i'll be staying in melbourne for five days, the second week of march.
any recommendations for must - sees while there?
i'm open to anything...
thanks, B.

Hello Bernina,
Probably would be easier for us to give you some guidance if we had an idea of your interests - art, theatre, outdoors, etc.

However, this is an excellent link and will at least give you something to start with.

http://www.visitmelbourne.com/

Bokhara1,

Hi, thank you for the website, it looks like a good place to start. I am interested in sightseeing, arts, theatre, history of the city, shopping..... anything really that you would tell a frist time visitor to melbourne that they cannot miss.

i will be staying with a friend there, and i'm sure he'll be able to give me some direction too, but i just want to have an idea of what is out there and what i'd like to see even before visiting..

thanks, Berina

March is the best month to visit Melbourne so you will enjoy the City wherever you go. The second week is of course Grand Prix week so that cicus will be in town, like it or not. On your list should be The Botanic Gardens, The Arts Centre, Chapel Street Prahran ( shopping) Lygon St. Carlton ( eating) The Vic. Markets a trip to the Dandenongs, Degraves St. and the laneways Fed. Square and so much more.

thanks downunder,

now that is exactly what i needed. sort of a laundry list of things that should definitely be on my list and then i can look more into each of them and pick out what i want to see in the five days i'll be visiting..

thanks a bunch!

The food and wine festival concludes on 8 March but if you look at their web site it has useful links to a variety of other sites about Melbourne .
see -
www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au.
See also -

www.thatsmelbourne.com.au
and for a recent perspective from the New York Times see -

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/01/06travel/06hours.html
This was published in January this year .

The weekend of the 8th of March has a public holiday on Monday 10th March and traditionally the Moomba Festival with parades and all sorts of activities which the city council has striven to modernise since it started in the 1950's .Lots happening at that time elsewhere and the weather will be lovely

Sorry I made an error with the NYT article address .It is http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/01/06...l/06hours.html

thanks John. yes, i was told that that Monday is a holiday and I have actually read that New York Times article..

i will check out the websites as well.

Berina

Hi Berina,

For shopping:
Brunswick St, Fitzroy - bohemian, cool cafes
Gertrude St, Fitzroy - cool shops, cafes

Greville St, Prahran - cool shops

Chapel St, south Yarra- upmarket shops

Flinders Lane, Melbourne (between Elizabeth and Exhibition streets) - individual type shops.

While in Flinders Lane you will go past DeGraves St and another small laneway filled to the brim with small, cool cafes.

GPO - cnr Bourke St and Elizabeth St - upmarket shops in an old post office

QVBuilding - cnr Swanston and Lonsdale - upmarket shops, cafes, bars etc.

DFO - Southern Cross station in the city - factory outlet type shops.

Have fun!

thanks markop - it sounds like you know your shopping

I will also be in Melbourne March 10th for the holiday...are businesses still open as usual?

Not all but a lot as we have very permissive trading laws .