Fitzroy

Fitzroy is a village protective of its past and delighting in its present. Retro, the understated, cool and unashamedly groovy, is alive and well and living in Fitzroy. Creativity abounds from quiet, quaint and quirky shops to colourful street benches and footpaths. The cafes and bars along Brunswick Street like Retro and Vertigo are great places to sit and watch the world go by. At night the whole place lights up with tapas bars, Latin American clubs, pubs, comedy bars and jazz clubs. During the months of September to October, dive right in the Melbourne Fringe Festival for the experience of a lifetime.

Fitzroy Gardens

Located in East Melbourne, the Fitzroy Gardens have a history of more than 150 years. In the gardens sits Cook's Cottage, where Captain James Cook was born in and was the home of his parents. Another feature of the gardens is the conservatory, opened in 1930, which houses indoor floral displays that are changed 5 times each year. Also in the Fitzroy Gardens are the fairies' tree, the model Tudor village, Sinclair's Cottage as well as an array of statues, fountains and structures.

Gold Treasury Museum

The Old Treasury is regarded as one of the finest public buildings in Australia. Originally a major government office, it is now restored and opened to the public as a museum. The Gold Treasury Museum at the Old Treasury provides an ideal orientation to Melbourne for visitors wishing to understand and explore the city's history, architecture, art and contemporary life.

Healesville Sanctuary

Healesville Sanctuary is one of Australia's premier wildlife parks with more than 200 species of native birds, mammals and reptiles, beautifully displayed in their natural habitats. Take a wander through our glorious bushland setting and find yourself closer than you ever thought possible to Australia's amazing wildlife.

IMAX Theatre

Melbourne is home to the world's largest screen – two storeys high and featuring state-of-the-art visual technology along with 15,000w of surround sound. With a variety of two and three-dimensional films showing day and night, IMAX is sure to blow your senses away – see the world as you have never seen it before.

Melbourne Aquarium

The Melbourne Aquarium, the 2001 Ansett Australia Victorian Tourism Award Winner, is a "must see" attraction for any visitor to the city. Featuring state-of-the-art interactive technology, this totally involving and entertaining place takes you on a journey to the Southern Ocean and lets you experience its wonders first hand.

Melbourne Museum

Melbourne Museum's stunning modernist architecture is an Australian icon – and the world's first museum for the Internet age is interactive, innovative and fun! Experience indigenous cultures of Australia, walk through a living forest gallery, and discover digital technology and Australia's amazingly diverse land and marine environments. Do not miss ICE – Australia's only interactive arcade-like cinema game!

Melbourne Observation Deck

The Melbourne Observation Deck, located on level 55 of the Rialto Towers Building, provides an optimum viewing platform inside the tallest office building in the Southern Hemisphere. The Observation Deck boasts spectacular 360-degree views of Melbourne and the surrounding area – stretching 60km to the horizon.

Melbourne River Cruises

No visit to Melbourne would be complete without an award-winning trip on the Yarra with fantastic views and informative commentary in the comfort of a Melbourne River Cruiser. Choose from the Scenic River Gardens up river cruise, the Port and Dockland's down river cruise, or for the complete city experience.

Melbourne Zoo

Melbourne Zoo is located 10 minutes from the heart of the CBD. The historic perimeter red brick wall surrounds 22 hectares of beautiful botanic gardens and lawns, and exhibits of more than 350 species from all over the world. Melbourne Zoo is also committed to education and conservation programs.

National Gallery of Victoria

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is the oldest and most visited public art gallery in Australia. For lovers of art, the gallery boasts more than 70,000 works in its permanent collection, from photography and textiles to sculpture and drawing. The collection encompasses both indigenous and non-indigenous Australian art from the colonial period through to contemporary work, as well as European old and modern masters, antiquities, Asian, Oceanic and North and South American works.

Phillip Island Nature Park

Phillip Island Nature Park is renowned as home to one of Australia's most popular wildlife attractions, the Penguin Parade. A mere 90 minutes drive from Melbourne, the Nature Park covers 2,750 hectares of Phillip Island - Victoria's wildlife haven. The Park is an island adventure featuring wildlife reserves, wetlands and breathtaking coastlines.

Winner of Victorian Tourism Major Attractions Award 1998, 1999, 2000

Queen Victoria Market

The Queen Victoria Market is more than just Melbourne's shopping Mecca. This 19th century market is a historic landmark, a tourist attraction and an institution for all Melbournians. Over the years, the market has been a wholesale fruit and vegetable market, and has gone through various expansions and changes reflecting the shopping habits of the growing Melbourne populace. Fresh is the flavour of the market. More than fresh seafood and fresh fruits and vegetables, the market takes a fresh approach. Find clothing, baggage, toys, jewellery, new-age products and souvenirs at sinful prices.

Royal Botanic Gardens

The gardens are home to over 12,000 different species of plants and are a natural sanctuary for native wildlife. Features of the gardens include the Ornamental Lake, the National Herbarium of Victoria, Old Melbourne Observatory, the Australian Rainforest Walk and the Water Conservation Garden. A walk around the entire gardens will take two to three hours at a medium pace.

Scienceworks Museum

Through hands-on exhibits, live demonstrations, tours, activities and shows Scienceworks Museum is the "edutainment" venue that makes science an adventure! It is a great day out for curious minds and active bodies! Features the Melbourne Planetarium and Spotswood Pumping Station.

Southgate Arts & Leisure Precinct

Once a disused and much neglected part of town, the southern side of the Yarra River has undergone an incredible transformation in the last decade. It now houses the Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct and Crown Entertainment Complex as well as many multinational companies' offices, the Sheraton and Crown Towers hotels and the Victorian Arts Centre. The precinct lines a kilometre stretch of the river looking across to Melbourne's Central Business District.

St Kilda

Feast on a smorgasbord of delights at St Kilda, one of the bay's famous icons. Old and new blend to create a unique atmosphere. In Acland Street, the aromas will have your mouth watering. Enjoy the music and street theatre. Do not miss the popular Sunday market along the Upper Esplanade or join in the fun at historic Luna Park.

The Mansion at Werribee Park

The Mansion at Werribee Park is set in 10 hectares of superbly landscaped gardens and over 200 hectares of pastoral land. The Mansion is one of Australia's grandest and architecturally, most sophisticated homes. It is one of the few properties in Australia to have achieved the ideal of an English country estate.

Treasury Gardens

Adjacent to Old Treasury House, the Treasury Gardens feature a small lake and a memorial to John F. Kennedy. The gardens are a popular lunchtime sanctuary for city workers, and an ideal place for a picnic or barbecue.

Victorian Arts Centre

The Victorian Arts Centre is home to Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, Melbourne Theatre Company, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Musica Viva, The Bell Shakepeare Company and Australian Chamber Orchestra, as well as a variety of international and local touring performances.

Victoria's Open Range Zoo at Werribee

Victoria's Open Range Zoo is an open range zoo where animals from the grasslands of Australia, Africa and Asia live in conditions as close as possible to those they encounter in their natural habitats. Animals, including Meerkats, Cheetah, Vervet Monkeys and Serval cats are on display in wonderful exhibits, linked by a series of waterways on the African Walking Trail.