Scotland

Victoria’s capital city Melbourne is one of the easier places to explore in Australia. Because the city is flat and arranged in a well planned grid pattern, as well as being compact, it’s easy to get around in. However, that does not mean you’ll be bored silly, because there’s heaps of things to see and do in marvellous Melbourne

New visitors to Melbourne often begin their travels by hopping on the City Circle Tram. It travels around the outside of the main business and shopping area, giving you a good introduction to the places you might wish to visit later. Try walking initially, and if you follow the Golden Mile Trail, you’ll get to see many of Melbourne’s most well known historic sites.

Bus tours are a great way to see more of Melbourne, once you’ve got the inner city walk over and done with. The Marvellous Melbourne Tour is a half-day bus tour that goes through the inner suburbs, including the famous Queen Victoria Markets, Fitzroy Gardens and Albert Park, the Australian F1 Grand Prix home. If you’re a sports lover, then Melbourne’s claim to being the sporting capital of Australia can be investigated on the Melbourne Sports Tour, which takes you behind the scenes of Melbourne’s world class sporting venues and gives you a look at the popular sports played in this city.

The more upscale foreign travelers may try a river cruise or a hot air balloon trip to take in the city’s sights. The more adventurous of them will thoroughly enjoy the experience of touring on a seaplane courtesy of Melbourne Seaplanes or Dog Scenic Flights.

You can even go on a ghost hunting tour with the Haunted Melbourne Ghost Tour. This one is done on foot and visits some of the city’s more “paranormally active” areas. Alternatively, why not learn about Melbourne’s colourful history and past with tours to the town hall or cemetery. You’ll have a laugh hearing about some of Melbourne’s “interesting” historical characters, as well as seeing a view of life in days gone by.

Tourists with a sweet tooth will thoroughly enjoy these two excellent tours: the Coffee, Cake & Chocolate Walk and Chocolate & Other Desserts Walk. They will take you to all the best places in town to satisfy that chocolate craving. And while you’ve got food on your mind, try taking the Colonial Tramcar Restaurants tour which combines two of Melbourne’s greatest loves, fine dining and trams.

Melbourne even has a special tour for “shopaholics” called the Shopping Spree bus tour which takes travelers to some of the city’s best-kept shopping secrets, through winding backstreets to warehouse and factory outlets.

The Australian Aborigines have a rich past in the Melbourne area before the early settlers arrived, and you can absorb the culture and history of this on the Aboriginal Heritage Walk. While on this tour, you’ll also get to see the world-famous Royal Botanic Gardens – well worth a visit.

For the upscale traveler who loves to explore, taking a day trip out of Melbourne will lead you to some of Australia’s best tourist attractions, including South Gippsland, Philip Island, Sovereign Hill, Grampians National Park, the Great Ocean Road and the historic goldmining towns of Bendigo and Ballarat. Also, the Yarra Valley wine region is an excellent destination for wine connoisseurs.

The towns of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs are well worth a visit before you finish your trip to Melbourne. This area (just 90 mins from the city) has the highest concentration of mineral springs in the country, and you can relax in one of the MANY spa resorts in this area.