MELBOURNE
Area: Victoria
Country: Australia


Location:
In SE of Australia, in state of Victoria. 440 mls SW of Sydney. 400 mls SE of Adelaide. 14 mls SE of airport.

Telephone code from UK:
61 3

Website:
http://www.visitvictoria.com

Position:
Central Melbourne lies on N bank of Yarra River, about 3 mls inland from huge and nearly closed circle of Port Phillip Bay. Low-rise suburbs spread for miles in all directions over mainly flat land towards distant surrounding hills.

Description:
The "Central Business District" (CBD) _ as the city centre is called throughout Australia _ is laid out on the common grid pattern and is a compact 1 ml E to W and » ml N to S, with the grand GPO building at its geographical centre. The W side of the city can best be likened to the "City" of London; a mix of handsome Victorian buildings towered over by glass and concrete office blocks including the stock exchange building and, tallest of all, the Rialto Towers on Collins Street with its observation deck for views over the city and surrounding country. The London comparison continues with upmarket shops and mobile-phone-toting yuppies thick on the ground. The E side of town is more like the West End of London with Collins Street and Swanston Walk mirroring Oxford Street for both department stores and tourist sleaze. Little Bourke Street is Chinatown and part of Lonsdale Street is a Greek precinct, both reflecting huge ethnic populations in the area. E to W streets are alternately wide avenues, with trolley-bus tracks down the middle, and narrow, one-way canyons. Traffic _ as befitting a bustling state capital and commercial centre _ is heavy but well disciplined with pedestrian traffic lights at most junctions. The concrete and tarmac is relieved somewhat by gardens and parkland areas to the N and SE. For beach seekers, the rather rundown residential seaside resort of St Kilda, with its 30s-style seaside theatres and amusement arcades, lies 5 mls to the S. The area is home to a large Jewish community of E European descent with all the culinary and cultural delights that involves. Overall, however, Melbourne _ like London _ is a place to visit for a few days and tick off your list as "done" rather than a 2-week holiday destination.

Suitability:
Those visiting friends or relatives, business travellers, sports fans and destination "collectors" who want to say they have "been there, seen it, done it".

Accommodation:
Lots of plush 5-star hotels aimed mainly at business people. Plenty of other accommodation throughout the range with the few tourists who do come here settling for the simpler but perfectly adequate 3-star level where the yuppies are not so thick on the ground.

Shopping:
Upmarket designer shops, jewellers, etc, are found the length of Collins Street and in much of Bourke Street. Department stores and serious shopping are to be found in the Bourke Street Mall near the GPO building. Swanston Walk offers less stylish and often touristy merchandise at more realistic prices. A large market operates daily at Queen Victoria Market just N of the city.

Beach:
Extensive sandy beaches, occasionally with some fine grit mixed in, extend from Port Melbourne, SW of the city, to St Kilda Beach next to the marina, about the same distance due S. These are backed in places by small dunes with tussocks of grass and are not as well manicured or serviced as their Mediterranean counterparts.

Entertainments:
Daytime: there are no outstandingly well-known sights to see in Melbourne, although there are a wealth of handsome Victorian buildings, parks and gardens, museums, galleries, churches and cathedrals. Olympic Park, site of past Olympic Games, is a well-used sports venue. Nightlife: apart from eating and drinking, culture is the name of the game here. Plenty of music, opera, drama and ballet at the Victorian Arts Centre or several theatres. Smaller venues offer jazz. Casino on S bank of river.

Eating:
Vast choice of eateries from Thai, Chinese and Japanese through French, Italian and Greek to "international" and home-grown Australian. As with most places, the smarter the restaurant, the larger the bill.

Public-transport:
Trams run throughout city and beyond. Trains run under city centre and overground to many suburban areas. Buses and taxis also abound.

Local-excursions:
Sovereign Hill (re-creation of gold-digging town from 1851 "Gold Rush" days); city river cruises; old Melbourne jail.