After returning the rental car from our Grand Pacific Drive road trip, we flew to Melbourne, Australia for a week. It’s a quick flight, just over an hour. We checked into our 40th floor apartment in a downtown high rise. What an incredible view from our balcony!
Arcades and Laneways
Melbourne’s laneways are small, tucked away alleys. The arcades are covered shopping plazas. They boast a diverse array of hidden, cafes, boutiques, shops, restaurants, and bars. We expect a couple of hours of rain today. Despite this, we wanted to do a walking tour of these hidden gems. These are similar to the Paris Covered Passages I posted about last year. The Melbourne tourist info center has a handy map of the top 15 arcades and alleyways to explore.
Royal Arcade
Built in 1869, the Royal Arcade is the oldest surviving arcade in Australia. The unusual feature of the arcade is the clock. There are two giant statues of the mythical figures of Gog and Magog that surround the clock. Since 1892, these statues have struck chimes at every hour, and we heard them ring today.
Block Arcade
Block Arcade, built in 1892, is an architectural gem. It features a glass domed roof, lavish decorations, stained glass and a mosaic floor. The jewelry shops specialize in antique jewelry. Other shops sell clothes, crystal, art along with restaurants and bars. It is also home to the oldest tea room in Australia. The Tea Rooms opened in 1892 and still serves high tea and pastries today. They look beautiful.
Cathedral Arcade
The art deco Cathedral Arcade is on the ground floor of the famous Nicholas Building (1925). It still retains most of its original features.
Laneways
Here are a few photos of some of the scenic laneways around downtown. They call downtown the CBD (central business district). Most of these laneways are from the mid to late 1800’s. Some of them are covered, while most are open air. There are lots of hidden cafes and shops to discover. A light drizzle begins as we continue our walk.
Historic Buildings
There are many historic buildings remaining in the CBD nestled among the new skyscrapers. This is a very charming and bustling city that blends old and new. It’s starting to rain harder now, so we went into a pub for lunch. With Guinness on tap, Danny is happy and the food was filling. We had a typical “Aussie” pub special called parma. Basically a chicken parmigiana that’s loaded with many different toppings, sauces and cheese. There are Irish, Italian, Indian and Greek toppings to choose from, served with salad and fries. We keep saying we’ll just order one meal and share since portion sizes are big here, but that never happens. I don’t think we’ll be eating dinner tonight after this.
Melbourne Zoo
Along with the rain comes cooler weather. It’s a low of 48 degrees and a high of 65. Since the weather is cool, we are going to the zoo today. The next two days the temperatures swing to highs of 96 degrees. We go from jeans and jackets one day to shorts and tees the next. The weather has been this way since we arrived in Australia. November is late Spring here and Summer begins December 1st.
Today we are off to the Melbourne Zoo, Australia’s oldest zoo. It opened in 1862 and spans 55 acres. I booked us a special close up encounter with koalas. A zookeeper will take 6 of us into the koala exhibit for a “meet and greet”. Holding a koala is illegal in all Australian states, so that’s off the table. But we probably shouldn’t be holding one anyway, since up to 90% have chlamydia.
Some of the Australian wildlife we saw today included the Tasmanian devil, dingo, quokka, kangaroo, wallaby, wombat and koala. Here we are inside the exhibit. The koalas are adorable and their fur looks so soft. They are just waking up from a nap. Although I’m not sure I’d call it a nap, since they sleep 20 hours a day.
Of course I want to include a few non native Australian animals too. We had a great day at the zoo. The koala encounter made it special.
Reuniting with Friends
Tonight our cruise friends Jim and Terence are in town, so we’re going out for drinks and dinner together. It’ll be fun to see them again. We met up at a retro basement bar near their hotel. We then ate dinner at a Spanish restaurant in the nearest laneway.
The four of us met up again today for a hike. Weather is perfect with a high of 70 degrees. It’s our final cool day before 96 degree temps start tomorrow. We enjoyed a great hike through town, the botanic gardens, Prahran Market, Shrine of Remembrance, St. Paul’s Cathedral and then ended with lunch back in town. A great day of 23,000+ steps and over 8.5 miles walked. After all that exercise, we earned extra wine tonight!
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria
The Royal Botanic Gardens (1846) covers 94 acres. It’s in the heart of town and includes manicured lawns, gardens, lakes, ponds and lots of native plants. We wound our way through some of the trails as we continued with our walk.
Prahran Market
Prahran Market opened in 1864. I could have eaten my way through this neighborhood market. Everything is displayed beautifully and is so fresh. I love browsing these markets. Of course there is also a meat pie menu for that treat that is everywhere in Australia.
Shrine of Remembrance
Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance is a landmark memorial honoring the service and sacrifice of Australians in war. Its foundation stone was laid in 1927 and the Shrine opened in 1934. The surrounding park is also beautifully landscaped.
St. Paul’s Cathedral and Flinders Station
We peeked into St. Paul’s Cathedral where construction began in 1880. The pipe organ is incredible as well as the stained glass windows. This massive Anglican church is just across from the beautiful Flinders Street Station (1854). The station is the main transportation hub and rail station of the city and spans the entire block. It’s also the oldest station in Australia.
Docklands
Since the weather turns to a hot 95 degrees today, we wanted to stick to inside activities. The Docklands is an area where Victoria Harbor is located. It’s also home to an art gallery and an art walk. Luxury apartments sit above waterfront restaurants and bars. The District shopping area is also located there. The now closed Melbourne Star observation wheel still sits abandoned. An outlet mall is also close by. Oh, there’s also a Costco! Perfect for a day of shopping and dining.
We hopped aboard the historic City Circle #35 tram to Docklands. What is really neat about Melbourne is that they have a free tram zone in the CBD. All of the public trams in this zone are free. So you can travel anywhere to see the sites without buying a ticket.
We walked past the House Down Under and the Melbourne Star. The upside down house is an attraction that is a photo experience. sadly, the Star has quite the history. It is approximately 400 feet tall. It opened in 2008 and cost 100 million to build. After 40 days it closed due to structural defects and then had to be rebuilt. It finally reopened in 2013 and ran until COVID when it shutdown permanently as the operating company went into bankruptcy. So, I guess it’s now an expensive “art installation”.
Across the street from the wheel is Costco. It’s in a scenic location. From the food court windows on the second floor, you have a beautiful view of the city and the wheel. You can read our recent post Costco Food Court Australia.
Victoria Harbor
Constructed between 1887 and 1892 is Victoria Harbor or Dock. It is the oldest and largest surviving single dock in the world. We even noticed a white yacht docked in the harbor named Texas. What are the odds? We then had lunch on the waterfront before hitting the outlet mall. Now it’s cocktail hour.
Queen Victoria Market
The Queen Victoria Market opened in 1878. It sits on the site of Old Melbourne Cemetery, the city’s first official cemetery 1837-1853. It closed operation in 1854. When the market opened and later expanded to take over the land, 1,000 bodies were reinterred from the estimated 10,000 believed to be buried here. The paved parking lot and several buildings now cover the original cemetery site. It’s a weird feeling to know you’re shopping over so many burials.
The market is an historic landmark spread over two city blocks. We can see it from our apartment balcony just a few blocks away. This is a bustling inner-city market where you can shop at over 600 small businesses. These businesses offer everything from Australian fruit and vegetables to local and imported gourmet foods, clothing, and souvenirs. Over 10 million people per year visit the market.
Farewell to our friends and a nighttime walk
It’s our last night to spend with our friends Jim & T as they fly out tomorrow. So we met up for dinner and drinks on a rooftop bar afterwards. We’ll miss their company, but know our paths will definitely cross again. We then set out for a nighttime walk back to the apartment. The city is beautiful at night.
Tonight a department store unveiled their animated Myer Christmas Windows display. It’s a local tradition since 1956. This year they are celebrating wildlife warriors by honoring the Irwin family (Crocodile Hunter) and the Australia Zoo. The music, animation and storytelling is amazing with this production.
Chinatown
Melbourne’s Chinatown dates back to the gold rush days of the 1850’s. It is the longest and oldest continuous Chinese settlement in the western world. Today, this area is bustling with activities, shopping, dining and markets.
Monuments & Landmarks
We went on what I call a “kamikaze” tour to look at the main monuments and landmarks of Melbourne. Here are the highlights. First stop is the old City Baths. It opened in 1904 as a public bath, with swimming pools and bathing facilities. Next is the Old Melbourne Gaol. Built in the mid-1800’s, the jail dominated the skyline as a symbol of authority. Inside the Gaol, dangerous criminals were held alongside petty offenders, the homeless and the mentally ill. Between 1842 and its closure in 1929, this prison was the scene of 133 hangings. Third stop is Coop’s Shot Tower (1889), once one of the tallest buildings in Melbourne. The 9 story tower produced 6 tons of gun shot weekly up until 1961. It has been saved and is now encased in a glass dome that is incorporated into a mall.
We continued our walk to see the State Library Victoria (1854), Parliament House (1929), the Old Treasury Building (1858) and Town Hall (1867). The architecture of these historical buildings is amazing.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
St. Patrick’s Cathedral (1858) is the home of the Catholic Church’s Archbishop. At the time, the Catholic community of Melbourne was almost entirely Irish. Therefore, the cathedral was dedicated to St. Patrick, who is the patron saint of Ireland.
As we are out shopping, we did notice a couple interesting differences with business names in Australia. First, TK Maxx is the name for TJ Maxx when outside the United States. It has something to do with copyrights. Also, Hungry Jack’s is the name for Burger King. Apparently, an Australian businessman opened the chain’s first franchise Down Under in 1971. However, a local restaurant called Burger King had already trademarked the name. So he had to choose a new one. There are probably others, but those are the two we noticed.
Speaking of different names for things, when in Australia, french fries are called chips. Whereas potato chips are crisps.
Travel tip: we heard from all of our new Aussie friends, please do not tip waiters, bartenders and other service staff. It is not customary, nor ever expected. The starting minimum wage in Australia is about $25 per hour for a 38 hour week. It also comes with a package of full health, vision and dental benefits. In 2024, it’s the second highest minimum wage in the world. So unlike the US, it’s a livable wage without the need for a tipping culture. The prices you see posted on items in the store and on menus also include all taxes and fees. What you see is what you pay.
Our time in Melbourne is over soon. We fly back home tomorrow. But before we leave, we squeezed in a couple more sites. First is a 6-ton, 26-foot tram buried partway in the ground in front of the Grand Hotel. It is sticking straight up toward the sky. This art piece is in honor of the last old “rattler” trams like the #35 I pictured earlier.
We then headed toward the waterfront to see Polly Woodside. This three masted iron hulled ship was built in Belfast in 1885. She traveled approximately 1 million miles in her lifetime and is now an interactive museum. Polly is permanently docked at the waterfront with the backdrop of the city behind.
It’s been an amazing trip. Some of the things that really impressed us are the friendliness of the Australians. They’re always willing to chat and ask questions. This includes the staff in bars and restaurants too. The streets are also very clean without the litter we normally see in big cities. We also felt safe wherever we went, as there is a much low crime rate here compared to the US. It’s also a very walkable city, but with great public transport too.
I hope you enjoyed the sites and our experiences during our one week getaway to Melbourne, Australia. Australia has so very much to offer visitors and we hope to be back soon. There’s even more to discover. See you on our next journey!
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