Melbourne For A Visitor

Chrystal from Chrystal-Clear is coming to Melbourne town this week, for 10 days, and I am keen to show off one of my favourite cities in the world, and the place I call home, whilst she was here. Having meet her in Toronto at a Travel Massive over there, it will be exciting to catch up with her, and have her fall in love with Melbourne as much as I love it!

I just hope she is prepared for the weather here, given that she has been in Queensland for a uni semester. Brrrr, it's cold down here at the moment!

She'll need to grab the Skybus from the airport, which will bring her into the city, and is the only affordable way to get in. Then it would be best if she buys a myki card and puts top up money on as she goes across the 10 days, whenever she will need the trams and trains around town.

The city sights she definitely needs to spot as she floats around our great city include Federation Square, the Shot Tower in Melbourne Central, Flinders Street Station, Queen Victoria Market, and the Yarra River. Given that the central portion of the city is a grid, the free Circle Tram is a great way to get started, and get her bearings.

The Eureka Tower may be another way to get her bearings, for a birds eye view of the city layout, although I suspect she is on a budget as a traveller and a student, so the Best Free View of the city may just be the ticket.

One of her criteria for the perfect city includes historical sites, so I direct her to check out the Old Melbourne Gaol, and Cook's Cottage in Fitzroy Gardens.

Adding to the gardens list, the Exhibition and the Carlton Gardens are more of my favourites, and also home to the Melbourne Museum, if that is of interest to her.

Heading further afield, with the neighbourhoods of Melbourne being another amazing feature of our great city, I recommend she plots out a couple of days to head in different directions out of the city centre. I direct her South down to St Kilda to soak in the cafes, the promenade along the bay, the St Kilda pier, maybe even Luna Park.

Then she could duck back through Chapel Street, for some shopping (or window shopping). Easily reached by tram, and are both suburbs that are connected with a cross tram.

Checking out the Brighton Beach Houses further down the bay (with perhaps a train ride), and the view back to the city would also be out in this direction.

The other direction would be North to Brunswick and Smith and Brunswick Streets, which run parallel and can be reached by tram. More cafes, bars, and hipster and quirky shops.

I will be at work for some of the days she is here, but after work I would be keen to show her some of the great laneway treats we have, such as Chinatown for dumplings, and then the tucked away bars, like the Croft Institute and Section 8. This of course will also be a good chance to spot some of the street art that makes our city so vibrant!

The footy at the MCG, is a must (in my book). Checking the draw, there is a match on Saturday afternoon between St Kilda and Melbourne, which won't be hard to just walk up and get tickets on the day, so seems like the perfect option. There is nothing like being at the massive stadium, among some passionate fans, experiencing an almost tribal aspect of Aussie culture.

Meeting before the match at Riverland would be a great option, to have a drink along the Yarra, taking in a city, and then this would mean that we could walk to the MCG along Birrarung Marr, which I think is one of the best areas of town. The bridge system here not only has an Indigenous theme, it affords amazing views looking back towards to city.

Then, a gig somewhere in Melbourne would be my next must - such an music scene here. Again, checking what's on, I have suggested we see a band at one of my favourite venues, The Corner, in Richmond. It also happens to be the album preview for Wagons, which promises to be awesome.

I was going to suggest a Neighbours tour if she had been watching it whilst she has been in the country, but thankfully she hasn’t, so there is no need for the trek out to Vermont South and the real Ramsey Street. If she was British, this would surely be on the list of must dos!

Further afield and as day trips (or longer) I would suggest she head down to drive along the Great Ocean Road, and then duck back to the city via Ballarat for some proper goldrush history!

All that should give Chrystal a great taste off all that out city and beyond has to offer! Do you have any other suggestions? Must dos? Tips?