Melbourne

On the eastern edge of the city is the Dandenongs, a hilly forested area dotted with villages and popular for day trips to get out of the city and into nature.
The most popular things to do are; 1000 steps walk; Puffing Billy train (see above); Short walks, such as Sherbrook falls; Shopping or eating in Olinda and Sassafras; Sky High lookout; and the Alfred Nichols garden (pictured).

This area is Melbourne's most prominent wine region and packed full of wineries to visit, in addition to great places to eat, a chocolate factory, distillery, an art museum, gardens and other small attractions. Healesville (below) is the main town.
There are plenty of tour options if you want to go wine tasting. If wine is not your thing, self driving is the easiest option.
With lots of accommodation options, it's easy to stay nearby where you could even get up early to enjoy a hot air balloon ride. The Dandenongs (see above) are just south of here, so easy to combine.

This is the main town in the Yarra Ranges and it's main feature is the Healesville wildlife sanctuary, a place that displays and cares for a large array of Australian wildlife.
In the town itself, you can find plenty of shops and restaurants, in addition to the Four Pillars distillery and Matilda bay brewery.

Melbourne is full of top quality breweries and distilleries. They can be found all over, especially in the inner city suburbs, so click the link to see what's near you.

This colourful stretch of century old beach huts is a very popular spot for travellers to get some great photos.
Note that the huts are privately owned, so please be respectful.
Nearby, the coastline is a great place to take a walk. Perhaps take the train to middle Brighton, walk to the huts, then walk south to return from the Brighton Beach train station, or continue further to Hampton or Sandringham (the end of the line).

The oldest zoo in Australia is built on a very traditional city zoo layout but features newer areas that try to break down the city location and transport you to another world - the trail of the elephants being particularly good at this. Other animals you can see include gorillas, lions, tigers, snow leopards, seals, penguins, giraffes and orangutans.
Note that children visit for free on weekends ($20 otherwise).
Werribee Open Range Zoo is another option and is more like a safari, and Healesville Sanctuary (see below) are part of Zoos Victoria and a membership will get access to all three places.

Melbourne's sea life aquarium has the usual display of aquatic animals - sharks, rays, penguins, all manner of fish, rainforest creatures and even a crocodile. There are 12 zones in total, one of which is a 4D Ice Age movie and another being a touch pool.
Book online to get it 20% cheaper than buying on the door.

In addition to the Royal Botanic Gardens (see above), Melbourne has several other lovely gardens to wander and explore. The main three to check out are surrounding the CBD grid with Flagstaff gardens to the north west, Carlton gardens to the north (with Melbourne museum in the centre) and Fitzroy/Treasury gardens to the east. The later includes a conservatory, cooks cottage (see below) and plenty of fountains.

Melbourne's centre is surrounded by a ring of interesting inner city suburbs you can check out. Each one has a street or two lined with shops, cafes and bars to explore. In addition to Fitzroy and Collingwood (see above), and little Italy and Vietnam (see above), there is - North Melbourne, Richmond, Hawthorn, South Yarra (extending to Prahran and Windsor), South Melbourne and Port Melbourne.
A little further out, you may want to visit Hawthorn, Camberwell, Northcote, Brunswick or Footscray.

Melbourne has more music venues per capita than any other city in the world, so you won't be short of finding something that meets your musical interests.
Large venues include the MCG, Marvel Stadium, Rod Laver Arena, Arts Centre, Hamer Hall and Sydney Myer Music Bowl.
Medium sized venues are The Forum, 170 Russell and the Palais in St Kilda. Smaller venues are generally in or attached to pubs and particularly prevalent in Fitzroy, Collingwood and Brunswick. There are some jazz clubs and lots of buskers on the CBD streets.

This experience comes in three part. The main draw is the old jail building - a beautiful yet haunting structure that dates back to mid-1800's. Inside you can feel what life would have been like in there and see the cross beam that was used to hang 133 inmates over the years, inclduing the infamous Ned Kelly.
The second part is a 30min experience in the city watch house, where you get "arrested" and put into a cell. The third part, only open during school holidays, is the magistrates court, where you may get to see a re-enactment of Ned Kelly's slightly dubious trial. Special tours (night, ghost) offered too.

This peninsula is the eastern part of land that almost encloses Port Phillip Bay. You will find stunning coastlines - rough and rugged on the ocean side, calm and perfect on the bay side - plus a bunch of attractions. Highlights are - Arthurs seat (the tallest point) has a cable car (you can drive up too), views and 'Enchanted Garden Adventure'. Cape Shank offers a lighthouse and incredible ocean views. 'Peninsula Hot Springs' is very popular. Sorrento is the pretty destination town at the end of the drive, with some great secluded beaches nearby and boat tours. At the very end is Point Nepean national park (pictured), with historic buildings and fantastic walks.

This side of the NGV is dedicated to Australian art and has over 20 galleries showcasing a history of art through traditional and contemporary works, plus photography, drawings, fashion textiles, decorative art and more. Entry is free but there are special exhibitions that have a paid entry. It has a great shop on the ground floor in the atrium section of Fed square.

The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art is a museum that aims to 'Do art differently', which is evident in the modern design of it's rusted metal building. Come here if you're looking for something a bit different.

This museum tells the history and stories of immigration to Australia and Melbourne. Housed in the old customs building, there is a series of exhibits that show you the different aspects of immigration to Australia, including some of the difficult parts. They often have temporary exhibits that sometimes attract an extra fee. The shop is good and there is a garden courtyard to the rear.

This museum, located in an old building in Chinatown, tells the story of the long history of Chinese people in Australia, which grew particularly fast during the gold rush that made Melbourne in the 1850's. Exhibits include Chinese history, Chinese Australian stories, Finding Gold: Chinese on the goldfields of 19th century Australia and the Chinese dragon display.

The grandest street in Melbourne was built on the gold riches of the late 19th century that made the city the richest in the world. The eastern end of the street is known as the 'Paris end', where you will find historic buildings, high-end designer and jewellery shopping, the I.M. Pei designed Collins Place and a couple of churches. Where it crosses Swanston Street you will find Town Hall and the art deco Manchester Unity building. West of here you will find the Block arcade (see above) and Centre point laneway. More historic buildings towards the western end include the Mitre tavern, ANZ building and the Rialto - head inside the Intercontinental for a look.

Aside from what's mentioned above on Collins Street and the other attractions (State library, NGV, Finders Station, etc), you can find historic buildings spread all over the city in addition to some more contemporary ones that are worth a look.
Discover the GPO building (Now H+M), Forum theatre (opposite Fed Sq), RMIT buildings(north of State library), Docklands library, Princess Theatre, MCG and Collins Arch.
Tours led by working architects available here.

This cathedral, right in the heart of Melbourne, is open to visitors Tuesday to Saturday. Entry is free but a $5 permit applies if you want to take photos. Guided tours available and they may also have an art exhibition on.

Built in 1880 and world heritage listed, this grand building has a lot of history - it was home to Australia's first parliament and Melbourne's first international exhibition. The building is now mostly used for events but when no event is scheduled, daily tours are offered ($10). Opening later this year is a project that promises to allow daily access, showcase the art collection and give access to great 360 degree views from the rooftop.

This historic building is now preserved in part of the Melbourne Central shopping centre. The tower is where 'shot' was made, by dropping molten lead for it to form into a ball on it's way down. Find out more in the free museum accessed through the shop half way up the escalator.

The world's second monopoly themed attraction (after Hong Kong) includes several rooms filled with fun attractions and activities for the whole family, including a 4DX cinema. They also have a Monopoly themed shop and cafe with high tea available. Look for it on the lowest level of the Melbourne Central shopping mall.

Docklands is a newly developed area that has a few attractions. The northern section, called New Quay, is where all the fun is. It is dominated by The District outlet shopping centre which also houses the entertainment section at the back. Here you will find the Melbourne Star observation wheel (now closed), some fairground rides, ArtVo gallery (optical illusions), mini golf, a cinema, Cirque Electric (arcade and ticket games, bar, bowling, dodgems, XD theatre) and an Ice rink. The southern and central part of docklands are commercial and only the Marvel stadium is of interest.

Melbourne's science museum is mainly aimed at children and families, but includes a planetarium which has Friday night adult events. The main exhibits include the lightning room, historic the pumping station and the planetarium shows.

This delightful space hosts a science based art gallery that has changing exhibitions of cool, interesting and thought provoking art pieces, many of which are interactive. The gallery is part of the University of Melbourne. Check the website for opening times as they close during university breaks. They has a cafe on site and a small amount of merch to buy.

Melbourne's only casino is huge - taking over several city blocks - and rivals Vegas in terms of the gambling floor and complex's size. The resort includes 3 hotels, dozens of restaurants and bars, a food court, shops, a theatre, 'holy moly' mini golf, a cinema, bowling, arcade games, nightclub, karaoke, fast food and of course the gambling areas. There is an impressive outdoor fire display on the hour at night time. If you are here during a holiday, such as Christmas or Chinese new year, check out the grand display in the main entrance between the hotel and gambling floor. The riverside area also holds many events.

In addition to Queen Vic market and South Melbourne market (see above), and the Rose street market in Fitzroy and St Kilda esplanade markets (Mentioned above), there are a few other markets worth visiting.
Prahran market is like a smaller version of Queen Vic. Camberwell market, on Sundays, is an antique and second hand market with some interesting finds. Twice per year, the royal exhibition building holds the Finders Keepers Market, which is full of artistic and hand crafted goods.

Ice Bar Melbourne is a literally a bar made of ice. It's essentially a big freezer, with everything is made of ice, and entry includes suitable clothing to stop you from getting too cold and a cocktail or mocktail. During the day they allow kids to enter too and they have some oversized games like Jenga to play. Photos are available. They also have another bar, Charlotte's bar, which is a normal bar for you to warm up in afterwards.

There are a few pink lakes in Australia that people like to go and photograph and one of them happens to be a short way from Melbourne's city centre, underneath the West Gate bridge. Note though that this is a natural phenomenon and for most of the year the lake is not pink, so it's difficult to plan a visit until it actually happens.

Wake up early enough and you can often see hot air balloons floating close the building tops of Melbourne. Fork out enough money and you can join them, in the CBD or Yarra Valley, champagne breakfast optional.