Chapel Street

Melbournian’s have a soft spot for Chapel Street. While the rest of the city goes about its business, here is a place known for the good things in life- fashion, food, entertainment and style.

The Precinct is also made for walking and can keep you occupied for hours, even days, which is lucky because you’ll need it to fully appreciate Chapel Streets unique Style, Personality and Diversity.

CHAPEL ST SOUTH YARRA

A “fashion, dining and lifestyle” strip with a multicultural flavour. This precinct has inspired a large number of stunning young designers to international acclaim and is home to Melbourne’s cutting edge fashion and designer gift wear stores, much loved by super-models and celebrities. You will also discover lounge bars, clubs, lively cafes and great restaurants that make for a great place to visit, day or night, any time of the week.

GREVILLE STREET

The “cool alternative” area for shopping, dining, joining the café set, or being entertained. This small cosmopolitan strip would sit easily in any one of the great cities of the world and exhibits a veritable gallery of amazing shops that offer something for everyone. Rich, colourful fashions, eclectic gifts, books and jewellery shops, stylish salons, and music stores open their doors seven days a week.

COMMERCIAL ROAD

With a reputation for its “diversity and nightlife” Commercial Road is peppered with a range of fabulous gay operated and owned businesses including some of the best dining in Melbourne, late night bars and nightclubs. Commercial Road’s retail environment is also complemented by the bustling Prahran Market and other specialised businesses such as music, fashion, homewares and specialty food shops.

CHAPEL ST PRAHRAN

A “technology and multi-media precinct” renowned for innovative and creative design, information technology, communications and multi media companies. This vital hub also caters for local needs including supermarkets, banks and post offices.

Pran Central community shopping centre is also located in the heart of Prahran and is anchored by Strike Bowling Bar, Fernwood Gym and 45 specialty retailers over three levels.

WINDSOR QUARTER

An “arts, culture, dining and music precinct”, with alternative young fashion retailers, vintage and recycled boutiques, antique and second-hand shops and convenience goods and services catering for the locals.

JAM FACTORY

The famous Jam Factory in the heart of fashionable Chapel Street in South Yarra offers a relaxed, cosmopolitan environment. Home to Village Cinemas and a wide selection of places to eat, this exciting complex will also reward you with great places to shop like Borders, the giant book and music store and many, many more cutting edge retailers.

PRAHRAN MARKET

The Prahran Market on Commercial Road is one of Melbourne's premier fresh food markets and is a must for tourists. Reminiscent of the traditional produce markets of Europe, It has existed for over 100 years and has a great variety of stalls and shops offering fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, deli foods, cafes, variety shops, and clothing.
You can also enjoy a shopping break in the Prahran Market square and experience the ambience of the surrounding cafes.

The Prahran Market is open on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from dawn to 6 p.m.

Melbourne Aquarium

Melbourne Aquarium is an underwater wonderland that seduces the senses with an experience that is engaging, educative and entertaining.

Located on the banks of the Yarra River, Melbourne Aquarium is home to thousands of aquatic animals and is the world’s foremost exhibit of the Southern Ocean. The journey takes you over four thrilling and interactive levels, where you will meet a whole host of weird and wonderful marine life.

The most spectacular feature of the aquarium is the 2.2 million litre Oceanarium, which you can experience from below, above – and if you dare – from inside!

The 100 square metre ‘Fish Bowl’ viewing area allows you to see from underneath the wonderful marine creatures swimming overhead, such as sharks, stingrays, turtles, eels, snapper, salmon and many other species of fish.

The Glass Bottom Boat Tour takes you above the surface of the water - allowing you to experience the wonders from a different angle. While looking down on the Oceanarium visitors will receive an educational exploration of the behind-the-scenes action and the chance to talk to divers and marine biologists.

Those feeling brave can experience the huge adrenaline rush of coming face-to-face with a shark by taking the plunge inside the Oceanarium. Diving in at the deep end for the ultimate challenge and is an experience you will never forget. The dive is suitable for both qualified and new divers, as a dive training session is included. Friends and family will watch in amazement as they see you swim past.

Other highlights include

• Daily animal feeds and diver presentations

• The interactivity of the Creepy Creatures and Rockpools exhibits

• A 60,000 litre exhibit housing a Shark Conversation Project and marine animal nursery

• The stunning Sea Jellies room.

St. Kilda

With a colorful history St. Kilda is now one of Melbourne's trendiest destinations, with seaside location, artistic flare, and fabulous array of restaurants, bars, and cafes. St Kilda is a food lovers delight with the section of Acland Street between Carlisie Street and Barkly Street famous for its continental cake shops, delicateness, and trendy cafes and restaurants. Another popular place to eat and drink is Fitzroy street. Fitztroy street is a short walk down Acland street or along The Esplanade. Here you will find some of Melbourne's most popular bars, restaurants, and cafes.

Luna Park is the symbol of St. Kilda, with its famous laughing face. This historic amusement park has many great attractions including the heritage-listed roller coaster and the beautifully crafted carousel. Admission is free although rides do cost.

Each Sunday on the Upper Esplanade the street is lined with may arts and crafts. All the products at The Esplanade Market St. Kilda are made by artists who sell them. You can find photography, paintings, artworks made from recycled materials and resin, creative miniature sculptures, jewellery, mosaics and mony other skilled arts.

Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)

Explore the world of the moving image in all its forms at ACMI. Experience inspirational exhibitions in the world's largest screen gallery and catch classic movies in Australian's best cinemas. Chat whit TV and film personalities at a live panel discussion or even create your own short film in a hands-on workshop program. Featured in Lonely Planet as one of Melbourne's 'top five' experiences.

Open daily
Federation Square, Melbourne
www.acmi.net.au

History of Melbourne

The city's origin lie in a surge in nineteenth century urbanisation which ringed the Pacific with a network of bustling commercial cities: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, San Fransisco, Seattle and Vancouver. They grew as gateways to their expansive hinterlands, facilitating European settlement and the harnessing of their developing regional economics to world money and produce markets.

They were cities of the nineteenth century, built from scratch, their spatial from shaped by the latest technological innovations and their social economic structures mirroring the logic of modern capitalist market place. Melbourne - fittingly dubbed "Marvellous Melbourne" by George sala in 1888, encapsulates this remarkable city's building progress. Melbourne was for most of the nineteenth century the most remarkable of these Pacific Rim cities, and the largest in both population and in physical extent.

The growth of this city is often taken for granted, but Melbourne was not predetermined or inevitable. It was established by speculators technically in breach of the law. The hinterland was not given out to capitalists but licensed, leased and purchased by investors and speculators.

The entrepreneurial quality was reinforced by the gold discoveries which attracted settlers who were young, enterprising and independent. These were the people who opposed the state aid to religion, fought for the eight hour day, pressed for land to be opened up to the small settler and most dramatically espoused the protection of local industry ~ inverting the orthodoxies of Great Britain.

A strong imprint remains of the industries established between 1860 and 1890, especially in areas like clothing and footwear establishing Marvellous Melbourne as the shopping capital of Australia even today.