11.11.2018 | Australia, Travel

8 things you definitely have to see in Melbourne

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Today I wanna show you what to do in Melbourne on a budget. Probably you will combine visiting the Great Ocean Road with exploring Melbourne before or afterward. Keep in mind there is a lot of traffic driving from the end of the Great Ocean Road and Torquay to Melbourne.

1. Parking in Melbourne and the Fitzroy district

Mostly the free parking spaces can be found in tight streets and these streets, as well as the car parks with a low height, aren´t passable with a big camper. Therefore I was pretty impressed by the car park crossing Fitzroy Street/Rose Street. Everywhere there are amazing graffitis with spray paint and the artists´quarter Fitzroy is pretty cool and relaxed. A whole day costs 8 AUS Dollar and the main benefit is, you are already in the center of the city, also you can stroll through the beautiful streets of Fitzroy. You will find lots of hip and extraordinary cafés inside industrial buildings. A lot of Australian people were sitting inside the cafés or enlivening the streets.

2. Museum, Royal Exhibition Building

As well as Adelaide, Melbourne is organized in a grid. Everything seemed to be pretty big and crowded. The first thing I do in a new city is going to a hotel or an info to ask for a free little map of the city. So you don´t have to buy or bring along a big map. The Royal Exhibition Building is an absolutely beautiful old building next to a park. The modern museum is located directly next to it.

3. The old buildings and the H&M Store

At first, when I am in a new city, I am always strolling through the streets. Therefore I am always surprised by the things I see. Afterward, I am searching for 5 most important locations and visit them. I love to stop at a café, for example, a cafe crossing Queen Street/Lt Collins Street.

4. Hosier Lane

The Hosier Lane is a street with lots of graffitis, well-known for Melbourne. The works of art are continuously painted over. Some of them are absolutely stunning. However in this area there are a few junkies but don´t be afraid, there are a lot of tourists and it is absolutely saved.

5. Botanical Garden

By walking across the bridge you will reach the Botanical Garden. From this area, you will have the perfect view over the Skyline of Melbourne. The Skyline with all the modern buildings next to the older ones fascinates me again and again. Reaching the park, you can walk through palm trees along the water.

6. Queen Victoria Market

Queen Victoria Market is a big marketplace selling fish, fruits, and vegetables. But you have to be there at the right time. The opening hours are different every day. Somedays in the week it is open early in the morning, somedays in the evening. However, in front of the building, there is a strong smell of fish :).

7. Penguins at the St. Kilda Pier

Because this place is located outside the center of Melbourne, I would recommend going there by car or by train. For parking, you have to pay 6 AUS Dollar per hour! At the pier, you can observe penguins from 5:30-7:30 pm in winter, coming out of the water and on top of the rocks when darkness falls. They are the smallest penguins on earth, called little penguins. There were a lot of penguins, the entry is free and voluntary people show you the penguins with infrared lights. They explained us everything about the little cute creatures, I highly recommend this place for penguin watching. We spent the night with our campervan at a small beach “Sandringham Club” in the south of St. Kilda. It was extremely difficult to find a parking space without a “no camping” sign near the city. In any case you should wake up not later than 6 am in the morning, otherwise, they could wake you up by knocking at your car. This day we had a spider in our car for the first time. I am quite sure it was a pretty small harmless Huntsman spider. 🙂

8. Brighton Beach and the colorful beach bungalows

There are 82 colorful Beach Boxes at the beach, extremely famous for this area. In the background, you can see the skyline of Melbourne on top of the ocean. In the morning a lot of people go there for a swim or go for a walk with their dogs. Everywhere people were fascinated about our road trip and asked about our further travel plans. Then it was time to move on. We continued our road trip to Sydney.