Melbourne is a beautiful city in Australia, known for its great weather and stunning scenery.
It is one of Australia’s most popular cities, known as the European half of the country, with enough clubs and nightlife to draw people of all ages and from all over the world, as well as various attractions, beaches, and restaurants of all kinds.
So, when is the best time to travel to Melbourne Australia?
The best time to visit Melbourne is during the summer months of December to February, when you’ll have sunny weather, and the average temperature is between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (24 and 27 degrees Celsius).
These months offer the best chance to experience Melbourne, including its many festivals and events.
However, if you’re looking to avoid the tourist crowds, March to May or September to November is a good time to visit Melbourne.
Melbourne is in the southern hemisphere, so its seasons are reversed from those in the northern hemisphere.
That means that when it’s winter in Melbourne, it’s summer in the northern hemisphere and vice versa. Therefore the coldest month of the year is July.
However, it doesn’t matter when you choose to visit; you will find something for everyone.
Melbourne Weather – Average Temperature
Best things to do in Melbourne
There are many things to do when you visit Melbourne, and it only takes a few days to be filled with the culture and positive feelings of the people.
But, in terms of time, staying in Melbourne for a few weeks is the most excellent way to get to know every secret corner of this fantastic city.
While downtown Melbourne has its own personality, its beauty is found in several neighborhoods, each offering a unique tale.
Brunswick: You will find a vast number and variety of restaurants, great food, cafes, and local businesses.
Richmond: The sporty part of Melbourne, here are the best sports bars.
St Kilda: This neighborhood is to Melbourne what Coney Island is to New York City, a lot of art, fun, and everything at the foot of the beach.
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Queen Victoria Market
Queen Victoria Market is an excellent place to begin your visit to Melbourne.
‘Vic Market,’ with over 600 sellers, is the largest open-air market in the southern hemisphere.
Established for 130 years in Melbourne, it’s better to visit early in the morning if you want to get some fresh food or avoid the crowds.
It is also the ideal spot to go whether you’re looking for fantastic food, drinks, or casual clothing.
Hosier Lane
Hosier Lane, Melbourne’s most recognized laneway for street art, draws camera-wielding crowds snapping edgy graffiti, stencils, and art installations.
The subject matter is generally political and countercultural, with irreverent comedy thrown in for good measure; art pieces change practically daily.
Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station, located just five blocks from the market, has become the heart of Melbourne since its erection in 1854. Several times, it has been the busiest passenger station in the world, exceeding Grand Central Station in New York and Liverpool Street Station in London.
More than 200,000 passengers traveled through in a single day on January 11, 1922.
Platform 1 is Australia’s most extended train platform and the fourth longest in the world, measuring 708 meters.
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Chinatown
This portion of central Melbourne has been the focal point for the city’s Chinese community for over 150 years.
It remains a bustling neighborhood of old buildings filled with Chinese and other Asian formidable eateries.
Come here for dim sum or to explore the nearby laneways for late-night dumplings or beverages.
Chinatown also hosts the city’s Chinese New Year celebrations.
Federation Square
Federation Square is a public space in the heart of Melbourne. It’s home to many restaurants, cafes, shops, and art galleries.
While it took some time, local Melbourne residents have come to appreciate Federation Square as the gathering place it was once meant to be – somewhere to rejoice, protest, watch major sporting events, or lounge on its deckchairs.
“Fed Square,” which occupies a prominent city block, is paved with 460,000 hand-laid cobblestones from Western Australia’s Kimberley region, with sight lines to significant Melbourne sites.
Royal Exhibition Building
This beautiful Victorian building was built for the 1880 International Exhibition and was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2004.
It represents the glory days of the Industrial Revolution, the British Empire, and 19th-century Melbourne’s economic superiority.
It was the first building to fly the Australian flag, and in 1901, it was where Australia’s first government met.
Today, it holds everything from trade exhibits to automobile shows and the yearly Melbourne Art Fair.
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National Gallery of Victoria
To find the art in the city, head further south to Flinders Station, which houses the National Gallery of Victoria.
Local art, Asian art, decorations, furniture, and even a Picasso can be found.
The Gallery is inside a gigantic building that resembles a bunker and houses a massive collection of works throughout the world and history, from ancient antiquities to modern sculptures.
Visitors touch a water wall at the entrance as a ritual before entering the Gallery.
The NGV building, created by Australian architect Sir Roy Grounds in 1967, has undergone numerous renovations and is now regarded as a modernist masterpiece.
National Gallery of Victoria – International
The international section of the National Gallery of Victoria, housed in a massive, brutally beautiful bunker-like building, offers an impressive collection ranging from the ancient to the cutting edge.
Regular blockbuster exhibitions attract large audiences, and there are free 45-minute highlights tours and hour-long tours.
A Rembrandt self-portrait, Tiepolo’s “The Banquet of Cleopatra,” and Turner’s fantastical “Falls of Schaffhausen” are among the highlights. It also houses Picasso’s “Weeping Woman,” which was stolen in 1986 during an art robbery.
The first floor is dedicated to Asian art, featuring outstanding works from China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia.
The Gallery also boasts outstanding decorative art and furniture collection, displayed alongside contemporary paintings rather than in its department.
The National Gallery of Victoria building, designed by Sir Roy Grounds, was controversial when it opened in 1967 but has since grown to be regarded as a modernist masterpiece.
Make your way through the foyer to the Great Hall, which features a brilliant stained-glass ceiling, and then out onto the sculpture garden.
Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance
The Shrine of Remembrance, an imposing memorial honoring Victorians who have served in the war and upheld the country’s peace throughout its history, is one of Melbourne’s icons. This grand monument pays respect, especially to the soldiers who participated in the First World War.
A substantial part of the monument was built between 1928 and 1934 and is modeled on the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of Turkey’s seven ancient wonders.
The sanctuary’s upper terrace provides breathtaking views of Melbourne.
Thousands of people attend the shrine’s Remembrance Day service, which begins at 11 a.m. on November 11, commemorating the signing of the 1918 Armistice that officially ended World War I
Every other day, a shaft of light shines through an aperture in the ceiling, passing over the Stone of Remembrance and illuminating the word ‘love’; every other day, the same effect is achieved with artificial light at the same time.
Brighton Beach
A city tour would be incomplete without a stop at one of the city’s beaches, of which Brighton Beach is one of the most popular.
Eighty-two colorful huts encircle the beach, giving it a lot of life and style; initially used as dressing rooms so tourists could change and enjoy the waves, they are now the ideal location for your next picture shoot.
If you stroll to the end of the beach, you will get a marvelous view of the entire city skyline.
Brighton Beach is home to one of Australia’s leading yacht clubs, the Royal Brighton Yacht Club, which offers various sailing events and activities throughout the year, regardless of your experience level.
Melbourne Cricket Ground
This is one of the most iconic stadiums in the world. If you’re a cricket fan, this is a must-see, even if you’re not a fan. It’s still worth checking out this historical landmark.
The ‘G’ is one of the world’s major sporting grounds, with a capacity of 100,000 spectators, holding cricket in the summer and AFL (Australian Football League) footy in the winter.
Many Australians regard it as sacred ground. If you can’t make it to a game during the cricket season, you can still pilgrimage on nonmatch-day excursions that take you through the stands, media and coaches’ sections, change rooms, and members’ lounges.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is home to the cutting-edge National Sports Museum.
Royal Botanic Gardens
The Royal Botanic Gardens are one of the most extensive gardens in the world. They span more than 38 hectares and feature more than 10,000 plant species.
The gardens, which attract over 1.5 million visitors annually, are regarded as one of the world’s most outstanding examples of Victorian-era gardening.
There is a global selection of plantings as well as endemic Australian vegetation.
A cactus, succulents’ section, herb garden, and indigenous rainforest are among the expansive lawns.
During the summer, the gardens feature Moonlight Cinema and stage performances.
Melbourne Zoo
This tiny zoo, founded in 1861, is the oldest in Australia and the third-oldest in the world.
The Melbourne Zoo is still one of the city’s most popular attractions, constantly innovating, having recently become the world’s first carbon-neutral zoo.
The cages at the zoo are set in beautiful gardens that try to look like the animals’ natural habitats and give them places to hide.
A platypus tank, fur seals, dozens of reptiles, and a complete faux-Southeast Asian jungle village created around the elephant cages are among the many attractions.
In other cases, pathways run across the enclosures, allowing you to walk through some of the aviaries and enter a tropical hothouse teeming with colorful butterflies.
The zoo hosts sunset concerts in the summer, and from September to May, you can camp at the zoo and join the caretakers in their daily feeding routine.
Melbourne Museum
This museum encompasses Victoria’s natural and cultural past, with dinosaur fossils, huge squid specimens, a taxidermy hall, a 3D volcano, and an open-air forest atrium of Victorian flora.
Immerse yourself in the saga of Phar Lap, champion racehorse and national hero.
On the ground level, the superb Bunjilaka tells Indigenous Australian stories and history through items and Aboriginal voices using cutting-edge technology.
Other Melbourne Attractions
Melbourne Star Observation Wheel
The Melbourne Star Observation Wheel is a 200-foot Ferris wheel that offers panoramic views of Melbourne and its surrounding area. The wheel has 21 air-conditioned capsules holding up to 20 people each.
Eureka Skydeck 88
Eureka Skydeck 88 is Melbourne’s highest observation platform, located on the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower. The deck offers 360-degree views of Melbourne and its surrounding area.
Melbourne Aquarium
The Melbourne Aquarium is home to more than 10,000 aquatic animals from all over the world. The aquarium has several educational exhibits as well as a famous penguin colony.
Immigration Museum
The Immigration Museum is in the Queen Victoria Building. The museum tells the stories of Melbourne’s immigrant communities and their contributions to the city.
Old Melbourne Gaol
The Old Melbourne Gaol is a former prison that now operates as a museum. The gaol is located in the Melbourne CBD and was once one of the most notorious prisons in Australia.
State Library of Victoria
The State Library of Victoria is the oldest public library in Australia. The library has many books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, and more.
Outside Melbourne
Yarra Valley
The beautiful Yarra Valley is Victoria’s prime wine district and weekend escape, thanks partly to its closeness to Melbourne but primarily to its 80-plus wineries, outstanding restaurants, national parks, and wildlife.
This valley is the spot to take a hot-air balloon ride over patchwork farms and vineyards before relaxing with a pinot noir at world-class wineries.
The Yarra River begins its trip in the top regions of the Yarra Ranges National Park, then winds past Warburton and close to Healesville before emptying into Port Phillip Bay near Williamstown.
Coldstream is the entryway to the Yarra Valley winery region, with most of the wineries being inside a triangle formed by Coldstream, Healesville, and Yarra Glen.
Warburton is the gateway to the Upper Yarra Valley region to the southeast.
National Park of Port Campbell
The Great Ocean Road levels east of the Otways and reaches narrow, flat, scrubby escarpment lands that fall away to sheer, 70m-high cliffs along the coast between Princetown and Peterborough – a noticeable change of scenery.
Port Campbell National Park; is home to the world-famous Twelve Apostles and the Great Ocean Road’s most famous and photographed portion.
The Twelve Apostles
The most iconic sight and enduring image for most visitors to the Great Ocean Road provide a fitting finish to the voyage.
The Twelve Apostles are stone stacks that protrude spectacularly into the ocean and appear to have been abandoned to the sea by the retreating headland.
Only seven of the ‘apostles’ may be viewed today from a network of viewing platforms linked by timber boardwalks around the clifftops.
The Twelve Apostles Visitor Centre – more of a kiosk and toilets than an information center – has pedestrian access to the observation platforms via a tunnel beneath the Great Ocean Road.
Sunset is the most incredible time to visit for the best photographic opportunity, to avoid the tour buses, and to observe little penguins return ashore.
Sightings vary, but they usually appear 20 to 40 minutes after sunset.
Binoculars are required; you can borrow a pair from the Port Campbell Visitor Center.
Port Campbell
This modest, unpretentious seaside village was named after Scottish Captain Alexander Campbell, a whaler who sought sanctuary on trading journeys between Tasmania and Port Fairy.
It’s a welcoming village with some good modest cafés and drinking establishments, making it an ideal place to unwind after seeing the Twelve Apostles.
Its tiny harbor features a beautiful sandy beach, one of the few safe swimming spots along this treacherous stretch of coast.
You can’t allow yourself to miss: Cruffin
Cruffin is a sweet cross between a croissant and a muffin: it’s a muffin constructed of laminated croissant dough and filled with various flavors and ingredients, including pastry cream, peanut butter, cream and strawberries, chocolate, caramel, and many more.
This cupcake is a relatively “new invention”; the first was produced in 2013 by Kate Reid of Lune Croissanterie.
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco popularized and trademarked it afterward.
Final Thoughts
Melbourne is one of the world’s most attractive and exciting cities: top-quality restaurants, an accessible public transport system, and a calendar full of sporting, cultural, and artistic events.
This city is known as the cultural capital of Australia because of all the food and film festivals, major art shows, musical hits, and sports events, like the Australian Tennis Open and the Formula 1 Grand Prix, that happen there all the time.
Beyond the city, you will find spectacular views along the coast, the wild outback, renowned vineyards and wineries, rugged mountain peaks, and fascinating wildlife. All these attractions are affordable and attract visitors from all over the world.
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