Melbourne is the 2nd biggest city in Australia and is the capital of Victoria. No it's not the capital of Australia like many people think.
The weather varies a lot in Melbourne. In one day there can be four seasons. One minute you can be enjoying the sun on the beach when the next minute it's raining and you wish you had your winter jacket on. One day can be 40 degrees when the next day is only 19.. So when you travel to Melbourne, make sure you have enough clothes with you ;)
Top things to do in Melbourne on low budget.
Visit ST. KILDA
Take a tram 96 from the CBD to St Kilda and fall in love with the nice laid-back atmosphere St. Kilda has to offer. Walk on the beach side where many people gather together when it's sunny. Take a ride in Luna Park, wander around Botanic Gardens, enjoy the street art on smaller lanes, grab a cake on Acland street, listen to amazing street music, watch the sunset from one of the beach side restaurants and then head to the pier where you can see the Fairy penguins coming out of the water just after sunset.
 |
| St Kilda Beach |
 |
| Luna Park |
 |
| Botanic Gardens |
 |
| Sunset over St Kilda Beach |
 |
| St. Kilda street art |
Spend a day exploring the CBD
Take the FREE City Circle Tram. You can stop and go explore and then hop on again.
In the city center they also have the FREE TRAM ZONE so you can take a tram and easily get from place to place. But if you actually want to get to know the city center, just walk.
Melbourne is well known of it's street art and has many amazing and colorful lanes full of graffitis where you can have your own little photo shoot. The most popular one is Hosier Lane and it's located opposite of the Federation Square. Only a few minute walk away there is a ACDC lane which is also worth to check out. If you want to visit more lanes take a look at this LINK.
On Federation Square there's ACMI (Art, Film and Digital Cultur) center which has some interesting free exhibitions.
On Bourke Street and Elisabeth street you can find some incredibly talented street artists playing their own music or covers. I spent hours watching some of them and ended up going one of the guys's gig too!
the Queen Victoria Market
You can either walk, it's only 10 minute walk away from the Melbourne central station, or you can take the free City Circle tram which also stops at the market. Make sure you don't eat before the market since they have amazing food from all over the world ;)
Brighton beach
Take a train to Brighton beach from Flinders station. Walk the scenic coastal walk thru smaller beaches and finish the walk to these iconic colorful bathing boxes on the beach. Spend the day on the beach which is way less crowded than the beaches in St. Kilda.
Albert Park and lake
Not so far away from St. Kilda there's Albert Park which has a big lake in the middle and it's very popular place to do some exercising or have a nice picnic lunch with a friend and enjoy the beautiful skyline view behind the lake.
Outdoor Cinemas
If you are visiting Melbourne during the summer months make sure you go to one of these outdoor cinemas. Timetables and prices you can find from the internet. Make sure you bring a blanket since it gets pretty cold in the evenings!
To use the public transportation you need to purchase the MYKI card from either the machine or any 7-eleven. (6 dollars + top up)
OUTSIDE MELBOURNE
Great Ocean Road
I would say that the best way to do it is with your own car so you can stop where ever you want to stop and as long as you want. If that's not possible you can also do a tour with a company. That's a great way to make some friends too.
The Great Ocean Road starts at Torquay (an hour away from Melbourne) and travels 244 kilometres westward to finish at Allansford. There are many attractions where to stop, the best known is probably Twelve Apostles. On the way you can see wild koalas and kangaroos!
Phillip Island
Is only 2 hours away from Melbourne and you can easily take a bus from the Southern Cross station to Koo Wee Rup where you change a bus to Phillip Island, or you can do another tour with a company. Phillip Island is popular of its hundreds of penguins which you can see after sunset. You may spot some seals, do some nice coastal hikes, surf, dive, snorkel.
I have only spent less than 2 weeks in Melbourne so there is probably so many other places to go and see and I can't wait to go there again and explore more. Let me know if you got other things to add on this list, I would love to hear.
For accommodation I really recommend the Nunnery hostel. It's very clean, organized, and staff there are super friendly!
I hope you got some tips how to spend your days in Melbourne!
xx Jasmin
