Long Weekend in Melbourne

[Sploosh]

The wife and I are heading to Melbourne in either February or March for a long weekend, never been there. I am looking for non-football suggestions of things to do/places to stay. From what I can gather so far, I have a few ideas, but with questions also.

Aquarium - worth the $39 entry?
Casino - much to do there except for gambling?
Federation Square - what is it?; just a big open square where they have big screens for events?
ANy particular botanical gardens etc you'd recommend?
What else is fun/interesting to do over 2 and a half days?

Also, any suggestions for clean/pleasant, centrallly-located but not ridiculously priced accomodation?

THanks very much for any ideas.

[dedja]

never been to Melbourne?

[Sploosh]

Well, except once as a kid. Yep, although I've lived overseas for about 10 years in various countries, I've never actually been to Melbourne (as an adult).

[Dutchy]

MCG and Dome tours are good, go for a feed on Lygon St, go down to St Kilda if weather is nice, Smith St Collingwood for the factory stores shopping.

[Jim05]

The wife and I are heading to Melbourne in either February or March for a long weekend, never been there. I am looking for non-football suggestions of things to do/places to stay. From what I can gather so far, I have a few ideas, but with questions also.

Aquarium - worth the $39 entry?
Casino - much to do there except for gambling?
Federation Square - what is it?; just a big open square where they have big screens for events?
ANy particular botanical gardens etc you'd recommend?
What else is fun/interesting to do over 2 and a half days?

Also, any suggestions for clean/pleasant, centrallly-located but not ridiculously priced accomodation?

THanks very much for any ideas.

Well worth it, very interesting

[Footy Chick]

Cheaper for RAA members

[MatteeG]

Zoo aint bad. And Eureka tower.

[spell_check]

never been to Melbourne?

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18201

Still haven't been there yet.

[Yardy Lard]

Could easily live there. Often in Melbourne on business, or pleasure and just love the place. Try and stay in the CBD if possible and you might pay a little more for accommodation but far less in taxis. Trams in Melbourne, are the only way to get around during the day and until about 1am. The Trams there are sensational and you can easily use their public transport.

Places to see:
MCG and Melbourne Park precinct, including Rod Laver Arena, Docklands precinct and Ethiad Stadium, Crown Casino and the Southbank precinct (Crown will take you 4 or 5 hours, even if not having a bet), across the King Street Bridge and to the Melbourne Aquarium which is on Flinders Street, Rialto building in Collins Street and now Eureka which is even bigger, Flinders Street Station, Federation Square with the Transport Bar. The Old Melbourne Jail just outside the CBD on the corner of Latrobe and Swanston Street is amazing and the real Ned Kelly armour is there, St Kilda with Luna Park and the Palais - catch the tram from Swanston Street down St Kilda Road, Have a feed in Ackland Street or Barclay Street.

Shopping you have Richmond for ladies fashion or Smith Street in Collingwood for all your sportswear outlets, or just outside the CBD you have the Queen Elizabeth Markets on Elizabeth Street in North Melbourne. In the Melbourne CBD there are 8 of the most beautiful Arcades in Australia and then there is Melbourne Central for shopping. Take a trip out to the Chadstone Shopping Centre or a day at Flemington Racecourse, to see horse racing history.

For food try China Town - on Little Bourke Street. A little trip out to Carlton and Lygon Street gives you the most amazing restaurants and Italian food in Australia. Go for a beer into the former Carlton Champion "Percy Jones" pub in Carlton and he is a character. Pub is called - Percy's

Can recommend the Mecure Hotel in Swanston Street, or Swanston Walk. Either the Mecure Welcome, which is cheaper or the Mecure Grand on Swanston. The only two places I will ever stay now after trying a number of places, due to proximity to the CBD and the trams and just easy to get around. Join their members rewards scheme and use Mecure Hotels around Australia and probably can not go wrong.

Looking for clubs then go to King Street in the CBD, or the Arcadia Hotel in South Yarra. Catch the Number 8 Tram from Swanston Street, to the corner of Punt Road and Toorak Road. Great nightclub at the Arcadia and goes off Friday and Saturday nights. Sunday afternoon at the Anglers Inn in West Marybilong. Owned by Merv Hughes and Luke Darcy and a few others, but just goes off, with bands and a few thousand people and great food. Bit like the Lakes Resort as it is on the water, but really goes off on a Sunday afternoon, unlike the Lakes.

[rk25]

After living here for quite a few years now, Melbourne really is the food and wine capital. My advice would be just to potter around, enjoying long lunches and plenty of drinks in the sun (or more likely rain).

I would recommend wandering down Brunswick St in Fitzroy for a lazy breakfast and a bit of shopping. There seems to be a bit of a "north of the river vs south of the river" divide. Personally, I much prefer the north (Fitzroy, Carlton, Collingwood, Clifton Hill) as it seems a lot more relaxed and less showy than South Yarra, Prahran, etc. Just around the corner is the Melbourne museum and the Exhibition Building. Even if there's nothing on at the Exhibition Building, I would recommend having a walk around the gardens there - it is pretty amazing and literally about 500m from the edge of the CBD on Spring St.

I'd also recommend having a look on the internet about a walking tour, especially if any take in all the different laneways. It's the one thing I love about Melbourne which no other city has. There are decrepit laneways which, when you walk down them, have "hole in the wall" type cafes and bars. A lot of them are covered in really cool graffiti too (the street art kind, not the ugly crap on the back of a bus stop kind). Chinatown is really good and really cheap too.

If you want to PM me, I'd be happy to recommend a few restaurants, bars, etc in and around Melbourne and the inner-north.

Things I would avoid (apologies to other posters who have recommended them, but I just don't think they give a good impression as to what Melbourne's really like):

Lygon St, Carlton – some of it is really nice the further north you get (actually in Brunswick), but the area between the city and Faraday St (where the majority of tourists go – I know it was a staple when I lived in Adelaide and visited) is full of crappy Italian food which isn’t authentic at all and is overpriced. They might throw in a free glass of wine and a garlic bread (they all have spruikers out the front harassing people), but I wouldn’t drink that wine if they actually paid me.

Bridge Rd, Richmond – it used to be full of outlet stores but most have shut down and the ones that are left are pretty terrible. All of the better brands moved to the DFO outlets (one near the casino called Southwharf). They have since gone broke but are still open for business. There’s also a shopping centre (used to be a DFO) in Southern Cross Station on Spencer Street which has all the same shops as DFO. To be honest, though, with the way the retail sector is at the moment anyway, you’ll probably get just as many bargains sticking with Myer, David Jones and Melbourne Central.

Queen Vic markets – by all means, go for something to fill your Sunday morning but, unless you want those socks with toes or a boxing kangaroo belt buckle, the shopping is crap and full of fakes.

[Mr Beefy]

I lived there for 18 years and agree with what rk25 says in regard to Lygon St and Vic Markets.

Victoria St in Richmond/Abbotsford is also good for Viet food.

There are a couple of good Greek restaurants floating around too, there used to one in Johnston St Fitzroy that I liked.

The Belgian Beer Cafe is good on a nice day.

Sawasdee Thai restaurant and Shark Fin Inn are two of me faves in Chinatown.

I have stayed at the causeway in Little Collins st which is not bad fro a reasonably cheap hotel, very central.

If you like steaks you cant go past Vlados in Richmond

[rk25]

I lived there for 18 years and agree with what rk25 says in regard to Lygon St and Vic Markets.

Victoria St in Richmond/Abbotsford is also good for Viet food.

There are a couple of good Greek restaurants floating around too, there used to one in Johnston St Fitzroy that I liked.

The Belgian Beer Cafe is good on a nice day.

Sawasdee Thai restaurant and Shark Fin Inn are two of me faves in Chinatown.

I have stayed at the causeway in Little Collins st which is not bad fro a reasonably cheap hotel, very central.

If you like steaks you cant go past Vlados in Richmond

Agreed - Victoria St has plenty of good, cheap Vietnamese.

I think the Greek place you're thinking of is Jim's Greek Tavern.

[Gingernuts]

I lived there for 18 years and agree with what rk25 says in regard to Lygon St and Vic Markets.

Victoria St in Richmond/Abbotsford is also good for Viet food.

There are a couple of good Greek restaurants floating around too, there used to one in Johnston St Fitzroy that I liked.

The Belgian Beer Cafe is good on a nice day.

Sawasdee Thai restaurant and Shark Fin Inn are two of me faves in Chinatown.

I have stayed at the causeway in Little Collins st which is not bad fro a reasonably cheap hotel, very central.

If you like steaks you cant go past Vlados in Richmond

Bloody love that place. Go there every time I head to Melbourne.

[Strawb]

Come see the Werribee Zoo it is worth the visit, I agree with the rest but I don't get much out of Werribee. I wish I did sometimes. But I prefer going to Geelong.