8 Best Sights in Melbourne, Victoria

One of the cultural linchpins of Federation Square, ACMI is Australia's museum of screen culture, from film to TV, video games, and art. Its remit is to explore the moving image through film festivals and interactive exhibitions, games, and workshops—some focused especially on their youngest visitors. The permanent games lab, with its classic and new games, is an arcade-style experience great for all. The little ACMI kiosk sells sandwiches, salad bowls, and sweets, and there's also a museum shop for unique gifts.

Melbourne's most important cultural landmark is Victoria’s home of live performance and encompasses Hamer Hall, the Theatres Building (housing the State Theatre and other venues) with its iconic spire, and the outdoor Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Enjoy a show or take a tour through the Australian Performing Arts Collection for behind-the-scenes access to Australia's largest performing arts collection. With over 850,000 items, the Collections Store is dedicated to the development, management, preservation, and sharing of Arts Centre Melbourne's extraordinary cultural heritage. Bookings essential. At night, the complex's spire creates a magical spectacle with brilliant fiber-optic cables.

Melbourne's most elegant 19th-century shopping arcade dates from the 1880s, when "Marvelous Melbourne" was flush with the prosperity of the gold rushes. A century later, renovations scraped back the grime to reveal a magnificent mosaic floor.

The heart of the trendy South Yarra–Prahran–Windsor area, this long road is packed with pubs, bars, notable restaurants, and upscale boutiques—more than 1,000 shops can be found within the precinct. Australian icons like Dinosaur Designs and Scanlan Theodore showcase their original work at the fashion-conscious, upscale Toorak Road end of the street (nearest to the city). Catch the 78 tram or walk south along Chapel Street to Greville Street and visit a small lane of hip bars, clothing boutiques, and record stores. Past Greville Street, moving into Windsor at the south end of Chapel Street, things get hipper, with cafés and vintage shops; this part of Chapel Street has three great markets selling everything from fresh produce to vintage records.

Melbourne's best-known laneway for its vibrant street art scene, Hosier Lane is easily accessible off Flinders Lane, and may whet your appetite for further exploration. The ever-changing nature of the art means you can wander at will, or join a walking tour. With tours run by street artists, Blender Studios also conducts walks past the large-scale murals of Fitzroy, and even runs freehand spray-painting workshops for adults and kids.

The Australian and First Nations art collection of the National Gallery of Victoria hangs on the walls of this gallery in Fed Square. Key pieces include pioneering Indigenous artist Emily Kame
Kngwarreye's vast 1995 work, Anwerlarr Anganenty (Big Yam Dreaming), as well as paintings from the famous Heidelberg school, such as Frederick McCubbin's Lost and Tom Roberts's Shearing the Rams. Other displays include fashion and textiles, sculpture, and photography. A gallery highlight is the First Nations collection, which is permanently displayed on the ground floor in a dedicated gallery called Wurrdha Marra and includes both traditional and contemporary art.

A much-photographed Melbourne landmark, the park's entrance is a huge, gaping mouth, swallowing visitors whole and delivering them into a world of ghost trains, pirate ships, and carousels. Built in 1912, the Scenic Railway is the park's most popular ride. It's said to be the oldest continually operating roller coaster in the world. The railway is less roller coaster and more a relaxed loop-the-loop, with stunning views of Port Phillip Bay between each dip and turn. Luna Park is a five-minute stroll southeast of St. Kilda.

Most commonly known for its colorful and culturally significant bathing boxes, which were built more than a century ago in response to Victorian ideas of morality and seaside bathing, Brighton Beach is also ideal for families since its location in a cove means that it's protected from the wind. Perfect for those looking for a quieter spot than St. Kilda Beach, the Bath Middle Brighton ( www.middlebrightonbaths.com.au) is a nice place to view the boats and have a bite to eat. Good views of the bathing boxes and Melbourne's skyline can be enjoyed from the gardens at Green Point. Amenities: parking (fee); toilets. Best for: solitude; swimming.