Melbourne
Laneways painted end to end, trams to the bay at St Kilda, wineries an hour up the valley, and a second airport ten kilometres from the centre kept for business jets.
- Arrival
- Melbourne Airport, Tullamarine · MEL
- To the city
- About 30 minutes to the CBD by car
- Private jets
- Essendon Fields (MEB), or the jet base at MEL
- Best time
- October to April
The city
From the lanes to the bay.
Melbourne's centre is a grid, and the life is in the gaps between the blocks: lanes of street art, small bars and cafés; the walls of Hosier Lane are repainted all the time. Across the river the Arts Centre is the largest performing arts complex in the country, with ACMI facing it over Federation Square, and tram 96 runs half an hour down to the bay at St Kilda. Two of the city's newest hotels stand on the Yarra and in the sky, one at water level, the other with its lobby on the eightieth floor.
Spring and autumn are the easy seasons, and summer brings highs of 26 °C with a breeze off Port Phillip Bay in the afternoons; June and July are cold and grey. An hour east, the Yarra Valley has its wineries and the animals of Healesville Sanctuary, and an hour south the Mornington Peninsula has the state's only hotel with two MICHELIN Keys.
Arriving
Tullamarine for the airlines, Essendon for the jets.
Melbourne Airport at Tullamarine is about 23 kilometres north-west of the centre, half an hour by car, and unlike Sydney it has no curfew: it runs around the clock. Essendon Fields, the city's airport until 1970, lies ten kilometres from the CBD and is now given over to corporate aviation.
- Sydney 1 h 15
- Brisbane 2 h 10
- Perth 3 h 50
- Bangkok 9 h 45 long-range jet
- Johannesburg 13 h 35 long-range jet
When to go
October to April.
Melbourne has four proper seasons. October to April brings highs of 19 to 26 °C and moderate rain, with January and February the hottest months and a bay breeze in the afternoons. June and July are the coldest, at 13 or 14 °C, and the bay drops to 11 or 12. Rain is spread fairly evenly, around 50 mm a month, so no month is a washout.
- 26° J 51 19°
- 26° F 45 20°
- 24° M 44 20°
- 20° A 54 18°
- 16° M 64 15°
- 14° J 40 13°
- 13° J 48 12°
- 14° A 56 11°
- 16° S 54 12°
- 19° O 62 14°
- 22° N 55 16°
- 24° D 56 18°
What to see and do
Days in and around Melbourne.
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Landmark
Hosier Lane
A narrow lane in the centre whose walls are a gallery of street art that changes week by week.
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Landmark
Federation Square and the Arts Centre
The screen museum ACMI on one side of the road, Australia's largest performing arts centre on the other.
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Landmark
The Yarra Valley
Vineyards, breweries and Healesville Sanctuary, an hour from the city.
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Culture
NGV International
Roy Grounds designed the gallery's St Kilda Road building, opened in 1968, with a Great Hall roofed in stained glass by Leonard French.
Official site -
Opera & music
Melbourne Recital Centre
Since 2009 its 1,000 seat Elisabeth Murdoch Hall in Southbank has staged more than 500 concerts a year, from chamber music and recitals to jazz.
Official site -
Racing & sport
Melbourne Cricket Ground
Australia's largest stadium holds about 100,000 people for the Boxing Day Test and the AFL Grand Final, and houses the Australian Sports Museum.
Official site -
Racing & sport
Flemington Racecourse
First raced in March 1840, the course beside the Maribyrnong River runs the Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday of November.
Official site -
Nature
Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne
Reserved in 1846 on the south bank of the Yarra, the 38 hectare gardens were reshaped by William Guilfoyle around an ornamental lake and some 8,500 plant species.
Official site -
Food & wine
Queen Victoria Market
Open since 1878 and on the National Heritage List, the market covers more than seven hectares and trades every day except Monday and Wednesday.
Official site -
Nature
1000 Steps Kokoda Track Memorial Walk
In the Dandenong Ranges National Park, this steep path climbs beside a creek through rainforest past fourteen plaques honouring the soldiers of the Kokoda Track.
Official site -
Golf
Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Alister MacKenzie's West Course, opened in 1931 on the Sandbelt, welcomes interstate and overseas members of recognised clubs at set times of the week.
Official site
On the calendar
Dates to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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3 Nov 2026
Horse racing
Melbourne Cup
A 3,200 metre handicap run on the first Tuesday of November, the centrepiece of the Victoria Racing Club's spring carnival.
Flemington Racecourse
In 5 days
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17–31 Jan 2027
Tennis
Australian Open
The first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the season, played on hard courts at Melbourne Park.
Melbourne Park
In 3 months
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2–4 Apr 2027
Formula 1
Australian Grand Prix
Round 3 of the 24-round 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, held at Albert Park Circuit with a Sprint race.
Albert Park Circuit
In 5 months
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2 Nov 2027
Horse racing
Melbourne Cup
A 3,200 metre handicap run on the first Tuesday of November, the centrepiece of the Victoria Racing Club's spring carnival.
Flemington Racecourse
In 12 months
Where to stay
On the river, by the gardens, in the tower.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne A lobby on the eightieth floor, rooms from the 65th to the 79th and a spa with an infinity pool on the 64th, looking out to the Dandenongs and Port Phillip Bay; one MICHELIN Key.
- 1 Hotel Melbourne The brand's first in Australia, 277 rooms of reclaimed timber and living plants on the river, with four kitchens sourcing from Victoria and a Bamford spa; one MICHELIN Key.
- Lanson Place Parliament Gardens A hundred and thirty-seven rooms by Parliament House and Fitzroy Gardens, interiors by Conran and Partners, a rooftop pool and the tram at the door; new to the Keys in 2026.
- The Langham, Melbourne Above the Yarra at Southgate, within walking distance of the National Gallery of Victoria; new to the Keys in 2026.
Where to dine
The best tables in the city.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Melbourne. These are the top tables of The Age Good Food Guide 2026.
- Vue de Monde Good Food Guide 2026, 3 hats Contemporary Rialto, CBD
- Minamishima Good Food Guide 2026, 3 hats Japanese Richmond
- Amaru Good Food Guide 2026, 3 hats Contemporary Armadale
- Flower Drum Good Food Guide 2026, Restaurant of the Year Cantonese CBD
Elsewhere in Australia
More reasons to come.
- Sydney Bondi and the northern beaches, and a harbour crossed by ferry.
- Hamilton Island A resort island with its own airport, and Heart Reef a seaplane ride away.
- Port Douglas The Daintree to the north, and the outer reef an hour away by boat.
- Uluru Sacred to its Anangu owners, and the desert all around it.
- Perth The most isolated big city in the world, on the Indian Ocean.
Flying to Melbourne?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.