Reputed as one of the world’s most liveable cities, it is no doubt that the Melbourne tour is on your itinerary. Some want to see if the city lives up to its name. I found it true because it was a fantastic city with such great vibes. Exploring Melbourne tours is something you must experience.
From classic art galleries to coffee shops with the perfect ambiance, Melbourne Tours has everything a traveler could ask for. Here I’ve drafted a 7-day itinerary for Melbourne tours, although you would most definitely want to stay and explore more in this beautiful city.
Melbourne Holiday: Best time to visit Melbourne
Autumn and spring are the best times to visit Melbourne because of the excellent weather and fewer tourist crowds. So, plan your trip to Melbourne between April and May or September and November.
The summer months are usually crowded because of the many festivals lined up one after the other. Summer in Melbourne falls between December and March and is generally extremely hot and sunny. Winters are quiet in Melbourne, and it doesn’t get too cold and gloomy. It falls between June and August and is when you’ll find low-season specials.
How to travel while exploring Melbourne City tour
Melbourne is a vast city, so it isn’t very likely that you will be walking to different attraction sites during your tour. Therefore, it’s handy to know how the city’s public transport system works so you can get anywhere you want without any issues.
Contrary to what you hear, Melbourne’s public transport system is excellent. As a highly-developed city, public transportation modes include bus, train, and tram. You can get to most parts of Melbourne using its excellent public transport system.
From the Central Business District (CBD), you can travel to Melbourne’s inner suburbs by tram. Even the trains are connected to most of the suburbs, as the Melbourne railway network comprises 16 train lines.
Finally, you can even use the bus if you can’t get to a particular place by tram or train.
Once you reach Melbourne Airport, the best way to travel to the CBD is to take the Skybus.
Accommodation in Melbourne
In a large city like Melbourne, a burning question you may ask yourself is where you will stay during your tour. A highly-developed city like this would have plenty of accommodation options.
Melbourne CBD is well-connected with many of the inner suburbs, and there are so many attractions to visit spread across the vast city. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you stay close to or away from the CBD because you can get anywhere within Melbourne via its many transport modes.
However, if it’s your first visit to Melbourne, I recommend staying in the CBD because of its convenience and access to many shops, restaurants, and cafes.
The Langham Melbourne is one of the best choices if you’re looking for luxury accommodation right by the Yarra River. It’s a five-star hotel that provides excellent service and is exquisitely designed with a grand marble staircase.
If you prefer to stay in comfortable yet affordable accommodation, the apartments of City Tempo – Queen St are ideal. You get rooms equipped with kitchens to cook meals during your stay. It also has a fitness center and sauna, which are great additions to the apartment.
Another option to find budget accommodation in Melbourne is to search on Airbnb. There are some excellent accommodation choices on Airbnb at affordable rates. There are also budget-friendly hotel options like Space Hotel, which is centrally located with amenities such as a fitness center.
What to do in Melbourne: 7 days in Melbourne exploration with family
There’s so much to explore in Melbourne that 7 days may not seem enough. In the list below, I’ve highlighted 7 attractions that I find to be some of the most sought-after locations in Melbourne.
Day 1: Melbourne CBD
Exploring the CBD is the best place to start your tour in Melbourne. Stepping into the CBD, you’ll find most skyscrapers standing high across the Melbourne skyline. The CBD is also home to some of the most iconic sights in Melbourne.
The Flinders Street Station is an important landmark and is renowned as the oldest train station in Australia. This heritage building is one of the busiest areas in the CBD and stands out with its yellow exterior.
After roaming around the station for a while, you can head to Federation Square across the road. It’s a significant public venue with modern buildings that host various cultural events annually. Some landmarks in the square include the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) and the Ian Potter Centre.
Hosier Lane is a short distance from Federation Square, which consists of fantastic street art. I found the graffiti here fascinating and heard that they keep changing.
If you are a coffee lover, Melbourne is the best place to be. If you go down Flinders Lane, you’ll find cafes at almost every corner.
Finally, shopping fanatics have an array of shopping malls and markets to check out, including Bourke St. Mall, The Royal Arcade, The Block Arcade, and Queen Victoria Market. Wrap up the day with a delicious hot meal at Chinatown on Little Bourke Street.
Day 2: South of the Yarra
The Yarra River is situated in south central Victoria, Melbourne. To get to the river, you must cross one of the two pedestrian bridges, the Evan Walker Bridge or the Sandrine Bridge. There’s so much happening on the other side of the bridge, and you can enjoy fantastic views of the Melbourne skyline as you cross it.
When you get to the other side and walk a bit further, you’ll find yourself facing Melbourne’s tallest tower, Eureka Tower. The Eureka Skydeck gives you exceptional views of Melbourne from the top of this tall tower. If you’re daring enough, try standing in “The Edge,” a glass cube extending from the tower. It gives excellent views down below through a glass floor. It was so nerve-wracking for me that I didn’t dare try it. Maybe you should try it, and let me know how it feels in the comments below.
Moving on from there, you could visit the National Art Gallery of Victoria (NGV). It is the oldest art gallery in Australia and has several significant art pieces. Another notable landmark in Melbourne is the Shrine of Remembrance, a war memorial for the heroes who sacrificed their lives in WWI.
After that, you can relax at one of the area’s many parks, including the Kings Domain Park and Royal Botanic Gardens.
Day 3: Melbourne beaches
A visit to Melbourne is never complete without experiencing the golden-sandy beaches of the region. Start with the South Melbourne Foreshore, which is excellent for surfing and swimming, especially when the tide is low. St. Kilda Beach is a little further away, lined up with walking, recreational, and sporting areas. It is also an excellent location for capturing images of the scenic beauty of the Melbourne coast. While in St. Kilda, you can also go to the amusement park named Luna Park, which has some thrilling rides you can try.
Finally, you get to see the most highlighting feature of a Melbourne beach, the Brighton Bathing Boxes. It is a collection of 82 beachside huts that date back to the dawn of the century. Remember to capture some bright and illustrative images of these colorful bathing boxes.
Day 4: Inner suburbs during your Melbourne Exploration
You may start with exploring the CBD, but Melbourne suburbs also have a lot to offer tourists. It’s the ideal place to see Melbourne’s best local life.
Here are some of the suburbs I went to on my trip to Melbourne.
Carlton
Carlton is a mini Italy on the eastern side of the world. You get an Italian community living here and can also savor some fantastic Italian dishes. It also has the best coffee in Melbourne, primarily due to the area’s Italian inheritance. Carlton’s main attractions are the Royal Exhibition Building, the Carlton Gardens, and the Melbourne Museum.
Fitzroy
If you think Melbourne is a bit hipster, it’s mainly due to Fitzroy. It’s the core of hipster culture and is a great place to hang out if you enjoy the vibe. There are numerous cafes, bars, and pubs in Fitzroy. It’s the best place to be if you enjoy hipster culture and want a different vibe, unlike any other area in Melbourne.
Prahran
Prahran is a modern suburb in Melbourne that is renowned for shopping. You can get great deals for anything under the sun in the Prahran market. The area also has many restaurants and eateries that serve delicious local dishes on their menus.
Day 5: Healesville Sanctuary
Going to a wildlife sanctuary should be part of any itinerary. The Healesville Sanctuary is a must-visit tourist site on your tour in Melbourne. This sanctuary showcases animals native to Australia, thereby protecting their existence. You can glimpse kangaroos, dingoes, emus, wombats, and a wide range of reptiles, amphibians, and birds.
The sanctuary is one of the rare places where you can see the platypus, an egg-laying mammal endemic to the eastern Australian region. One thing I enjoyed at Healesville Sanctuary was the opportunity to feed kangaroos. I think it was a fantastic experience that you had to witness.
Days 6 & 7: Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road trip is a tour that anyone in Melbourne, even the locals, experiences at least once in their lifetimes. It’s one of Australia’s most iconic locations, where you head beyond the city limits of Melbourne. You can do it as a day trip or stay overnight.
You must pass Melbourne CBD and go through Geelong to reach Torquay, where the Great Ocean Road starts. You can also explore some of the area’s fantastic beaches, including Jan Juc Beach and Bell’s Beach, which is renowned as a surfing spot.
The highlight of the trip down the Great Ocean Road is the Twelve Apostles. It is one spot that catches the eye, with its limestone stacks along eroded cliffs.
More to explore in Melbourne
Although the 7-day itinerary ends here, there’s more to explore in and around Melbourne. So, if you have time, you can also visit the following attractions.
- Puffing Billy in the Dandenongs
- Penguins of Phillip Island
That’s a wrap to a week’s stay in Melbourne with family. It is no doubt that this trip will most definitely be an enjoyable and memorable one for everyone involved.
Let you know what you did when you were in Melbourne. We would love to hear about your experience and other places in Melbourne.
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