There’s so many things to do in Melbourne but let’s just concentrate on the best ones that you shouldn’t miss. First up, for most people, you’re probably a bit tired after a long flight so just take a walk around the city centre, it’s somehow got just the right amount of people, enough to make it lively and interesting but so much that’s it crowded and overwhelming.  There’s lots of little cobblestone alleys and streets, hundreds of cafes and coffee shops so take your time exploring.  When you get a bit tired or the kids have had enough, there’s a free tram that goes around the inner city.  You can check the schedule and where it goes here.  It’ll take you past all the main areas worth seeing including St Paul’s Cathedral, Parliament House and the Royal Exhibition Building.  There’s so many things to do in Melbourne in the inner city that are a bit beyond what we’re about (giving you a broad overview of things to do in Melbourne) but we’ll list some of them on Toucan’s Melbourne Map.

If you get off the tram at Flagstaff Station, it’s about a 5 minute walk to one of Melbourne’s most famous landmarks/things to do – Victoria Market.  Note that Victoria Market is closed on Mondays and Wednesdays, you can check out the opening hours here.  Victoria Market has been around for over 100 years and you can pretty much buy anything here, art, clothing, food, flowers, hardware, beauty products, sports gear, homeware, pets, animals, tech products, stationary, toys…the list goes on.  It’s rather large and not somewhere you just pop in and have a look.  Victoria Market will be on any list of things to in Melbourne, it’s not absolutely fantastic but definitely worth a visit.

For a bit of a break, head to either the Melbourne Museum or the Royal Botanic Gardens.  The Melbourne Museum can get busy during public and school holidays but will keep the kids occupied for a bit. You can read more about that in Toucan’s Tips for Kids. The Royal Botanic Gardens are huge, you’ll feel like a lazy bugger getting a taxi but they’re quite far to walk if you have kids. Maybe just another park or space to run around if you live in the West, but if you’re living in a large crowded city in Asia, you’ll probably appreciate them much more. We spent a whole afternoon at the Botanic Gardens and took about 45 minutes to walk back to our hotel in Southbank.  The Queen Victoria Gardens are closer to the city but not as nice.

There’s two zoo’s in Melbourne worth going to, Melbourne Zoo is close (15 minutes by taxi) and is the one always listed near the top of the best things to do in Melbourne, and Werribee Zoo, which is further away (35-40 minutes).  Grobbler tells you his thoughts on both of these in his Melbourne for Kids bit.

Other things to do in Melbourne worth visiting:

1. DFO Southwharf
2. Sealife Melbourne Aquarium
3. Federation Square
4. Graffiti lanes
5. The MCG
6. St Kilda and South Yarra
7. The Mornington Peninsula
8. National Gallery of Victoria

We also did a helicopter ride around the city, bit of a ripoff but Grobbler loved it.  There’s several operators that offer them, all around the same price but make sure you try and get the one that takes off close at Southbank.

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