Melbourne

Melbourne by Night ...

Melbourne is the capital city of the state of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1835 by free settlers and not by convicts as many other Australian cities were.

Someone who lives in Melbourne is called a Melburnian. As at June 30 2008, there were more than 4,100 CouchSurfers registered in Melbourne.

What's the weather like?

Beautiful Yarra River ...

Try to check the forecast for the next few days when deciding what to pack for Melbourne, and carry an umbrella or a light water-resistant coat to protect you from sudden rain.

What are the areas of Melbourne?

Federation Square ...

Greater Melbourne covers an area in excess of 8,800 square km and is comprised of a number of regions. Each region contains a number of suburbs, each with its own cultural and historical identity.

CBD (Downtown)

• Includes Melbourne, Docklands, Southbank, East Melbourne, West Melbourne

Inner North

• Includes Carlton, Brunswick, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Coburg, Northcote

Inner South & Bayside

• Includes St Kilda, South Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Albert Park, Elwood

Inner East

• Includes Northcote, Richmond, Hawthorn, South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor

Inner West

• Includes Kensington, Footscray, Flemington, Yarraville

North West

• Includes Tullamarine (Melbourne Airport), St Albans, Keilor, Essendon, Sunbury, Broadmeadows, Craigieburn

North East

• Includes Epping, Eltham, Heidelberg, Greensborough, Bundoora, Reservoir, Preston

East

• Includes Glen Waverley, Lilydale, Box Hill, Doncaster, Blackburn, Camberwell, Wantirna

West

• Includes Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Sunshine

Dandenong Ranges

• Includes Mt Dandenong, Mount Evelyn, Olinda, Sassafras, Belgrave, Monbulk, Silvan

South East

• Includes Clayton, Dandenong, Narre Warren, Cranbourne, Noble Park, Berwick, Hampton Park

Mornington Peninsula

• Includes Frankston, Seaford, Dromana, Portsea, Rosebud, Rye, Cape Schanck

What do I do in an emergency?

Please look at the Melbourne Emergency Information page for detailed information to help with most emergencies in Melbourne. One important detail to remember is the Australian Emergency Services phone number - 000.

How do I get to, around & from Melbourne

Melbourne's famous trams ...

Need information on transport in or near Melbourne? There's a special page dedicated to transportation in Melbourne, containing a wealth of information including links to current timetable & fare information.

What can I do in Melbourne?

St Kilda Beach ...

Melbourne has many hidden secrets in its laneways - bars, shops, cafes, graffiti, galleries and much more. Pick up a map of the Melbourne CBD from the Visitor Centre at Federation Square and don't be afraid to explore! You're more likely to find a great day or night out by traversing the laneways rather than the main streets.
Don't forget to check out the Melbourne group for upcoming gatherings and tips on where to go & what to do.
Melbourne's public gardens are the pride of the city. These popular places, filled with city workers and weekend family picnickers, are european inspired and among the finest in Australia. During summer, these are the places to see open air movies or to catch a concert.
Melbourne is always trying to improve access for cyclists and already has some beautiful tracks to be explored - please note that a helmet and lights are compulsory and you may incur a fine for not using them. You also can't take bikes on trams or buses.

Festivals

Melbourne is known for its many festivals - there sometimes seems to be a different one every week! They are a good oppourtunity to experience something a little bit different. Here are some of the better known ones, but for a comprehensive listing, check the festivals listing on whitehat

• Big Day Out - Australias biggest music festival: January
• Tropfest-short film festival: February
• Melbourne Fashion Festival: March
• Food and Wine Festival: March
• Comedy Festival: April
• Flower and Garden Show: April
• International Film Festival: August
• Melbourne Fringe Festival: September
• International Arts Festival: October
• Spring Racing Carnival (dressing up, wearing a hat, getting drunk & some horse racing): November

Nightlife

Melbourne by Night ...

Melbourne is renowned for its nightlife and pub/bar scene. Many venues around the City and suburbs have regular live music, including popular Australian and international acts. There are many sources of information, including Beat, also available as a free newspaper from many cafes and music stores around the City.

The links below will take you to the Region/Suburb page for some of Melbourne's popular nightlife districts.

• Inner South & Bayside

• Inner North

What can I do & see near Melbourne?

Great Food ...

• Geelong & the Bellarine Peninsula
  is about one hour away via the Princes Freeway. The waterfront is worth a walk - gorgeous at sunset. The Bellarine Peninsula has a wealth of hidden secrets to explore, including a tourist railway & some lighthouses.
• You Yangs
  are some hills between Melbourne and Geelong. They provide a good view towards Geelong and Melbourne. "Big Rock" is nice. No 4WD needed - easy roads. Official website
• Brisbane Ranges National Park
  just shares the name with the known city. It is located in the middle of the triangle Melbourne-Geelong-Ballarat. The National park offers some hikes including a three day hike. Anakie Gorge Walk is easy but is nice. 40% of the National Park burned a few years ago, but nature is coming back with all its power. Most of the roads are easy to drive with any 'normal' car. Some parts may be a bit tricky after heavy rain - there are some steeper valleys. Parks Victoria
• Cathedral Ranges State Park
  is a small park north of Healesville next to Maroondah Hwy. It features a great hike along a ridge with light rock climbing (no ropes needed; beware: not for people who have claustrophobia - there is a tight rift to squeeze through). The park is is the start for an easy 4WD-only track up mountain to 1145m height - good for newbies.

Contemporary art ...

• Yarra Ranges National Park
  has breathtaking white gumtrees with masses of ferntrees at their feets. Maroondah Hwy curls through these hills with down to 35km/h sections. Not as long as Great Ocean Road, but definitely worth seeing.
• There is some surprisingly good SCUBA diving near Melbourne, on the Mornington Peninsula. The Portsea Hole is a great boat dive, amongst several options including a beautiful wreck (non penetrative), and the Rye Pier a pleasant enough shore dive for macro life.

Does Melbourne have a lot of CS members?

Funky buildings ...

The Melbourne CS community is very active, with planned and spontaneous events taking place regularly. For details on upcoming meetings, check out the most active local group.

Previous Meetings

CS Ambassadors in Melbourne

For a current list of Ambassadors in Melbourne and surrounds, refer to the CS Australia list of Ambassadors.

Got any tips on life in Melbourne?

Moving to Melbourne

The following information is useful Australia-wide, but also see the CS Australia Wiki.

Renting or Share Housing

Beautiful Yarra River ...

If you are looking for somewhere to stay longer term, flatmatefinders is very useful and detailed for those interested in locating housemates with available rooms. Free sites to try are Australian Flatmates Directory or Gumtree, which is probably the fastest moving share site. There is also a limited search on sharing in realestate.com.au. Other places to check include local noticeboards in Readings bookshops, universities, hostels and cafes.

Finding work

Finding work, your rights and general information about working in Melbourne and Australia Job Surfer.

If you're interested in finding work, check out this post.

Volunteer work

Check this post.

Study

If you want to learn English you can have a look at the Homepage of the East Melbourne Language Center. They offer one on one classes or the Melbourne language center (enrolment form with fees). There you can do a full day class for $290 a week or a part time class for $220 a week.

What's with the trash-talking of other cities?

Due in part to its location - central to 4 other Capital Cities - Melbourne enjoys a friendly rivalry with its neighbours in Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart and - to a lesser extent - Canberra.

Melburnians can often be heard commenting on the City's great cafe & arts culture, quirky laneways, and sporting events - especially when Sydneysiders are around!

Melbourne Museum ...

Got any links to other information?

1. Rough Guides travel information.
2. Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Melbourne posts
3. Find out more about the culture.
4. Melbourne public holidays and annual events.
5. Useful contact information - phone numbers and websites.
6. Download some Melbourne Podtours

   ABC Melbourne invites you to put on your walking shoes, turn on your MP3 player and discover Melbourne’s secrets with the ABC Melbourne Podtours:

1. Eat, Drink Melbourne
2. Death, Dirt and Disease and
3. Showbiz, Sexy Spectacles and Sideshows.

Enjoy!!wikitravel:Melbourne