There’s More to Do in Melbourne Than You Think

Experience Melbourne’s Art District

I want to say it’s an art district, but it’s more of a lowkey Wynwood in Miami type of neighborhood. A few blocks of art on the walls of all sorts of decades. People have contributed in different ways as well. It’s neat to see a personality burst into a few blocks in Melbourne.

Carlton Gardens

Carlton Gardens lies directly north of the CBD and is a key part of Melbourne’s inner-urban open space network. It contains the Royal Exhibition Building, the Melbourne Museum, an abundance of natural and landscaped features, as well as a few permanent attractions and cultural events.

City of Melbourne

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

I’m a sucker for the architecture of cathedrals. I think I get it from when I studied abroad in Spain and we learned so much about the structure and all the intricate details that make the mosaic so much like the story behind it.

Some random facts I learned:

• Weddings at the Cathedral Cost $2500
• The Catholic community in Melbourne was predominantly Irish
• It’s known for its titanic bronze doors, high altar, and Neo-Gothic architecture
• Has thousands of stained glass windows
• The spires rise 330 feet above street level & the church seats 2,400 people
• The new gallery organ, which was replaced in 1930, has 7,855 pipes
• The Cathedral has 21 altars and 19 bells, each named after a different saint

The Conservatory & Fitzroy Gardens

Back in the 1800’s, John Cook’s Cottage was brought in pieces from Europe by boat. We didn’t have planes and transportation that could easily help during that time. As a gift from philanthropist Russell Grimwade, it was brought piece by piece and re-built from Yorkshire, England to Melbourne to commemorate Victoria’s centenary in 1934.

Right across it lies this cute greenhouse garden. It even has a picture ready frame for the floral shots everyone takes photos at.

Melbourne Skydeck

In the southern hemisphere’s highest observation deck, the city comes to you when you take it all in from nearly 300 meters high. It’s an experience on another level!

Melbourne Skydeck

There’s a bougie bar called Bar 88 at the top with an amazing view, and known to be the highest bar in Melbourne! We saw the city lights at night and it was a bit chilly. They have this door that leads to a middle ground to then go outside; like you had to lock yourself in the middle space before going in or out. It was an experience for sure!! It was about $28 AUS monies, which was cheaper for us in USD.

PS it also has a theatre featuring 24 award-winning 6D pod chairs for an adventure in an immersive journey. Basically showcases iconic Melbourne experiences in each.

Shrine of Remembrance

The Shrine is Victoria’s national memorial honoring the service and sacrifice of Australians in war and peacekeeping.

Shrine of Remembrance

Albert Park in St. Kilda

On a hot summer’s day… you see lots of seaweed and a beautiful skyline!

Remember, Australia’s summer is USA’s winter!

Brighten Beach Boxes

I was so freaking excited for this!! One of the girls, Vera, had posted about wanting to go off course on our free day to visit these and I was very down to go!

The iconic boxes were used for storage mostly, and still are. People have created such neat spaces for them. Like a mini portable tiki hut or a movie theatre lounge by the beach or just a family bbq setting. Each had its own personality and paintings.

Fun facts:

• Prohibited to have toilets or kitchens
• 90 of 100 are owned by an association
• There’s a nude beach by here too… it’s Cliff Bathing Beach
• Located in Dendy Street Beach in Brighton, Victoria, Australia

AND then we went to our first excursion to see the penguins come back from their long day!

Some tips when or if you visit:

• We were at a more exclusive space where more penguins were coming through to get to their burrows. There’s also a general admission space that’s first come, first serve with not lots of action.
• This was an excursion that took convincing for me to go because I really didn’t want to spend $150 watching penguins in the sunset. I didn’t want any regrets though, so here I was…
• The wildlife security people didn’t even allow photography and would stare us down waiting to let us know photos weren’t allowed. I snuck some in anyway.
• If you were to ask me to go again, I would not. Either other people can take the photos for me or I can see it on National Geographic or Discovery Channel or whatever’s highlighting penguins.

visit phillip island in photos

just scroll through & enjoy

Other places we visited, but just didn’t make the cut:

• Central Business District: like going into Chicago and seeing all the high rises. They call it a district in Melbourne.
• City Library: we really only walked by it and saw the front entrance. It felt like a coffee shop going in with lots of books.
• Bourke Mall: one of their larger malls in the area.
• Emporium Melbourne: think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory met Beverly Hills, but in the renaissance days kind of mall.
• Melbourne Museum: close to the Carlton Gardens, but only saw the outside area of it.
• John Cook’s Cottage: apparently it used to be free to enter, but now they charge larger groups. So we opted for the Conservatory & Fitzroy Gardens across the way.

Because Melbourne was our first spot, it’ll always have a sweet spot for me. We started our journey with the group and started to get to know friends nationwide. EF* has a funny way of introducing strangers, and Ben’s group got along swimmingly!

Our tour director was Ben- pure British, a bit Spanish, and an Aussie nomad pretty much sums him up. This is only the beginning!!!

PS We stayed at Travelodge Docklands Melbourne | address: 66 Aurora Ln, Docklands VIC 3008, Australia.

*EF is a travel group that plans trips all over the world. I’ve gone on a few trips with their groups in my lifetime because it’s a fun way of traveling with likeminded people around your age group, meeting travelers nationwide, and you don’t have to plan anything! I got to know so many tour directors and have made so many memories, that they gave me the opportunity to become an EF Ambassador. I even get to give you a special link as a first time traveler to get $100 per traveler you and your buddies go on! Just tap away here and find a trip that’s right for you. And if you have any questions, as always, let me know!