Melbourne Attractions

The second largest city in Australia, Melbourne is brimming with a wide variety of attractions to enthral just about every kind of traveller. Whatever your taste or interest, there is bound to be something in Melbourne for you.

Art lovers will enjoy the National Gallery of Victoria, history buffs will enjoy touring through the Old Melbourne Gaol and culture vultures will go love exploring the Chinese and Melbourne Museums. Those with a fear of heights should steer clear of the Eureka Tower, Melbourne's tallest building offering panoramic views of the city from the 88th floor - a sight to behold!

Children of all ages will love the Melbourne Zoo which boasts over 350 different species of animals and a day in the Royal Botanical Gardens is not to be missed.

Visitors keen on sightseeing will do well to purchase a Melbourne and Beyond Smartvisit card, which enables the bearer to gain free admission to over 60 of Melbourne's top attractions as well as a full-colour travel guide. Free public transport is also available and is valid for the duration of the pass. The pass is available in 1, 2, 3 and 7 day durations starting at A$69 for adults and A$49 for children.

Chinese Museum

The Chinese Museum was established in 1985 to preserve and display the history of Chinese Australians since the mid-1800s. It has become a living part of Melbourne’s modern Chinatown, with its five levels of galleries, showcasing artefacts and photographs depicting the life and culture...  see full details

Cooks' Cottage

This cottage was originally built in the village of Great Ayton in Yorkshire, England, in 1755 by James and Grace Cook, the parents of Captain James Cook. When the cottage was offered for sale in 1933 it was bought by a prominent Melbourne...  see full details

Yarra River

A visit to Melbourne would not be complete without a good look at its main river system, the Yarra River. Often the centre of many jokes due to its brownish colour, it is actually not dirty, just muddy. The Yarra has become the...  see full details

Government House

Government House is the official residence of the Governor of Victoria, located within the Botanical Gardens. The house is built in the style known as Italianate, and is one of the finest examples of this type of architecture in Australia. The house was...  see full details

Old Melbourne Gaol

Victoria's oldest surviving remand prison gives visitors a chilling insight into prison life in a model 19th-century gaol. Behind the thick and forbidding walls Ned Kelly, the infamous bushranger, was one of 135 men and women who were hanged on the gaol's scaffold. Visitors...  see full details

Royal Botanic Gardens

Established in 1846 by the first Governor of Victoria, Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens are considered one of the worlds finest. They contain extensive landscaped gardens covering 35 hectares (86 acres) and are home to more than 51,000 individual plants, representing over 12,000 different species....  see full details

National Gallery of Victoria

The National Gallery collections are divided between the redeveloped gallery at St Kilda Road, which houses Victoria's impressive international collections (including Picasso's Weeping Woman) and the Ian Potter Centre, the spectacular new home for the country's most important Australian collection. ...  see full details

Eureka Tower

The Eureka Tower is the tallest building in Melbourne and the tallest residential building in the world, standing at just over 984ft (300m) tall, offering 360-degree views over the city. There is a public observation deck on level 88, the Skydeck, which affords visitors...  see full details

Melbourne Museum

A fascinating museum complex situated in the Carlton Gardens, the Melbourne Museum is the largest in Australia, with over 30 different exhibits covering history, culture, science, animals and more. Its most notable galleries include the Bunjilaka, which explores the history of Aboriginal culture in...  see full details

Federation Square

Occupying a whole city block, Federation Square is one of Melbourne's major attractions. A cultural nucleus, Federation Square hosts over 2000 events a year, in its outdoor public spaces, St Paul's Court and The Square and vibrant covered space, the Atrium. Renowned for its...  see full details

Queen Victoria Market

If you are planning a picnic at Birrarung Marr or the Botanic Gardens or just looking for some affordable souvenirs, head to the Queen Victoria market, one of the largest open-air markets in the Southern Hemisphere, with almost 50 percent of the market...  see full details

Melbourne Zoo

Housing more than 350 different animal species, Melbourne Zoo is a worthy stopover, in a country famous for nature conservation and interesting diversity of animals. Built in 1862, certain areas of the zoo have been preserved as historic zones, demonstrating to visitors the significant...  see full details