37 Best Sights in Melbourne, Victoria

While there is no surf to speak of, this half-mile stretch of sand still remains one of the country's liveliest beaches as it's close to bars, restaurants, and hotels. While most people like to hang out on the sand, windsurfing, sailing, rollerblading, and beach volleyball are other popular activities. Two iconic landmarks—St. Kilda Baths and St. Kilda Pier—are close by and give visitors something to do on those blistering hot summer afternoons. The Sunday foreshore market is just minutes away as well. Amenities: food and drink; parking (fee); toilets. Best for: partiers; swimming; windsurfing.

Construction of this neo-Gothic Revival building began in 1858 and took 82 years to finish. A statue of the Irish patriot Daniel O'Connell stands in the courtyard, testament to the fact that Ireland supplied Australia with many of its early immigrants, especially during the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century.

This 1890s headquarters of Melbourne's Anglican faith is one of the most important works of William Butterfield, a leader of the British neo-Gothic Revival style. Located opposite Flinders Street Station, hear the 13 bells toll on Sunday morning. Spot the statue outside of Matthew Flinders, the first seaman to circumnavigate Australia, between 1801 and 1803.

On a rise behind lawns and heroic statuary, this handsome 1853 building was constructed during the gold-rush boom and houses more than 1½ million volumes as well as bushranger Ned Kelly's famous armor. Large reading areas—including the splendid domed reading room up the grand staircase—make this a comfortable place for browsing, and three galleries display works from the library's Pictures Collection.

Cultures collide on Sydney Road as Arabic mingles with French, Hindi does battle with Bengali, and the muezzin's call to prayer argues with Lebanese pop music. Scents intoxicate and colors beguile. Cafés serving everything from pastries to tagines (Moroccan stews) to Turkish delight sit shoulder to shoulder along the roadside with quirky record shops, antiques auction houses, and Bollywood video stores.

One of Melbourne's most popular "eat streets," this 2-km (1-mile) stretch has restaurants ranging from simple canteens to tablecloth-and-candlelight dining spots. The street is packed with Vietnamese grocers, kitchenware stores, several art galleries, and a handful of chichi drinking spots and historic neighborhood hotels. Once a year at Tet, Vietnamese New Year (in January and February but the exact date varies from year to year), the street comes to life with a daylong Lunar Festival, with dragon dances, music, and more food!

Pubs are not generally known for their artwork, but climb the steps to the first-floor bar of the 164-year-old hotel to see Chloe, a painting that has scandalized and titillated Melburnians for many decades. The larger-than-life nude, painted by Jules Joseph Lefebvre in Paris in 1875, has adorned the walls of Young and Jackson's Hotel (which serves Victorian craft beers) since 1909.