Melbourne prides itself on its lifestyle, and the city is often awarded the title of the most livable of Australia’s capitals. Melbourne’s character was defined during the Victorian gold rush, Australia’s richest, which took place in the mid-19th century. The wealth won on the nearby goldfields made Melbourne the largest and most opulent city in Australia. This coincided with the heyday of the Victorian era, and Melbourne has a rich legacy of public buildings and private houses in the florid, lavishly ornamented style that were the hallmarks of the period. By the 1880s, Melbourne was the second largest city in the British Empire after London, and the logical choice for the nation’s capital between the time of federation in 1901 and 1927, when the political capital shifted to Canberra.

Melbourne has an exhilarating fine dining scene, complemented by a taste for cafes inspired by European traditions. Melbourne also has some of Australia’s most illustrious public gardens. The tree-lined pathways of the Treasury and Fitzroy gardens border the fringes of the city centre while the sculpted terraces of Birrarung Marr are Melbourne’s newest garden, situated on the shoulder of the Yarra River. Within the Royal Botanic Gardens is an ornamental labyrinth of lawns, weaving paths and venerable trees, Fitzroy Gardens has an avenue of 150-year-old elms, one of the few plantings left intact by Dutch Elm Disease.

Melbourne often subtitles itself as a city of villages, each with its own distinct flavour. From a neglected quarter on the city’s landscape, the Southgate site area along the south bank of the Yarra River has become a cherished culture village close to Melbourne’s heart. Strung together by a riverside promenade, Southgate is a mix of high culture, entertainment, galleries and fashion boutiques, from the National Gallery of Victoria through to the multi-theatre complex of the Arts Centre, Hamer Hall and the Crown Entertainment Complex. This is also a red hot restaurant zone, with some of the city’s finest dining plus a lively café scene. The Sunday Market at the Arts Centre is a showcase for the skills of some of the city’s most talented craftworkers.

Melbourne’s beachside belle, St Kilda has wandered from the heights of fashion to disrepute and now, back to vogue again. It’s a favourite hangout for the artsy crowd, students and between-acts actors. This is café central, a place for grazing and gazing, particularly along Acland Street. The area’s strong links with the Jewish community can be explored at the Jewish Museum of Australia in Alma Road.

The surroundings of Melbourne offer a diversity of experiences that might come as a surprise to many visitors, such as the lushly forested Dandenong Ranges, the beaches and golf courses of the Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne’s seaside playground, and the vineyards of the Yarra Valley, source of some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines. Within a two-hour drive of Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road is the most celebrated coastal drive in the country.

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