Melbourne is considered artsy, culturally rich, and great for foodies and shoppers. This is a city with an endless-seeming calendar of festivals and events, and an ever-evolving food scene. The CBD is where you’ll find many of the big name museums and galleries, along with the Queen Victoria Market. Head south of the Yarra river and you'll come across the extensive Botanical Gardens and Melbourne Cricket Ground. Head even further south and you'll get to the beach — try out St. Kilda, Brighton or Altona, all of which can be reached on the tram. Melbourne is also well known for its cafe scene, the heart of which is arguably Charlton, for its hipster shopping — hello, Fitzroy — and for being within striking distance of the Yarra Valley wine region.
Melbourne is an ever evolving and renewing city, so even if you’ve visited before and stayed somewhere fantastic it’s worth revisiting your options. New hotels are opening all the time, and neighbourhoods can change pretty quickly with the injection of a few new, chic hotels, or a super hip restaurant or cafe.
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Melbourne’s CBD and surrounding inner city suburbs are the obvious choice for visitors. If you’re coming for the museums and galleries — and Melbourne has plenty to offer even the pickiest culture vultures — then these are the neighbourhoods to stay in. Melbourne’s CBD isn’t as business-centric as that of other Australian state capitals; there are still residential pockets, and plenty of great places to eat, drink and shop, as well as the main museums, galleries, historic and architectural sights and many theatres. The CBD is also well connected to the rest of the city via the public transport network. Melbourne’s CBD is a hub of accommodation too, with plenty of variety when it comes to price, as well as style.
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Southbank sits across the Yarra from the CBD, and is known for its restaurants and bars, its art galleries and theatre venues, and for the massive Crowne Casino complex. This is a neighbourhood of high-end accommodation — including lots of apartments — Michelin-starred restaurants and shopping opportunities — head for the multi-level Southgate shopping centre. Other highlights include the Melbourne Arts Precinct, home to the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art; the National Gallery of Victoria; the Southbank Theatre; and the Melbourne Recital Centre. Not to mention lots of great restaurants with a river view. Southbank hosts a Sunday market — on the promenade close to the Arts Centre — and it’s a good spot to catch great buskers too. It's not the greenest of neighbourhoods, but it’s close to some of Melbourne’s best parks and gardens.. Guests in Southbank can easily shoot across to the north side of the Yarra on the Sandridge Bridge, which brings you out close to Flinders Street Station.
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Trendy and on the beach, St Kilda has a lot going for it. It’s not super central, but it’s connected to the CBD by tram. Port Phillip Bay is a relatively calm bay, and a great place to swim or sail, kitesurf or paddle. You might even see little penguins on the breakwater. The beach isn’t the sandy idyll of beaches further down the coast — it’s a city beach, meaning fun and lively, but not spectacularly beautiful. It’s got some very pretty parks that run along side it, though, and historic heated seawater pools and spas. Plus Luna Park, an iconic Melbourne landmark, and mini amusement park. St. Kilda is a great base if you’re looking for music venues, pubs, bars, cafes and friendly restaurants. This is a good spot for a great-but-cheap night out, as well as a blow-out. And on Sundays, there’s an Arts and Crafts Market on the esplanade. The accommodation options vary too: St. Kilda has backpacker hostels as well as boutique options, aparthotels, and more luxurious hotels. Come in February for the St. Kilda Festival.
Melbourne’s inner city suburbs retain plenty of character from the days when it was unfashionable to live close to the centre of town. The main streets are double width — to accommodate tram lines — with two-storey terraced shops lining both sides, and wide, awning-covered pavements. All this looks pretty much the same as it did a hundred years ago, however you can now expect lots of cafes, bars, restaurants and pubs! There are still plenty of fantastic shops in Fitzroy, including old-fashioned butchers and hip independent boutiques. Fitzroy is also known for its galleries and its street art, and for its live music venues. Fitzroy’s residents are a trendy bunch, so you'll find hipster coffee shops and plenty of veggie and vegan dining options, along with locally designed and made wares and locally brewed beers or stilled spirits.
Carlton is an inner city neighbourhood with a village vibe, and strong Italian influences when it comes to food and drink. Carlton, and main road, Lygon Street are considered birthplace to Melbourne’s coffee culture — imported with the Italian immigrants who settled here in the 19th and 20th centuries. This is also a great place to get a pizza or fresh pasta, though there’s a good range of other cuisines available too! Carlton is also close to Melbourne University, so it’s got a perennially youthful atmosphere and great nightlife. The area is close enough to the centre of Melbourne to feel right on the doorstep of many major attractions, but the Melbourne Museum, the zoo, the Royal Exhibition Building, and the Old Melbourne Gaol are right here. Carlton also has green spaces, and it’s a great base for visiting families. You can walk to the Queen Victoria Market comfortably from Carlton, but there are trams too if you would rather. Carlton has a broad range accommodation, with plenty of good value picks too.
South Yarra and Toorak are Melbourne’s long-standing well-to-do suburbs, which, over time, have become more and more central as the city has expanded. South Yarra is an elegant neighbourhood of picturesque historic architecture, well connected to the centre of town, while still retaining a leafy green feeling. The shopping here is legendary, and while this is a glamorous place to find luxury brands, there are also lots of independent boutiques, plus the cool of Chapel Street. Smart shops are interspersed with cafes, bars and restaurants, with the odd music venue, gallery, theatre and nightclub too, so South Yarra is a cool place to hang out for an evening — if a little pricey! The accommodation options are mainly at the high end of the price range too, but we've tracked down a couple of options that won't break the bank.
