We started our 2 week Australian Road Trip in Melbourne, spending 3 days there before setting off along the Great Ocean Road. The first 2 days covered popular city attractions, with the third day becoming more niche, visiting the film set of Neighbours and following in the footsteps of my great great grandfather who lived in Port Melbourne over a century ago. However, I would thoroughly recommend all the activities listed, regardless of your viewing preferences or genealogical roots.
How to get to Melbourne
We flew to Melbourne from Fiji. There are also direct flight between Melbourne and New Zealand, the USA and many Asian countries. Entering Australia is a special challenge for the short sighted. The first instruction, on entering the E-gate, is to remove your glasses. The second is written on a screen 20 metres away. I couldn’t even see there was an instruction, let alone read what it said. Despite my unbeaten run of failing to use an E-gate without assistance, we made it through the airport.
We caught the SkyBus into the city centre. It’s a convenient way to get into town with buses running approximately every 10-15 minutes between 4 am and 1 am. The service terminates at Southern Cross Station. Tickets cost $24.60 for a single or $41.20 for a return, available from a ticket booth just in front of the pick up point.
Getting Around Melbourne
Melbourne has an extensive public transport network of buses, trams and trains. Although it’s also a lovely city to just wander around on foot and we mostly did just that, with the occasional tram ride.
Where to stay in Melbourne
We stayed at The Jazz Corner Hotel, a centrally located funky boutique hotel with a jazz theme throughout. Our accommodation was a one bed apartment on the 25th floor. It was clean and comfortable with all mod cons including a kitchenette (I was disproportionately excited when I discover the washing machine). But the best bit is the balcony with spectacular views across Melbourne and the River Yarra.
Melbourne in 3 Days Itinerary
| Day 1 | Queen Victoria Market State Library Royal Exhibition Building Melbourne Museum Parliament House Accommodation – The Jazz Corner Hotel |
| Day 2 | Harbourside Sandridge Bridge Hosier Lane Birrarung Marr Olympic Park Royal Botanic Gardens Shrine of Remembrance |
| Day 3 | Ramsay Street Polly Woodside Port Melbourne |
Melbourne Day 1
Queen Victoria Market
We start our visit to Melbourne at Queen Victoria Market (apparently the largest market in the Southern Hemisphere). It’s huge and you can buy practically anything here, but we make a beeline for the very comprehensive food court and have fish and chips for brunch.
Suitably refuelled, the sightseeing can begin in earnest. The Yarra River bisects Melbourne. We spend the afternoon exploring north of the river; there’s some grand old Victorian buildings, some cool modern buildings and a sprinkling of nice parks.
State Library
We spend some time visiting the enormous State Library, which is surrounded by book themed sculptures.
Inside, the six storey octagonal dome structure reminds me more of a cathedral of books than a library.
Royal Exhibition Building
On to Carlton Gardens, home of the Royal Exhibition Building. This grand Victorian building was originally built for an exhibition in 1880.
When we arrive, there is a craft fair taking place, so we are able to go inside and admire the beautifully frescoed interior.
Melbourne Museum
Also in Carlton Gardens is the Melbourne Museum. This large modern building covers the natural and cultural history of Victoria from dinosaurs to the city’s favourite racehorse.
The museum is open daily from 9 am until 5 pm. Tickets cost $15.
Parliament House
Last stop of the the day is the opulent Victorian Parliament House. It is possible to take a tour of the Parliament, but we make do with a couple of photos on the grand steps.
Parliament Gardens
The building is set it the pretty Parliament Gardens with a very inviting fountain structure on such a hot day.
The Great Petition
Adjacent to Parliament House is The Great Petition, a sculpture commissioned in 2008 to commemorate a century of (non-indigenous) women’s suffrage in Victoria.
Accommodation – The Jazz Corner Hotel
We catch a tram back to our accommodation – The Jazz Corner Hotel – and I sit on the balcony with a beer and some rather strange chicken and aioli crisps. Melbourne is a lovely city. My great great grandfather Paul Monte settled here (more of that later) and I can understand why he fell in love with the place. As I watch the sun set over the harbour, I wonder how my view compares with that of Paul a century ago.
Melbourne Day 2
Part two of our Melbourne sightseeing extravaganza starts where we finished yesterday. We walk in a large zigzagging circle along the river to reach Hosier Lane.
Harbourside
The harbourside is a pleasant area to take a stroll with parks, sculptures and terrific views of the city.
Sandridge Bridge
My favourite part is Sandridge Bridge. This steel bridge contains ten structures, each depicting different groups of settlers; from convicts and the Gold Rush to assisted migration and refugees.
Hosier Lane
We reach the little laneway of Hosier Lane. This narrow street is famous for its abundance of street art.
Birrarung Marr
From Hosier Lane, we continue through Birrarung Marr. This riverside park with spectacular city and harbour views features indigenous flora and art.
Federation Bells
At the top end of the park are the Federation Bells. This installation of 39 bells was designed to commemorate the centenary of Australia’s federation in 2001. The website allows members of the public to compose music for the bells to play. The bells ring three times a day (8 am to 9 am, 12.30 pm to 1.30 pm and 5 pm to 6 pm).
William Barak Bridge
We walk over the freaky William Barak Bridge, which talks and sings to you as you cross, to the Olympic Park.
Olympic Park
The Olympic Park is home to various sports venues including the MCG (cricket ground) and the Rod Laver Arena (tennis centre).
Royal Botanic Gardens
Next, we head for the Royal Botanic Gardens. There is 5 km trail around the edge of the gardens, here, a radio station are handing out chocolate bilbies (imagine a genetic mutation of half rabbit half wallaby).
The Gardens are free to enter and beautiful. We wander around for a while admiring the various different gardens. Lunch consists of a chocolate picnic by the lake.
Shrine of Remembrance
Next, we go to the Shrine of Remembrance; a huge shrine originally built to honour the dead of WW1.
A forecourt with an eternal flame was built later to commemorate those who died in WW2.
The area underneath the shrine houses the Galleries of Remembrance; a moving and informative museum detailing the role of Australians in conflicts around the world. Entrance is free, although donations are welcome.
We return to our hotel via Victoria Market to get some dinner. We need to refuel, we’ve covered a lot of miles today and only eaten a chocolate marsupial.
Melbourne Day 3
Ramsay Street
On my final day in Melbourne, I get to indulge in two of my passions. First, having watched Neighbours for 30 years, a visit to Melbourne would not be complete without a Ramsay Street Tour. Reviews are mixed, so I have high hopes and low expectations. The package includes a meet and greet with a star of the show. I am intrigued to see who they had coaxed out of bed on a Bank Holiday morning.
After a shaky start (the bus driver reversing into a street sign) it is actually a really good tour. The clientele are exclusively British (Aussies don’t really watch Neighbours) and super excited. The driver/guide spends the 18 mile drive to the suburbs engaging in Neighbours themed banter.
We start at the studio. Because there is no filming taking place, we are allowed onto the set, which is a bonus, and I get to take loads of cheesy photos.
Then on to Ramsay Street, which isn’t actually called Ramsay Street. But the guide has a makeshift street sign for more cheesy photo ops. The star we meet, Ben Nicholas, played the character Stingray. He seems really nice and is happy to chat and pose for photos. All in all, a great morning.
Note: Since our trip to Australia, Neighbours was cancelled, then reprieved – hooray! So I have left this in my blog because it was one of the highlights of the trip and hopefully set tours will resume again soon. In the meantime, it is still possible to visit the famous street on you own. Pin Oak Court is in the suburb of Vermont South which is 18 miles from central Melbourne. Details on how to get there can be found here.
Polly Woodside
The afternoon is dedicated to genealogy. We start at the Polly Woodside, a 19th century tall ship similar to those my G G grandad sailed on.
You can board the ship to see what conditions were like and there is also an interesting little museum. Entry costs $16.
Port Melbourne
Then we walk to the bayside suburb of Port Melbourne, to Bay Street where my G G grandad lived. My family were led to believe that he died at sea shortly before my great grandma was born, but recent research showed that he actually jumped ship in Melbourne, married bigamously and settled in Port Melbourne leaving wife No 1 destitute in the UK. I take plenty of pictures of his homes (front and back) while the old man worries that I will get arrested for stalking or casing the joint.
We planned to return to the city by train but that involves purchasing a $6 card on which to put the $6 fare. We are too mean to pay, so walk instead. By the time we reach the hotel, we have walked 19 km and are tired and hungry.
Note: I added Port Melbourne to my itinerary for personal reasons, but would still recommend a trip as we enjoyed our visit to this pleasant suburb, with an abundance of shops and restaurants as well as a prom adjacent to the beach.
We head out to Victoria Market once more, intending to eat our body weight in Chinese. But I order a Kung Po chicken so hot it burns my lips – a novel form of portion control.
- Trip taken: March 2018
- Updated: January 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For guides to more destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full list of Independent Travel Itineraries here.
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