Melbourne needs time...

I live in Melbourne since 5 years. I came here as a tourist 8 years ago and I did not like this city very much back than. Things happened and I was "forced" to move to Mel. I started to get familiar with this city. And now I think it was a great choice to move. Melbourne is not a superficial place which you start liking within few days (Sydney is). It needs time to discover the beauty of this city and its character. I agree that the flashy tourist attractions are not the best ones in the world, because they are out of place. To like Melbourne you have to think out of the square and not expect a Disneyland while coming here.

Great for: Skiing/Snowboarding, Nightlife

Last Visit: May 2008

3 May 2008 | A Yahoo! User

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I miss you wonderful Melbourne

Just returned from this wonderful city, oh I fell in love with it after one hour and just felt very at home even though I was travelling alone, feels a bit like Paris. Don't miss the Jet Flames after 9pm on the hour outside the Casino, as good as the Bellagio fountains. Very easy to get around and no wonder it has been voted the most livable city in the world. I had great weather so make sure you go in the non rainy season. Lots of flies yes but better than cane toads or Sydney funnel web! Chapel Street in South Yarrow was 15 mins on the train and chic. A Sunday stroll down Southbank full of great street entertainers and arts market. Great restaurants, loved it all and can't wait to go back.

Last Visit: January 2008

26 January 2008 | A Yahoo! User

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Rubbish

Don't waste your time/ money on Melbourne, the city is rubbish, it has nothing great on offer. It is no match for places like Sydney, Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, Rome and many other cities, and it never will be. There is nothing great to see. The so called "attractions" are nothing more than a bland list of non-entities - federation square, MCG, Rialto Towers etc, very boring. People who live there are rude, aggresive, unhelpful. It is not a "world city." People who live there think it si, however let me tell you frankly that outside of Australia the city has little recognition and importance, it means nothing. I would waste a camera film/ room on my SD card on Melbourne.

19 September 2007 | A Yahoo! User

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More cosmopolitan than Sydney!

Melbourne was the last stop on my 2 month East Coast tour of Oz, and we certainly went out in style! The city is the epitomy of all things 'cosmopolitan', with amazing art deco architecture and street after street of amazing shops. On the flipside on this, for a bit of fun, head down to 'Ramsey Street' for a Neighbours tour, or meet the cast at the Wheelbarrow pub... a must for all backpackers! If you're around in Jan, stop by the Rod Laver Arena for the Australian Tennis Open. We only paid $25 for a ticket, and spent the day watching a few sets of tennis in the sun! Unforgettable experience!

Great for: Nightlife

Last Visit: January 2005

16 April 2007 | A Yahoo! User

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Take your time

Believe it or not, Melbourne is one of the most diverse cities on the planet. While it contains more than its fair share of suburban sprawl, it is largely redeemed by the astonishing range of environments and communities in its inner city & the variety of its surrounding landscapes. Many neighbourhoods (Parkville or Clifton Hill are fine examples) could pass for upmarket English suburbs with their elm lined streets, quiet green squares and elaborate Victorian terraces & villas. The city centre's mass of historic laneways, tree-lined boulevards and ubiquitous cafes provide more of a continental feel, while the beachside neighbourhood of St Kilda with its abundant palm trees, assorted freaks and poseurs has been unsurprisingly compared to LA's Venice Beach district. The raw, 19th century industrial landscape found in Collingwood or Richmond shares an aesthetic with parts of Manchester. Then, directly adjacent in Abbotsford, lies pretty much untainted Australian bushland along the banks of the Yarra river with exotic (to European eyes) strands of fragrant eucalyptus and colourful birdlife. Amazingly, a few minutes away sits bohemian Fitzroy with its gorgeous Victorian and Edwardian architecture and Australia's largest concentration of genuinely offbeat bars, galleries, cafes, pubs and live music venues. On top of the primarily human scale feel of the place, Melbourne also manages to squeeze in one of the worlds great contemporary skylines. One thing that ties much of inner Melbourne together - from working class Footscray, to quirky Northcote, to leafy Carlton - are its trams, its luscious Victorian architecture and its rampant cafe culture! Within a couple of hours from the centre, you can find mountains containing some of the worlds oldest surviving rainforest (Dandenong Ranges), seemingly endless surfing beaches (Bells is the best known), world renowned wine growing districts (Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula are the most well regarded). It's a difficult city to pin down, and a flying visit just doesn't do it justice. Think of Chicago with 3/4 of its skyline, more European-looking streetscapes, a greater range of vibrant neighbourhoods and a midcoastal Californian climate and you're getting there....

9 April 2007 | A Yahoo! User

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What a bore

Ho hum. Another sprawling metropolis with nothing much interesting to do. Melbourne's all suburban rot hiding under a pretentious sheen of almost desperately trendy, but totally nondescript inner city bars and cafes. Melbourne used to be home to a thriving subculture based around an original and diverse live music scene, but that's all been dissolved by the reek of inner-city gentrification. Its all about looking cool and thinking nothing these days. Its museum and art gallery are po-mo travesties, all manoeuvering spaces to arrive at disappointingly decontextualised "exhibits"; its casino is the pinnacle of late capitalist decadence and OK, I guess it has a beach and some sports stadia if you're into those. Remove yourself 5 km from the centre and you're in a wasteland of drab, miserable suburbs where you can feel the nothingness sucking your energy away. On the surface its culture seems hip and progressive, but dig a little deeper and you'll find people nastily narrowminded - don't even think about aborigines or Islam while in Melbourne or you're sure to start a fight. Which is another gripe - Melburnians (and Australians) short tempers and propensity to resolve conflicts using their fists. And don't bother asking a police officer for help - you're as likely to get booked for offensive language/assaulting an officer as not. In all, Melbourne has nothing to distinguish itself from any other number of wanna-be "cosmopolitan utopias". Give it a right miss.

Last Visit: January 2007

1 March 2007 | A Yahoo! User

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what an amazing city

i love melbourne, its an amazing place to spend some time to chill, and to party! i have spent a couple of months here in total with a few trips and stayed in the city and also in st kilda, what a beautiful area, its melbournes answer to bondi beach, gorgeous cakes ok ackland street too! the casino on the yarra river is a great place to spend an evening, whatever you want to do, wheteher it be shop, eat, go to the cinema or party! i am a travel agent and if anyone wants to go to australia i reccomend melbourne as being a stop, often over looked as it doesnt have the landmarks like sydney but it does have a fantastic "liveable" vibe to it! also the neighbours tour shouldnt be missed!!

Great for: Beaches, History/Culture, Theatre/Music, Nightlife, Budget Travel, Family Holidays

Last Visit: August 2004

17 December 2005 | A Yahoo! User

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A great city

Melbourne has long lived in Sydney's shadow as Australia's premier city. It is clean, based near the sea, has great restaurant, bars and clubs, not to mention one of the biggest cricket grounds in the world. The "G" as its called by lcoals is actually named the Melbourne Cricket Ground (or MCG for short). Recently rebuilt is a truly amazing stadium. If your visit is around Christmas, being there for the Boxing Day test is quite an experience. AFL or Australian Rules FOotball is also payed there in the winter. It really seems to me to be the game with no rules whatsoever! The Tennis facilities are also quite superb. Melbourne hosts the Australian Tennis Open in January each year, if you are there for that get a ground pass and try and be there for the evening session, the sun sets behind the courts over the city and is brerathtaking. Shopping in Melbourne is also great and there are plenty of coffee shops to stop in for refreshment. Outside of Melbourne, just past Geelong is the world famous Great Ocean Road. This is without doubt one of the most incredible driving experiences in the world. If you like fantastic scenery then this is a must for any visit to Melbourne and Victoria!

Great for: Beaches, Nightlife, Family Holidays

Last Visit: october 2005

30 November 2005 | A Yahoo! User

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good but wouldnt go back

Visited melbourne for 5 days - didnt like the way the city tries to be something its not. Coming via plane from a two week stay in Sydney which lived up to all my expectations kinda made melbourne a let down. Sydney is much more unique and beautiful because it is unique. Thus making Sydney a world city. I felt melbourne is trying to be too european, and the weather did let it down. All in all i did have a wonderful time visiting the Australian football and the wonderful casino (i recommend it) and i would compare melbourne to a city like Boston. Chic and sophisticated. But if i were to return to australia (which i surely am!! theres no doubt about that) and had only one of the main cities to go to i would choose sydney and perth.

22 July 2005 | A Yahoo! User

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Magical Melbourne

Melbourne is magic , i recommended it. I had way more fun In Melbourne than Sydney. Melbourne is way much cleaner and safer,

5 June 2005 | A Yahoo! User

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