Top 10 Reasons to Visit Melbourne
(Home page photo courtesy of Oli Sansom)
The Top 10 Reasons to visit Melbourne are -
1. World's Most Liveable City
Melbourne has been voted the world's most liveable city out of 140 cities measured worldwide. Come and see why. Melbourne is an attractive city and brims with great facilities and infrastructure. Living conditions are sublime in this city of just over 4 million people. There's a low population density for a large city and several high profile infrastructure projects in action. The liveability measure looks at 5 main categories - stability, health care, culture, environment, education and infrastructure - and Melbourne comes up trumps. You might visit Melbourne and want to live here! (Photo courtesy of Oli Samson)
2. Global Gourmet City
Melbourne is a stunning food destination. Melbourne boasts restaurant Attica in the San Pellegrino top 100 but it's the quality and breadth of cuisine that impresses. Nearly every type of food is represented in Melbourne with quality restaurants. From the French influences of Vue De Monde to the world acclaim of Attica, to the Middle Eastern brilliance of Maha, to colourful eateries in Chinatown, and the variety of fine dining along Flinders Lane.
While Melbourne has it's share of fine dining most of the top restaurants are casual and accessible with stunning food at reasonable prices. There is a strong culture in Melbourne of eating out. In Melbourne just about everyone is a food blogger and there are more food bloggers in Melbourne on say Urbanspoon than any other city. Juggernaut TV series Masterchef has just moved to Melbourne from Sydney... Visit Melbourne for unforgettable food adventures.
3. Global Shopping City
Melbourne boasts many high end shopping precincts as well as factory outlets for the bargain hunter. Chadstone is a massive shopping emporium in the suburbs with many of the world's top brands. The city is also a great place for shopping featuring Bourke Street Mall with its iconic buildings and brands such as David Jones, Myer and Spanish brand Zara. Melbourne Central is accessible as a major railway station in the heart of the city but has over 300 shops. Chapel Street is another iconic strip with great boutique shopping and great cafes and restaurants. Along with boutiques there is the popular Op shop stores where you can score some great retro items at bargain prices. Collins Street is an iconic Melbourne street with international brand name stores as well as The Block Arcade - an iconic arcade with boutique shops in one of Melbourne's most impressive heritage arcades. Visit Melbourne for accessible and attractive shopping precincts and availability of world leading brands.
4. Global Sporting City
Melbourne is known for its world class sporting facilities and a sporting mad population. Few cities in the world can match Melbourne's status when it comes to major sporting events. It's amazing to spend a week at The Australian Open to enjoy the matches but also the entertainment and facilities around the stadium. There's a real fastival atmosphere.
Or come to the iconic MCG which is walking distance from the city for a game of Australian Rules Football. You might be in a crowd of 100,000 excited spectators as we were at the AFL Grand Final. Catch a game at AAMI Park which is a state of the art premium rectangualr sports and entertainment stadium housing 30,000 spectators. Rod Laver Arena with a retractable roof is home of the iconic Australian Open tennis each January and houses 15,000 in a state of the art stadium. Hisense Arena also has a retractable roof and holds 10,500 spectators, a premier stadium for basketball and netball. Visit Melbourne for its sporting facilities and sporting passion.
5. Laneway and Precinct City
Melbourne has an amazing number of eclectic laneways full of great restaurants, cafes (including hole in the wall cafes) and art. Visit the laneways of the CBD as being a major characteristic of the city. The CBD itself is an impressive precinct rich in arts, bar, cafes, shopping and boasts iconic buildings and attractive parks.
It's a thrill of discovery when you visit Melbourne laneways.
Check out the famous street art in Hosier Lane. Visit Flinders Lane for a line up of great restaurants. Go to Rankins Lane and Somerset Place for great cafes, or the hub of Degraves Street and Centre Place. Section 8 in Tattersalls Lane is one of Melbourne's many quirky bars. Visit Melbourne for memorable encounters in mysterious laneways.
6. Global Arts City
Melbourne has an incredible arts precinct and is a great city for exhibitions, festivals, displays, museums, galleries and live performances.
Visit St Kilda Road on the edge of the CBD for the arts precinct. Check out a performance at the iconic Arts Centre which is also the home of the Australian Ballet. Visit NGV International for world class art and check out the Victorian College of the Arts. Keep walking south to the Melbourne Recital Centre and Melbourne Theatre Company, along with the innovative Malthouse Thatre and Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. Check out the many theatres around Melbourne including Princess Theatre and Regent Theatre. The Melbourne Museum is a world class museum with ever changing displays. Visit Melbourne for its spectacular Arts culture and facilities.
7. Global Fashion City
Melbourne is a fashion capital with two major fashion shows each year as well as the availability of major international brands and great local designers. The L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival is Australia's premium consumer driven fashion event offering a series of events that celebrate fashion. The Melbourne Spring Fashion Week is a poular fashion festival in the first week of spring each year. It should also be said that the dress standard in Melbourne is high. People dress well, particularly in the CBD, compared to some other cities. Visit Melbourne for a fashion fix.
8. Multicultural City
Melbourne is one of the most multicultural cities in the world with significant populations of over 150 of the world's nations represented. Our community includes people from Somalia, South Korea, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Italy, India, Greece, Japan and more. Melbourne has the third largest Greek speaking population in the world. The Chinese flocked to Melbourne in the 1850's when gold was discovered and Chinatown around Little Bourke Street is a bustling popular precinct. Many Italians came to Melbourne from the 1920s to the 1950s and Lygon Street is famous for it's Italian eateries (also some great Italian eateries in the CBD). There's also a strong Vietnamese community and it is highly recommended to visit Victoria Street for some pho soup.
Melbourne is also a great student city with 55% of students living in the city being international students. Visit this city for the eclectic community that is multicultural Melbourne.
9. Global Hotel City
Great hotels abound in Melbourne. The top 20 are all impressive. Visitors appreciate staying in luxurious hotels in the CBD with easy access to attractions, shopping and restaurants. There are some great luxury hotels such as the iconic The Langham, the vibrancy of Crown Towers, The Westin, The Park Hyatt Hotel Melbourne, The Sofitel Hotel Melbourne and the boutique The Lindrum. Visit Melbourne for quality accomodation close to attractions and facilities.
10. Easy Travel City
Melbourne is an easy place to travel between destinations. The road system is excellent and there are an abundance of trams, trains and buses. In fact you can get to most things in the CBD by walking.
Not far outside Melbourne is the incredible Great Ocean Road, Philip Island, Mornington Peninsula, as well as Yarra Valley Wineries, Gippsland and the Snow Country. An abundance of riches.
Visit Melbourne for easy of travel to so many experiences within the CBD as well as in nearby surrounds.