dutyfree

Leaving for Australia in less than two weeks(end of August) and I still don't have a place to stay in Melbourne.Planning on being there around the second week of September. Does anyone have any suggestions as to a nice area that one can use the public transportation yet have restaurants and shops around too? I am traveling with my adult daughter and will be spending 6 nights there.

KayF

I'd suggest somewhere in the CBD (central business district) or Southbank which is across the river. The CBD's borders have spread a bit lately but used to be the section inside Spring, La Trobe, Flinders and Spencer Sts. This forms a rectangle and the CBD may include Docklands now, which is a fairly new section of the city, down past Spencer St.

There are lots of places to eat in the city area and also at Southbank, spread out along the river. The casino is also at Southbank and has lots of places to eat and accommodation too (not cheap).

If you stay in the CBD/city area I'd choose somewhere closer to Flinders St than La Trobe. The section between Elizabeth and Russell Sts has the majority of the shops and the Bourke St Mall where the department stores are. Queen Vic market is easily reached by foot or tram.

The trams run all through the city area, you can check online to see the route of the City Circle Tram which is a free tram mainly for tourists.

Hope that helps a bit. If you have particular hotels you are thinking of, post on here again and we can help you decide if it's in a good area. King St can be rough due to bars and nightclubs but should be OK during the day. The section of town near Flagstaff Station is dead during the evenings and weekends (the station is closed on weekends).

Kay

tt7

KayF has already very ably responded to your question, so perhaps not a lot to add. Check out
http://www.wotif.com/search/results?...3&viewType=all
for an overview of what's available at what price point.

The parts of the CBD you'd be more interested in (shopping, restaurants, theatres, galleries etc. etc) tend to be in the central/southeast quadrant of the CBD. However, getting around (and finding your way around) is pretty easy - just walk or hop on a tram. If you get the city grid fixed in your mind, you'll be able to find your way around and navigate home again easily enough. West-to-east, just remember Spencer-King-William-Queen-Elizabeth-Swanston-Russell-Exhibition-Spring. South-to-north it's Flinders-Flinders Lane-Collins-Little Collins-Bourke-Little Bourke-Lonsdale-Little Lonsdale- La Trobe. In addition to these streets, there are a myriad of laneways and alleys. Much of Melbourne (particularly restaurants and bars) is "hidden" - down a lane way, up a grungy-looking staircase, down in a basement - don't be put off! Finding places is half the fun of Melbourne (though obviously, "big city" rules still apply, particularly late at night. As KayF has already said, I would avoid the area around King Street late at night, unless mixing with a bunch of drunks at 3 am is your kind of fun....).

We have friends who stayed at the Novotel on Collins - they had no complaints and it's in an excellent location. You may want to look at an apartment - there are a number of short-stay apartments around and that may suit you better than a hotel room. There are two Hiltons in town, though neither of them are in particularly convenient locations from a tourist perspective - nothing wrong with their location but personally I wouldn't be going out of my way to stay there unless you had some particular Hilton affiliation. As KayF suggested, maybe take a look at what's available and come back with suggestions. I wouldn't stay over in Docklands (west of the CBD) - lots of new construction (and apartments) but the infrastructure is not really developed so it's still a bit of a wasteland.

Not sure precisely when you're arriving - the Monet exhibition at the National Gallery finishes on September 8, so you may just miss it -
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/e.../monets-garden

northie

there's an Australin Impresionist who worke din paris exhibition on at NGV Potter gallery (Federation Square) -really worth seeing -on until october.

tt7

http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/e...ists-in-france

As northie said, well worth seeing.

The NGV International (where the Monet exhibition is) is on St. Kilda Road (just down from Flinders Street station) and houses the main collection. The Ian Potter Galleries at NGV are up the street and across the road at Federation Square and house the Australian art (including Indigenous art) collection, as well as currently housing the Australian Impressionists in France exhibition. Both locations are worth a visit, even when major exhibitions are not on.
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/visit/two-locations

The NGV is "under new management" which has not been without its issues -
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainme...722-2qetn.html

tt7

Digressing widely from your original question ...

KayF mentioned the free City Circle Tram. There is also a free Melbourne Visitor Shuttle that will take you round the inner city -
http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/vis...orShuttle.aspx

Don't confuse that (single-decker) free bus with the more-recently-introduced red double-decker tour buses, for which you pay -
http://www.city-sightseeing.com/en/t...andingposition

I would stick to the free Melbourne Visitor Shuttle ....

For other transport around town (trams, buses, trains), you need a myki card. It's a system that has had myriad problems, delays and cost overruns but which is finally working (more or less!). You would probably find it useful to have a myki card, particularly for the trams. If you want to visit, for example, St. Kilda, take a tram. Around town, having a myki available so you can just hop on a tram when you feel like it (or your legs are tired...) is worth it. Within the CBD grid, trams run east/west on Collins and Bourke and north/south on Elizabeth and Swanston. If you're just going a couple of blocks within the CBD grid, you don't really need to bother about which tram to get, just go east/west or north/south, depending on which direction you want to go. Only when the trams get outside the CBD grid do they veer off in various directions.

http://ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/myki/myki-visitor-pack/

http://www.yarratrams.com.au
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Melbourne

dutyfree

If you wanted to do a daytrip or a possible overnight on the Great Ocean road-where would you spend the night. I read somewhere that Lorne was a nice place? I just want to see a little of the GOR without driving all the way to Adelaide. Thanks!

tt7

Lorne or Apollo Bay. See my comments in this thread -
http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...-australia.cfm

It perhaps depends on when (what time) you plan to leave Melbourne. It's about 2 hours to Lorne, so if you leave after lunch, you'll be there in good time for a walk around, dinner etc. You'll then have a good head start for the following day, when you should be able to make it all the way to the Twelve Apostles etc. and then back to Melbourne. If it makes sense (in terms of what else you are doing) to leave Melbourne earlier, then I would stay in Apollo Bay. The stretch between Lorne and Apollo Bay is a main part of the GOR and, though you can (in theory) drive it in an hour or so, you'll probably want to stop a few times so it would take a bit longer. I would be inclined to leave after lunch, stay at Lorne and then, after the Twelve Apostles etc., head towards Warnambool but once you reach the A1 (on the way towards Warnambool), turn back towards Melbourne and be back in time for dinner.

We stayed at the Mantra in Lorne, in one of the (cheaper) "Heritage" rooms. Room was fine and the bathroom was huge - though I rather got the impression that because of their 'heritage' nature, those rooms may be somewhat variable.
http://www.mantralorne.com.au
If you sign up (free) for their "Club.CuSoon", you should get 5% off the rates.
http://www.clubcusoon.com.au