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Cruise Guide > Australia and South Pacific > Victoria > Melbourne | |
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Melbourne Time Zone GMT + 10 (GMT + 11 from third Sunday in October to third Saturday in March). Currency Australian Dollar (A$) = 100 cents. Language English. Sightseeing Melbourne is a highly cosmopolitan city of over three million people and is home to sizeable Italian and Greek minorities, each with their own quarter. The architecture is often fascinating, a blend in the suburbs of ornate stucco and cast iron, and in the city centre, a skyline which mixes graceful spires with modern skyscrapers. The Victorian Arts Centre consists of the National Gallery, which houses Australia’s greatest collection of fine art, and the magnificent concert hall and theatre complex, the country’s premier venue for the performing arts. Located in Carlton Gardens on the northern edge of Melbourne City, the ultramodern Melbourne Museum is Australia’s largest museum. Its features include a living Forest Gallery, Aboriginal Centre, Children’s Museum and IMAX Theatre. Other places to visit include the various gardens, Parliament House, Captain Cook’s Cottage and other National Trust properties. Visitors can walk through clear tubes at the Melbourne Aquarium where they come face-to-face with great sharks, stingrays and other aquatic life. Also recommended are a trip to the races, a ride in one of Melbourne’s trams, a river cruise down the River Yarra, or a visit to the Royal Melbourne Zoo, one of the finest open-air zoos in the world with no cages, only natural enclosures. Shopping Food products such as honeys, jams, chutneys and the local wines of Yarra Valley are popular buys. Tradtional sheepskins and the Australian’s answer to the raincoat, the drizabone, can be found here. Melbourne is a major fashion centre, home to the world-famous surfing brand, Quicksilver, and shoppers looking for designer wear should head for the city arcades or Howey Place. Unusual buys and bargains can be had at the Queen Victoria Market. Eating Out There is an enormous variety of cuisine available in Melbourne and restaurants offering specific types can be found in certain districts: Lygon Street for Italian, Little Bourke Street for Chinese, Lonsdale Street for Greek, Victoria Street for Vietnamese, Sydney Road for Turkish and Spanish, and Acland Street for Central European. Other cuisines that are well represented in the city’s restaurants include French, American, Mexican, Lebanese, African, Malaysian, Afghan, Swiss and Mongolian. Country Australia Region Asia Pacific |