Melbourne in 24 Hours

A city with rich culture, spectacular food, and vibrant shopping, Melbourne is a fantastic place to visit on a day layover.

Creative, exciting, multi-cultural and ever-changing, Melbourne is a city full of surprises, with new discoveries and delights in every unique precinct, basement, rooftop and laneway.

If you only have 24 hours in the Victorian capital, it’s advised to take a walk off the beaten path and discover some of the city’s amazing sights and activities.

Morning

Melburnians take their coffee seriously, so start the day with a perfectly mellow latte at one of the city’s funky little alleyway cafes or at Queen Victoria Market in North Melbourne. 

Here, you can taste your way around the huge variety of food stalls after your morning caffeine fix.

Next, head to Bourke Street Mall for some high-class retail therapy.

Melbourne’s grand 1864 post office has been stunningly refurbished and converted into an elegant retail hub focusing on fashion, luxury goods and dining.

Find more fabulous, cutting edge fashion in Flinders Lane or bohemian Brunswick Street.

Midday

With bags of shopping around your arm, your next stop is Lygon Street, Carlton and Melbourne’s vibrant Italian precinct, where you can experience a relaxed lunch at a street-side cafe with a dash of la dolce vita.

Then hop on the free City Circle tram, clattering and clanging along in a vintage tram and stopping off at the arts hubs and architectural masterpieces of Federation Square, Docklands and the National Gallery of Victoria, followed by the hallowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Evening

Once evening closes in, head to the Yarra-side Riverland for a cooling ale or cocktail beneath the bluestone arches.

Come dinner time, Melbourne offers a heady variety of dining choices, from cheap and chic to the headily glamorous, covering almost every international cuisine imaginable.

Kicking on after dinner?

Curtin House offers three venues in one. On level one, is smart beer hall Cookie, upstairs is civilized live music and cocktail venue Toff in Town, while the often raucous Rooftop Bar offers a convivial atmosphere and skyline views to complete your day out and about in Melbourne.

If you are planning a holiday to the Garden State capital, but are looking to explore more than the treasures within in the city’s borders, why not take a trip to the Apple Isle.

From the Melbourne Wharf, it’s only a hop, skip and a jump on the Spirit of Tasmania to Tasmania where you can sample further culinary delights and amazing sites of the Apple Isle.

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This post was brought to you by Spirit of Tasmania.