Melbourne

Melbourne feels like a European city that landed in the Southern Hemisphere and decided to stay. You'll spend your mornings in narrow laneways drinking espresso from baristas who treat coffee like surgery, then wander past Victorian-era arcades and street art that gets repainted every few months. The city sprawls wide but the centre is compact—Federation Square, the Yarra River, and the grid of streets north of Flinders Street Station hold most of what you'll want to see on foot.

Three to four nights gives you time to explore the CBD laneways, ride a tram to St Kilda Beach, and take a day trip along the Great Ocean Road or into the Yarra Valley wineries. The weather shifts fast—pack layers even in summer—and the city works on a slower pace than Sydney. Public transport runs on trams, trains, and buses using a single Myki card, and you'll use it constantly unless you're staying hyperlocal in the CBD.

Getting around

Trams are the backbone of Melbourne transport. The City Circle tram (Route 35) loops the CBD for free, but for everywhere else you'll need a Myki card—top it up at 7-Eleven or train stations, then tap on and off. A two-hour fare costs around four dollars, a daily cap is under ten. Trams run frequently until midnight, less so on weekends. Ubers and taxis work fine but add up fast in a city this spread out. The CBD itself is walkable, and bike-share schemes like Lime operate in the inner suburbs if you want two wheels.

What to eat

Melbourne takes coffee and brunch seriously—expect single-origin filters, smashed avocado with labne, and queues on Saturday mornings in Fitzroy and Carlton. For lunch, hit the Queen Victoria Market for bratwurst or fresh oysters, or duck into Chinatown on Little Bourke Street for roast duck and hand-pulled noodles. Lygon Street in Carlton is the old Italian strip—pizza, pasta, tiramisu—though locals now favour the wine bars and small plates in the CBD laneways. Book ahead for dinner anywhere decent on Friday or Saturday nights.

Neighbourhoods

Fitzroy and Collingwood are where you'll find vintage shops, live music venues, and the best coffee density in the city. St Kilda sits on the bay—beach, pier, penguins at sunset, and a slightly scruffy charm. The CBD itself has plenty of hotels near Southern Cross or Flinders Street stations, convenient but less atmospheric. If you want quiet and green space, South Yarra and Prahran put you near the Botanic Gardens and Chapel Street shopping, though you'll tram or Uber into the centre for most meals and sights.