Melbourne

 Melbourne is a style-setter with some of the best shopping and nightlife in Australia. Whether you are searching for haute couture or vintage clothing, sparkling chardonnay, über-chic bars, clubs or jazz venues, Melbourne has it all.

 Today Melbourne is the second-largest city in Australia and the capital of the state of Victoria. Melbourne is built on a coastal plain at the top of the giant horseshoe shaped Port Phillip Bay, which also serves as the mouth of the mighty Yarra River. Located on the southern coast of Australia’s eastern seaboard, Melbourne is perhaps Australia’s most cultured and politically conservative city. Melbourne features include Victorian-era architecture, bounteous cultural institutions museums, art galleries, theatres and spaciously landscaped parks and gardens. Its 3.5 million population is multicultural and entirely sports-mad.

Melbourne has a privatised public transport system comprising trains, trams and buses. Trams are the main form of transport throughout the Central Business District and run up and down most main streets. Trains are the main mode of transport throughout the greater Melbourne area.

 Melbourne prides itself on being a great city. It's hardly surprising, with its spectacular combination of old and new architecture, elegant streetscapes, harmonious ethnic communities and lavish parks & gardens. Include Australia's best dining; an efficient transit system and a packed events calendar and you have all the ingredients for one of the most enlightened and liveable cities in the world.

 Although Melbourne is situated on the shores of one of the largest bays on the Australian coast, the city's main water feature is the Yarra River. That's because the city grew from the banks of the Yarra and even today the focus for the city is still very much on a one-kilometre section of the river. Within that one kilometre are some of the great sights and attractions of Melbourne

 Melbourne has a lively passion for social eating and drinking, which is reflected in the thousands of restaurants serving up gastronomic experiences from around the world. Everywhere you look you will uncover a vast array of fashionable cafes, where you can enjoy Melbourne's existential coffee culture to the fullest.

                                                            Melbourne Museum                                                            Highlights include a complete skeleton of a blue whale, the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, a living rainforest, the racehorse Phar Lap and an IMAX theatre on site. Major international exhibitions are presented in the Touring Hall. A visit to Melbourne Museum offers rich and often surprising insights into life in Victoria.