I visited Melbourne in October – spring in Australia – and found tons of things to do for foodies, culture buffs, and animal lovers. The best things to do in Melbourne usually don’t involve much history. Rather, they concentrate on more of what is unique to the city and the surrounding area.
We stayed at the Langham, in Southbank, right across the Yarra River from downtown. Our booked tours either picked us up at, or close to, our hotel or were within walking distance.
Book a Tour to See the Little Penguins
No one should leave Melbourne without seeing the foot-high Little Penguins come ashore on Philip Island just after sunset. Yes, I know that my top thing to do while in Melbourne is something outside the city. You can book a penguin tour to get there, with stops along the way. (See below.) The later the sunset, the longer you’ll have to wait for the penguins to arrive and the later you’ll get back to the city. Although you aren’t allowed to take photos or even glance at your phone once the sun sets, the penguins that have stayed on land sometimes come out of their burrows beforehand.
Fortunately, the penguin viewing area is illuminated by special lights so that you can see them marching in small groups, shoulder to shoulder, across the sand toward land. The real show comes when they reach their burrows, also lit by the special lights. Then, you can watch them, just a few feet away, from the boardwalk. When we were there, the penguins immediately started mating, fighting, and making a racket. We even saw a bandicoot and a brushy-tailed possum in their midst.
Keep in mind that you will have a long day on this tour. You will sit on bleachers waiting for the penguins, and it can get cold. Dress warmly! On this tour, you not only get to see penguins but you also stop at other sights along the way. Expect to see wild wallabies alongside the road. Below you’ll find descriptions of the other stops.
Because a penguin tour is my number one thing to do, the following three sections, all on the same tour, are found outside the city.
Brighton Bathing Boxes
The iconic, colorful Brighton Bathing Boxes stand roof-to-roof along the beach. Even without electricity and plumbing, these cabanas sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park
The Moonlit Sanctuary has koalas, wombats, kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, emus, kookaburras, parrots, and more. All animals are native to Australia. For an extra fee, you can even feed the kangaroos and wallabies or hold a koala. I especially enjoyed watching a wombat eating a giant carrot and seeing the keeper take two dingoes for a walk on leashes. You can get amazingly close to all the animals.
Even though the website says that bookings are required, your admission ticket comes with the purchase of the penguin tour. The guide divides the group into those who want to purchase the special animal interactions.
The Nobbies, Philip Island
Once on Philip Island, we stopped at The Nobbies, a gorgeous view of the ocean and another home for Little Penguins. If you’re lucky, you might see a penguin peeking out of its burrow, but, if you don’t, don’t worry because you’ll be seeing tons of them later, down the road. Take in the breathtaking scenery.
Take a Food Tour. Or Two.
I booked two foodie tours on this trip, one for a general Melbourne walking tour and the other for the famous Queen Victoria Market. If you book one or both of the below, arrive hungry. The amount of food will fill you up quickly, even if the pace is leisurely.
Melbourne Foodie Discovery Walking Tour
Even though the emphasis on this walking tour was on food, our guide provided bits of history and cultural commentary as our small group moved from one venue to the next. Because many immigrants call Melbourne home, we tasted innternational dishes: Vietnamese banh mi, Chinese dumplings, French macarons, Australian drinking chocolate, Italian gelato, and, of course given Melbourn’s coffee culture, excellent espresso-based coffee.
Queen Victoria Market Food Tour
I booked the Queen Victoria Market Ultimate Foodie Tour – and “ultimate” proved to be an apt description. Rather than getting a walking tour of parts of the city as we did in our first foodie tour, we stayed entirely within the Queen Victoria Market’s food stalls. Again, because immigrants and their descendants put down their roots in Melbourne, we tried a variety of international cuisines. If I had to book only one tour for the quantity and quality of the food, I would choose this one.
We tasted fresh oysters, British sausage roll, Italian charcuterie, Indian chai, fresh fruit, “American” jelly doughnuts, traditional Australian vanilla slice, and more. We even sampled kangaroo, which was more tender and delicious than I expected. The charcuterie platter alone let us try a variety of foods, from smoked mussels to stuffed pepperdews.
Stroll the Royal Botanic Gardens
I have roamed through botanical gardens throughout the world, and the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in Melbourne ranks among the best. Even in October, early spring, the gardens bloomed throughout. The best part of the gardens, though, is the sense of serenity and the ability to walk through acres of different kinds of habitats. You will encounter waterfalls, streams, ponds, mini forests, open spaces, and plants from all over the world. We even saw a tree with hanging flying foxes (fruit bats.)
Explore the Yarra Valley Wine Country
The cool but temperate climate of the Yarra Valley produces high-quality still and sparkling wines. Although the wines aren’t as powerful as those from the Barossa region, they have their own honored place in Australian viniculture. From Melbourne, you can be in wine country in 30 minutes or so.
We chose a small group tour of the Yarra Valley wine country that picked us up mere steps from our hotel. Because so few of us had booked the wine tour – we were five in total – the operator combined us with six other guests who had signed up for a combined wine and animal park tour. They got dropped off at their first stop while we visited three wineries. For lunch, we joined up with them for a gourmet meal at Yering Station. Afterward, we all embarked on three more tastings. On the way back to Melbourne, our guide pointed out wild kangaroos relaxing under a tree.
Visit the National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria houses a broad range of first-rate art. Admission is free, so if you don’t have time to take in all the art, you can return at your leisure.
See a Play or Concert at the Arts Centre
The Arts Centre Melbourne, home to concert halls, theaters, and the iconic Spire, offers performances for a wide range of tastes. Next to the National Gallery and across the street from the Royal Botanic Gardens, you can easily reach it by foot if you stay on Southbank or the center of the city. We watched a new play in The Show Room, a small theater on a lower level well-suited to experimental works.
Stroll Down the Hosier Laneway
The famous (infamous?) Hosier Laneway attracts tourists for its vibrant and ever-changing street art. Although some, including one of our tour guides, claim that graffiti is legal along this short street, most of it is not. Look up and around corners as you stroll from one end to the other.
The Verdict
While Melbourne cannot compete with the history you find in European and Asian cities due to its relative youth, it still offers a lot to do, especially if you use it as a base to see sights out of the city. If you have several weeks, combine it with cities such as Sydney, The Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Perth. When you book, remember that the seasons are reversed from those in the Northern hemisphere and that the south is colder than the north. Even so, Melbourne’s winter, though often rainy, does not have the bite one might expect. Pack warm clothes, but don’t expect snow. The best part of a winter trip? The smaller crowds.
