on
Mademoiselle Slimalicious today. MS is a great foodie blog providing all the
best in European recipes by Cyndie, a French expat. I shared with her my recipe
for Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli which you’ll find
here. Cyndie has also
recently founded a fantastic little company called
Europe in a Box where a monthly subscription provides you with a hand-delivered box
full of authentic European goodies including food, drinks and keep-sakes. Such
a lovely idea!
