Attractions in Melbourne
Eureka Skydeck 88
With its incredible 91 storeys, the Eureka Tower is one of the tallest residential buildings in the world.
The 88th floor, the Eureka Skydeck 88, is a freely accessible, breathtaking viewing platform with an overwhelming panoramic view of the city and its surroundings.
Address: 7 Riverside Quay, Southbank, Melbourne
Tel: (03) 96 93 88 88
Hours: Opening times: Daily 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Website: http://www.skydeck.com.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Federation Square
Federation Square was designed and built as an architectural landmark in a city that loves modern architecture.
It consists of a completely new block of buildings and combines social, cultural and commercial activities. A highlight is the Ian Potter Center: NGV Australia, where works by Australian artists, including Australian Aboriginal art and the Torres Strait Islander, are exhibited.
Another is the Australian Center for the Moving Image (ACMI), the center of the moving image. The strange-looking, geometric buildings and the extensive, intentionally uneven space are an attraction in themselves.
Address: Swanston Street & Flinders Street (opposite Flinders Street Station), Melbourne
Phone: (03) 96 55 19 00
Hours: 24 hours a day.
Website: http://www.federationsquare.com.au
Entry fee: No.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Heide Museum of Modern Art
The former home of John and Sunday Reed, former supporter of the Melbourne art scene, became the Museum of Modern Art after her death. There are admirable exhibitions of contemporary Australian art. The sculpture park on the museum site is particularly worth seeing.
Address: 7 Templestowe Road, Bulleen, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 98 50 15 00
Hours: Tue-Sun open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: http://www.heide.com.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Melbourne Aquarium
Completely in the style of the barrier reef, this aquarium inspires with many colorful fish, awe-inspiring jellyfish and a huge basin through which you can walk and watch large fish, enormous gray nurse sharks and gigantic manta rays. You can even dive with the sharks – and you don’t even need a diving license.
Address: King Street & Flinders Street, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 96 20 09 99. Hours of
Operation: Open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Website: http://www.melbourneaquarium.com.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground, or MCG, is world famous for national and international cricket games. It also hosts many Aussie Rules American Football games and the AFL final in September.
Guided tours are also available on the site where the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame and the National Sports Museum are located.
Address: Yarra Park, Jolimont, Melbourne
Telephone: (03) 96 57 88 88.
Opening hours: Guided tours daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (every 30 minutes), except on match days.
Website: http://www.mcg.org.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Melbourne Museum
Australia’s largest museum has a covered rainforest, a children’s cube-shaped museum, the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Center, and a number of other exhibitions about dinosaurs, insects, and more.
There are both permanent and special exhibitions. The stuffed horse in the glass box is Phar Lap, Australia’s most famous racehorse.
Address: 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton, Melbourne
Telephone: (03) 83 41 77 77 or 1300 13 01 52 (Australia only).
Opening hours: Daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: http://museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/
Entrance fee: Yes.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Melbourne Zoo
The award-winning Melbourne Zoo, the oldest of all Australian animal parks, is home to more than 300 different species from home and abroad.
There is an African rainforest with gorillas, orangutans, hippos and big cats as well as an equally impressive butterfly house and a bush land plant, on which many native animal species can be found.
Address: Elliot Avenue, Parkville, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 92 85 93 00
Hours: Daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: http://www.zoo.org.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
National Gallery of Victoria International
NGV International is home to Australia’s best collection of international art. You can admire paintings by Gainsborough, Constable, Bonnard, Delacroix, Monet and Rembrandt, among others.
There are also excellent special exhibitions. The building is a work of art in itself.
Address: 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Telephone: (03) 86 20 22 22
Opening hours: Wednesday to Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Tuesdays.
Website: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au
Entry fee: No.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Old Melbourne Gaol
The prison was built in 1841 and greatly expanded during the gold rush. 136 inmates were hanged at Old Melbourne Gaol, the most famous of whom was Ned Kelly in 1880.
The exhibition includes a collection of death masks, the gallows on which Ned Kelly was hung, his weapon, and armor worn by a member of his gang. Old Melbourne Gaol prison operations ceased in 1929.
Address: Russell Street, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 86 63 72 28
Hours: Daily from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: http://www.oldmelbournegaol.com.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Rippon Lea Estate
The property, one of the last privately owned Australian country homes, was built in 1868.
The lavish interior of the manor house includes, for example, the elaborately embossed wallpaper and beautiful stained glass. The garden, including the greenhouse, pond, orchard, extensive flower beds and shrubs, is very beautifully landscaped.
Address: 192 Hotham Street, Elsternwick, Melbourne
Telephone: (03) 95 23 60 95.
Opening hours: Tue-Sun from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Website: http://www.ripponleaestate.com.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Royal Botanic Gardens
The Royal Botanic Gardens, just 2 km south of the city near St. Kilda Road, is one of the best parks in all of Australia.
On more than 38 hectares of land you can see beautifully designed plantings, native and non-native trees and shrubs, a wonderful herb garden and many twittering birds. From Tuesday to Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. you can take part in free 60- to 90-minute tours.
Address: Birdwood Ave, South Yarra, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 92 52 23 00
Hours: Daily from 7.30 a.m. to sunset.
Website: http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au
Entry fee: No.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
William Rickett’s Sanctuary
In an ash forest in the green Dandenong Mountains, William Rickett’s mysterious clay figures are found hidden between rocks and ferns and are said to represent Australian Aborigines.
Address: Dandenong Ranges, Melbourne
Telephone: (03) 97 51 13 00.
Website: http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au
Entry fee: Yes.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Tourist offices
Melbourne Visitor Center
The visitor center also has an information kiosk in the Bourke Street shopping center.
Address: Federation Square, corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Street, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 96 58 96 58
Hours of Operation: Daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Website: http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/touristinformation
Visitor passes
With the See Melbourne & Beyond Smartvisit Card (Tel: 1300 66 17 11, only in Australia; Internet: www.seemelbournecard.com) you get free entry to over 60 sights in and around Melbourne. Visitor passes for one, two or three days are available on the Internet or in the Melbourne Visitor Center.
