Modern Australian wining and dining
Melbourne prides itself on the quality and variety of its food. ‘Mod Oz’ cuisine takes European techniques and adds an Asian twist at restaurants like
Southbank down by the Yarra River. Bohemian
Degraves Street is the place to head for cafes, tapas joints and wine bars serving up cool-climate wines from the local Yarra Valley. For global flavours try Peking duck and noodles in
Chinatown, Vietnamese pho soup in Richmond’s Victoria Street and platefuls of pasta in Lygon Street, Melbourne’s
Little Italy.
World-class shopping
Designer boutiques, specialist shops and homeware stores lie just outside the door of your Melbourne hotel. A network of lanes and French-style arcades weaves its way from the Yarra River through to Bourke Street Mall, home to department stores
Myers and
David Jones. Browse the latest fashions in the revamped
GPO shopping arcade. Find everything from tea shops to cosmetics, chocolates, shoes and creations by up-and-coming local designers in the roofed
Melbourne Central and
QV retail centres.
Cultural Melbourne
Catch a Broadway-style show at the glittering
Princess Theatre and enjoy opera at the
Arts Centre off Southbank on a Melbourne city break. Watch a fast and furious game of Australian Rules Football at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground. Cultured Melbourne has two heavyweight art galleries. Australian art goes under the spotlight at the
Ian Potter Centre on Federation Square while international work is showcased at the
National Gallery of Victoria on St Kilda Road. Melbourne’s festivals year begins with the Comedy Festival in April and carries on through to the International Arts Festival in October.
