Melbourne

If it's trendy or tasty you will find it in Australia’s cultural, artistic and sporting mecca Melbourne.  Offering the perfect blend of world class sporting events, exquisite dining and an abundance of art and culture Melbourne is the quintessential world class city.

Melbourne is the coastal capital of Victoria, it is Australia’s second most populous city and Australia’s second most visited city. Sitting elegantly on the banks of the Yarra River, at the city's centre is Federation Square a modern development, where art meets architecture, filled with plazas, bars, and restaurants by the river. In the Southbank area, the Melbourne Arts Precinct is the site of Arts Centre Melbourne – a performing arts complex – and the National Gallery of Victoria, with Australian and First Nations Art. Stroll through picturesque St Kilda home to Luna Park and rich in seaside charm.

Locals are called Melburnian’s and the locals love their coffee, and serve it up in abundance at cosy cafes. There's always a sense of excitement in Melbourne, passions run high in restaurants, galleries and sporting arenas alike. The CBD is crisscrossed by bustling laneways filled with art, coffee and food. In a day you can attend a sports event, drink a cocktail on a rooftop and uncover the stories hidden in museums and galleries dotted across the city.

Melbourne has a dynamic and vibrant arts and culture scene. Book seats for a show in the East End Theatre District, head to the Southbank Arts, drop into Federation Square, where for an inspiring audio-visual shows at ACMI or see the Aboriginal art collection at the Ian Potter Centre National Gallery of Victoria. Melbourne has also long been regarded as Australia's sporting capital central to the development of Australian sport. Home to multiple world class sporting events and venues from the Formula One to the Australian Open and the iconic MCG or Melbourne Cricket Ground. Melbourne is also the epicentre of Australian Rules football with many of the AFL’s 18 teams located in and around Melbourne. Known for seeing big men fly, the AFL offers spectacular game play and team loyalties are passionately fierce.

The traditional Aboriginal name of Melbourne is Naarm and Naarm is the traditional lands of the Kulin Nation. The Kulin Nation is a collective of five Aboriginal clans: Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung, Wathaurrung, Taungurung and Dja DjaWrung.  Their collective territory extends around Port Phillip and Western Port, up into the Great Dividing Range and the Loddon and Goulburn River valleys. The Kulin nation has inhabited the area for an estimated 40,000 years and prior to colonisation was a nation or more than 20,000 people. 

Today Melbourne has a strong and close-knit Aboriginal community and offers a huge variety of Aboriginal tours, experiences, galleries and museums. Visit the Koorie Heritage Trust and multi-award-winning Bunjilaka at the Melbourne Museum to experience contemporary culture and learn about the rich tapestry of First Nations history. Or discover the Royal Botanic Gardens with an Aboriginal guide and taste innovative and elegant dining inspired by bush foods at Mabu Mabu restaurant in Federation Square.