Melbourne is a multifaceted metropolis of Australia, unsightly at first glance, but falling in love over time...
The city is big with beautiful high-rises, there is the Yarra River waterfront, there is the Pacific Promenade, but...at first glance it is not cozy, and for some reason it looks like a "construction site or a cargo port". The wind blows here all the time!!! The apartments even in summer need a heater (The wind howls in the cracks of the windows... A hat here is needed only on a rubber band) It is worth to come here, but it is necessary to make a route, so you will not be disappointed in the city finally. Time to visit 1 week is more than that, but as long as the weather allows walking) Melbourne should only be visited in summer - January or February!!! During that time it is relatively warm and there is almost no wind or rain. Yesterday it was +15 and wind 10 m/s and rain, and today it's +30 degrees, sunny and wind only 5-7 m/s))) The city has 3 airports, one of which is Avalon and it is a 40 minute drive from Melbourne (54 km).
How to get from Avalon airport to downtown Melbourne
You need the Sky Bus. It runs every 30 minutes. Immediately after you pick up your luggage, on the right hand side of the entrance, inside the airport, you need to buy a ticket from a vending machine. The ticket costs 24 dollar per person. Walking out of the airport you will immediately see the red double-decker Sky Bus. The bus arrives in Melbourne at the Southern cross station. From there, free streetcars run through the city center. A cab from Avalon to Melbourne is 100 dollar.
Walk route Melbourne #1 - Yarra Promenade + Skydeck Lookout + Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria + Fitzroy Gardens + Carlton Gardens Park
This route will take 7 hours or more. The most significant places in the city are included in this hike. To avoid looking at everything on the run, it is better to split it into two days. The red color indicates the part that is mandatory to visit. In blue is the Promenade Docklands section of the promenade, which is also worth a walk, but in the evening. It is on the "NewQuay" section of Dockland Promenade, near the beautiful Dockland Waterfront building / attraction, where there are gorgeous benches to enjoy a delightful sunset! The thing is, during the day this area is deserted and not at all cozy, but in the evening it is transformed. Street, as in the Japanese anime, filled with either people or ghosts) section of the embankment Yarra Riverbank, which goes along the highway and not at all interesting. You can take the free Melbourne Tram to the parks from the waterfront.
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria - Melbourne Gardens ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ is the best attraction in Melbourne. The Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria - Melbourne Gardens is the best in Melbourne and it's the best, only Brisbane Botanic Garden can compare to it, and Sydney Botanic Garden compared to these two is just a park) It's free and only works during daylight hours. Visiting time is about two hours. There is a huge number of plants and flowers and it is very cozy).
Маршрут прогулки Мельбурн №1 - Променад Ярра + смотровая площадка Skydeck + ботсад Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria + парк Fitzroy Gardens + парк Карлтонские сады
Этот маршрут займет от 7-ти часов и более. Наиболее значимые места города попадают в эту пешую прогулку. Чтоб не смотреть все бегом, лучше разделить на два дня. Красным цветом выделена обязательная к посещению часть. Синим цветом - участок набережной Promenade Docklands, где также стоит прогуляться, но именно в вечернее время. Именно на участке набережной Докленда "NewQuay", в районе красивого здания / достопримечательности "Dockland Waterfront" есть шикарные лавочки, на которых можно встретить восхитительный закат! Дело в том, что днем этот участок пустынно безлюдный и совсем не уютный, а вечером он преображается. Улица, как в японских аниме, наполняется толи людьми, толи призраками) Крестиком выделен участок набережной Yarra Riverbank, который идет вдоль автомобильной дороги и совсем не интересный. От набережной к паркам можно доехать на бесплатном трамвае Мельбурна.
Королевские ботанические сады (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria - Melbourne Gardens) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- лучшая достопримечательность в Мельбурне. Да и вообще это лучший ботсад, с ним может сравниться только ботсад Брисбена, а ботсад Сиднея, по сравнению с этими двумя вообще обычный парк) Вход бесплатный, работает в светлое время дня. Время посещения около 2-х часов. Тут колоссальное количество растений и цветов, а также очень уютно)
The Promenade Docklands + Southbank the promenade ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ is all the Yarra River Promenade, different parts of the city of Melbourne. The most popular and which is advisable to visit is Southbank, Melbourne Skydeck is also located nearby. Visiting time is from 2 hours - that's if you want to walk the whole thing. Next is Yarra Riverbank - there is no point in visiting this part of the promenade, it is dull and monotonous) Docklands promenade is beautiful, but during the day as "empty and abandoned". For some reason there are no people, no cafes / stores... In the evening a lot of people come here just to meet the sunset.
Melbourne Skydeck / Eureka Skydeck ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The observation deck in the Melbourne Business Centre. The best time to visit is at sunset. You can buy a ticket online or at the entrance, there is no queue and the price is the same. The sunset is worth coming in advance, if the sunset is at 8:45 p.m., you have to be there at half past. So you look the day and night city at one time) After sunset do not hurry to leave! The most beautiful begins just after sunset! The sun pours across the night sky... The sunsets in Melbourne are magical) It is absolutely worth visiting, unlike Sydney's. The price is about 30 dollar. The Melbourne Observation deck is situated on the 88th floor and is open until 10 pm.
Fitzroy Gardens + Carlton Gardens ⭐⭐⭐⭐ are two small parks that are convenient to visit in one walk. Each park is not much of a walk individually, but they are so close that the walk is complete) The visit time is about 1.5 hours. You can walk here even longer, if you walk every path, which is not particularly necessary.
Walk route Melbourne #2 - from St Kilda beach to Brighton beach ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The walking time is about 2 hours. At St Kilda beach, the landmark is St Kilda Pier, which has a beautiful view of downtown Melbourne. It also has beautiful sunsets. On Brighton Beach, the colorful "Brighton Bathing Boxes" serve as a landmark. The path from one beach to the other goes straight down the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean, and this does not mean that it will be beautiful, but it will be windy)))). You can walk around only if you have free time, and so you can stop by to look at the pier and cabins separately.
The Great Ocean Road ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Melbourne's number one regional attraction or driving route #3
The Great Ocean Road meanders along the Pacific Ocean for 243km, and the closest point to Melbourne is the Great Ocean Road. And all the main beautiful panoramas are on the Melbourne side of the road. A full overview is in a separate article with maps, panoramas and video)
What to visit or not to visit in Melbourne:
- The Queen Victoria Market is a real local market, but it's mostly souvenirs and a few rows of clothes. There are rows of fruits and vegetables. It's worth coming here for entertainment, not shopping) The supermarket has the same or better quality fruit, at a lower price... In the market sell socks made of New Zealand possum wool for 40 c.u. And they say it's not China. If you don't like Chinese products, why is it that half of Australia is already Chinese? And it's okay that in New Zealand they pay to exterminate possums as pests... And here are socks suddenly as if they were made of gold. At the market, in a separate pavilion, also a lot of fish and meat, but the prices are not cheaper than in the supermarkets. By the way, the market has a lot of frozen fish, not fresh! The rows are a decent distance away and everyone can hardly even jostle) So the Queen Victoria Market is just the entertainment of Melbourne)
- South Melbourne Market is a "bulldog and rhino mix" market... Not even recommended to go here. The market has no profile - except for all sorts of garbage on sale. There is no more fruit and vegetables than in the usual supermarket, ready-made food mixed up with counters of meat and fish... The choice of meat and fish is poor - the level of a regular supermarket. There is very little space between the rows, which leads to crowding.
- Melbourne Central Shopping Centre (Melbourne Central) - For those with topographical cretinism) One gets the feeling that there is more food court than stores. And then there's another question - why are people obese in Australia...? There are a lot of clothing stores, but few branded and good things.
- Melbourne Zoo and Oceanarium according to the reviews from the Internet is definitely not worth visiting!
By day, Melbourne is full of parrots, from small flowered ones to large Cockatoos or huge black parrots) At night, the parks are crawling with possums begging. To encounter them, you need parks with lots of greenery and trees, like Fitzroy Gardens and Flagstaff Gardens.
Australia is a unique country because it is a separate continent! To get to know it better, you must travel through its major cities. It is best to allow no more than 7 days per city. The only exception is the first city you arrive in, as it will take at least 2-3 days to adapt to the time difference. And Melbourne can safely see for 1 week, then there is a boredom) The nationalities are the same mixture as in Sydney, but somehow less of a rush. The more you ride the streetcars the more annoying they are, sometimes you have to stand and ride the trams, which is not the case in Brisbane or Sydney. For reasons I don't understand, but of all the cities I've seen, I liked Melbourne. It has a beautiful riverfront, a beautiful viewing platform and a botanical garden, and it's just so cozy)))
Add new comment