In the month of August I was reminded of my son's 2 weeks Dasara festival holidays between Oct 1st to 13th. That's when my wife and I started planning for a visit to Australia which was long overdue. My sister and brother-in-law who stay in Melbourne have been always asking us to take a trip but that hadn't materialized so far. So after discussing with my sister we decided to spend 2 weeks in Australia covering Melbourne and Sydney.
And now when I'm back from this wonderful vacation, I would like to list down all the places I've visited, the restaurants I've been to, and other activities I enjoyed.
I will begin with the vibrant city, Melbourne in this post and follow up with another post for Sydney.
Melbourne Cricket Ground: One of the largest stadiums in the world is the home for the Melbourne Cricket Club. It features great history of the game of Cricket. Also there is a Sports Museum inside which covers and highlights the great sports culture of Australia. A guided tour of the stadium and Sports museum visit will make any sports enthusiast happy.
Federation Square: Just outside the beautiful Flinder's station, Federation square is a happening place always full of tourists and is surrounded by restaurants and bars. This hosts many cultural events and also a best venue for flashmobs.
Continue ahead from the square to have a nice walk next to Yarra river. You will find this route full of cafes and bars. Even the joggers and cyclists make use of this route.
State Library of Victoria: The central library sees huge number of tourists every year for its architectural aspect, historical importance and for the historical, art artifacts it holds. The dome area in the library is a great sight with its octagonal design for reading tables surrounded by thousands of books. Many themed exhibits are always on offer. Front yard even entertains people with big chess game on each sides.
Shrine of Remembrance: This was built as a memorial to all the Australia's men and women who served in World War 1. It captures all the details about the wars and the great contribution of Australians.
Eureka Skydeck 88: This 297 meters building which has an observatory deck on the 88th floor gives an awesome view of the whole Melbourne city and beyond in all directions. It even holds the Australia's highest post box.
Queen Victoria Market: The market is a very big open market having shops selling wide variety of Australia's well known items including the souvenirs. And also has many restaurants and food stores serving great food. A nice place to grab some items from your shopping list.
12 Apostles & Great Ocean Drive: The 12 Apostles are the limestone stacks standing off the shore of Port Campbell by Great Ocean Road. The view is impressive along the vast coast. Nearby Gibson's point and Lock Ard area are equally scenic. I enjoyed driving as well while returning from this place.
City Circle Tram: This is a free tram which runs covering all the major tourist attractions in the city. Take a nice audio guided tour on this tram to get first hand information of the attractions and location which helps to roam better.
Degraves Street, Lygon Street and Hardware Lane: These narrow lanes have many cafes, bars and restaurants serving wonderful drinks and different cuisines. I had great Italian food at Triim restaurant and Chinese food in Degraves street.
Brunetti Shops: If you love sweet then this is a place you better not miss. The shop serves some great pastries, chocolates and coffee.
Melbourne Zoo and SeaLife Aquarium: Nice places to visit especially for kids as they would enjoy all the animals and sea creatures including those which are Australian specific. The SeaLife Aquarium also has a nice play area where kids paint some fishes on templates provided which can be scanned further and displayed on a big animation screen. Kids enjoyed this activity.
Melbourne Central Station and Flinders Station are worth mentioning as they are quite well known destinations for tourists. Central station is a great place for shopping as well and features colorful atmosphere with all shops and restaurant.
Docklands is worth a visit where one can have a peaceful stroll and can enjoy time sitting in any of the cafes or bars.
Bourke Street: Every great city has a street where many music bands, singers, guitarists and street showman show up and entertain the crowd. Fridays and Weekends are the right time to visit this street to enjoy what's in the offering.
This was even decorated with Diwali festival banners to indicate the acceptance of different ethnic groups.
Points to note:
- The metro in the city is well connected and covers most of the above mentioned places and to bring joy to the tourists, the bus ride is absolutely free in the central city area (Zone 1).
- Melbourne Metro app would be really handy while roaming around the city.
- Pickup a tourist booklet at the airport after landing which gives all the information about the attractions and also contains discount coupons.
And now when I'm back from this wonderful vacation, I would like to list down all the places I've visited, the restaurants I've been to, and other activities I enjoyed.
I will begin with the vibrant city, Melbourne in this post and follow up with another post for Sydney.
Melbourne Cricket Ground: One of the largest stadiums in the world is the home for the Melbourne Cricket Club. It features great history of the game of Cricket. Also there is a Sports Museum inside which covers and highlights the great sports culture of Australia. A guided tour of the stadium and Sports museum visit will make any sports enthusiast happy.
Federation Square: Just outside the beautiful Flinder's station, Federation square is a happening place always full of tourists and is surrounded by restaurants and bars. This hosts many cultural events and also a best venue for flashmobs.
Continue ahead from the square to have a nice walk next to Yarra river. You will find this route full of cafes and bars. Even the joggers and cyclists make use of this route.
State Library of Victoria: The central library sees huge number of tourists every year for its architectural aspect, historical importance and for the historical, art artifacts it holds. The dome area in the library is a great sight with its octagonal design for reading tables surrounded by thousands of books. Many themed exhibits are always on offer. Front yard even entertains people with big chess game on each sides.
Shrine of Remembrance: This was built as a memorial to all the Australia's men and women who served in World War 1. It captures all the details about the wars and the great contribution of Australians.
Eureka Skydeck 88: This 297 meters building which has an observatory deck on the 88th floor gives an awesome view of the whole Melbourne city and beyond in all directions. It even holds the Australia's highest post box.
Queen Victoria Market: The market is a very big open market having shops selling wide variety of Australia's well known items including the souvenirs. And also has many restaurants and food stores serving great food. A nice place to grab some items from your shopping list.
12 Apostles & Great Ocean Drive: The 12 Apostles are the limestone stacks standing off the shore of Port Campbell by Great Ocean Road. The view is impressive along the vast coast. Nearby Gibson's point and Lock Ard area are equally scenic. I enjoyed driving as well while returning from this place.
City Circle Tram: This is a free tram which runs covering all the major tourist attractions in the city. Take a nice audio guided tour on this tram to get first hand information of the attractions and location which helps to roam better.
Degraves Street, Lygon Street and Hardware Lane: These narrow lanes have many cafes, bars and restaurants serving wonderful drinks and different cuisines. I had great Italian food at Triim restaurant and Chinese food in Degraves street.
Brunetti Shops: If you love sweet then this is a place you better not miss. The shop serves some great pastries, chocolates and coffee.
Melbourne Zoo and SeaLife Aquarium: Nice places to visit especially for kids as they would enjoy all the animals and sea creatures including those which are Australian specific. The SeaLife Aquarium also has a nice play area where kids paint some fishes on templates provided which can be scanned further and displayed on a big animation screen. Kids enjoyed this activity.
Melbourne Central Station and Flinders Station are worth mentioning as they are quite well known destinations for tourists. Central station is a great place for shopping as well and features colorful atmosphere with all shops and restaurant.
Docklands is worth a visit where one can have a peaceful stroll and can enjoy time sitting in any of the cafes or bars.
Bourke Street: Every great city has a street where many music bands, singers, guitarists and street showman show up and entertain the crowd. Fridays and Weekends are the right time to visit this street to enjoy what's in the offering.
This was even decorated with Diwali festival banners to indicate the acceptance of different ethnic groups.
Points to note:
- The metro in the city is well connected and covers most of the above mentioned places and to bring joy to the tourists, the bus ride is absolutely free in the central city area (Zone 1).
- Melbourne Metro app would be really handy while roaming around the city.
- Pickup a tourist booklet at the airport after landing which gives all the information about the attractions and also contains discount coupons.
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