1st Trip to Melbourne Australia: Recommendations?

[R80RS]

I'm traveling to Melbourne (Werribee) on business next week, and may have a free day or two depending on how things go. Anyone have any recommendations on things to do or see, or things to avoid? Any restaurant recommendations?

Any and all opinions/observations/recommendations for a first time traveler to Australia are welcome. Thanks.

 

[VeeDubb]

Not sure what you like to do but the Royal Botanical Gardens just southeast of the CBD (downtown) is awesome. There is also a war memorial and museum near the Gardens that's pretty cool. Then near the Gardens is Federation Square wgich is a museum with an Australian media center that is worth checking out. There is also a world class art Museum not far from there. Basically the area between Flinders station to the Botanical Gardens is a hotbed of tourist activities.

The city is also very walkable. The CBD to the east of Elizabeth St is crowded with cafes and restaurants. Swanston Street is particularly busy. Chinatown is nested in this area. West of Elizabeth St is not very interesting and mainly a business district.

As far as food goes, it depends on your budget. For high-end gourmet, check out Melba in the South bank (right across the river from Flinders station) or Neapoli wine bar not far from Russell Street. The best coffee is probably at Seven Seeds near the University of Melbourne. Also check out DeGraves Street which is an alley way full of cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating. Even if you don't eat there, it's worth walking through to experience the vibrancy and energy.

The best budget restaurants are the various hole in the wall Asian places. You won't find more variety or better tasting Asian food outside of Asia. Go to Laksa King for the best Seafood Laksa which is a Malaysian Seafood curry soup. I also like Bali Bagus for authentic Indonesian food. It's a total dive but their grilled fish is amazing and cheap. Victoria Street in the Richmond suburb is little Saigon and has amazing Vietnamese food. There is also a Thai place off of Victoria Ave called Jinda Thai which is probably the best Thai restaurant I've been to in the world (though I've never been to Thailand).

Another tourist attractions is Queen Victoria Market. Amazing indoor market that sells everything from fresh fruit and veggies to Australian wild game meats and jerky. Also a good place to buy clothes and various touristy non-food items.

The surburb of Fitzroy is sort of a hipster district if you are into that. Probably fun to check out if you have time.

The great thing about Melbourne is pretty much everything is accessible by public transportation. Get a day pass and you can ride the trams, trains or buses. In fact, having a car is a liability because parking is brutal.

Have fun and enjoy your time there. It is honestly one of my favorite cities in the world. There is nothing like it in the U.S. it's also very safe at night. You can walk around at midnight on a Friday night in the CBD and it feels safe. Ironically the crime is mostly in the outer suburbs in the Western suburbs. Avoid hanging out in the outer surburb train stations late at night especially in the Western surburbs.

 

[Y_K]

I would add fantastic Immigration Museum and Hellenic Museum

 

[Donald]

Its a long plane ride.

 

[ag_ghost]

Some locals took me here in the early 90s. It was BYO and the proprietor (I think it was Vlado himself) came to the table, scan what we'd had wrote a bill on the spot. Great time and great steak.
http://www.vlados.com.au/home/
Have a great trip.
Kevin

 

[Shannow]

I ate here last Thursday night when I was down there for business.

http://redspiceqv.com/menu/dinner-menu

The Pork belly, beef cheeks, and curry goat were extraordinarily good.

Be prepared for Price shock when in Oz capital cities.

A pint of White Rabbit Pale Ale here was $11.50 Australian, but very very nice.

http://bourkest.elephantandwheelbarrow.com.au/

 

[hpb]

Do the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) tour - I did it earlier this year and the American tourists in my group were blown away by the place. Also, enjoy looking at all the cool cars you don't get at home!

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: hpb
Do the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) tour - I did it earlier this year and the American tourists in my group were blown away by the place. Also, enjoy looking at all the cool cars you don't get at home!

I would absolutely do the MCG tour, so much sporting history there. If it were me, I would try my hardest to catch an AFL or NRL match, preferably St. Kilda.

A few of the V8 Supercar teams are headquartered around the Melbourne area, they generally do tours similar to the NASACR teams in Charlotte.

 

[Shannow]

your spend just got 2.3% cheaper yesterday as the reserve bank dropped interest rates again, and money flees our shores.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Is this non-stop? Good luck sitting in that plane and in the air for 20 hours. I could never do that.

 

[SR5]

Melbourne, just walk around (or tram around) and enjoy.

Almost impossible not to have fun there.

VeeDubb seems to know his way around nicely.

BTW it's famous for having four seasons in one day, so be prepared for hot & cold, dry & wet in one 24 hour period. But mostly enjoy.

 

[Silk]

Yeah, I remember that about it...not as many seasons in a day as Auckland, but a bigger change when it happens. Go to bed hot, wake up shivering, go out for the day, and no matter what you wear or take, you made the wrong choice. Very good city to get around on public transport, and the Victoria Market is the place to go, if you want to buy stuff you never knew you wanted.

An eye opener for me....the Post Office was a whole block, and Repco the size of a supermarket, big city for a small city Kiwi.

 

[R80RS]

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. This is plenty to go on for my short visit.

Originally Posted By: Shannow
A pint of White Rabbit Pale Ale here was $11.50 Australian, but very very nice.

That's about US$8.50, which is not unheard of for a premium pint in a nice establishment in the U.S. I enjoy beer, so thanks for the tip on White Rabbit.

Originally Posted By: Triple_Se7en
Is this non-stop? Good luck sitting in that plane and in the air for 20 hours. I could never do that.

No, I'm connecting through LAX. Still, 16 hours is enough.

 

[Shannow]

We did Sydney to NY in 2010, and LAx was a killer...then it was back on the same plane to NY...we were wrecked.

When we took the family in 2014, we did Hawaiian, broke the trip nicely, but also gave us customs at Hawaii...very civilised.

If you stop by the elephant and wheelbarrow, you'll be about a mile from where I was born.

 

[R80RS]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
We did Sydney to NY in 2010, and LAx was a killer...then it was back on the same plane to NY...we were wrecked.

When we took the family in 2014, we did Hawaiian, broke the trip nicely, but also gave us customs at Hawaii...very civilised.

If you stop by the elephant and wheelbarrow, you'll be about a mile from where I was born.

I'm originating from Chicago, so my overall trip is a little shorter than your was - about 20 hours total in the air.

My trip was booked through my company, so connecting through Hawaii was out of the question. I will keep that in mind though, as my wife informed me that I'll be going back to Australia soon, this time with her accompanying me.

The Elephant & Wheelbarrow looks like my kind of establishment, and is at the top of my to-do list. Thanks again for the referral.