What is Melbourne Culture: 37 Things to Do in Melbourne What is Melbourne Culture: 37 Things to Do in Melbourne

What is Melbourne Culture: 37 Things to Do in Melbourne, Australia by SHIREEN

The question what is Melbourne culture didn't occur to me until I touched down in Melbourne on my Working Holiday Visa and realised that all the things to do in Melbourne highlights the authenticity of Australia's cultural capital.

The culture of Melbourne is something I've learned over 7 months of living in this bustling city. Of course, the culture is ingrained in the locals but as an outsider moving here I have been shocked, surprised but overtime become part of the culture here.

Melbourne is a multicultural, inspirational, free, world-culinary hub full of late-risers, coffee, sport and diverse in its people, food, activities and architecture. There are always things to do in Melbourne and something new happens everyday.

What is Melbourne Culture?

Melbourne culture is riding the tram to unique suburbs to find the coolest rooftop bar before going to 24-hour parties in Revs and knocking on at The Breakfast Club (see the list of Melbourne things to do). In doing so, you learn that every night of the week is a party and Saturdays aren't all that because of the thriving hospitality community here. Working in hospitality (hospo) is respected in Melbourne: the lifestyle is popular, the pay is good, hospo workers get discounts everywhere and it's in general the most fun way to experience Melbourne at night.

The culture of Melbourne is taking an umbrella to the beach because you know there's four seasons in one day and the weather changes in a heartbeat. It's ordering a coffee that sounds pretentious to out-of-towners and testing Myki cards that you've found on the street. You know you've adapted to Melbourne life when you walk down Acland street, completing unfazed by crackheads screaming in your face...

After living as a backpacker in Melbourne for a while, you'll become either a Coles or a Woolies shopper and instead of classic McDonalds after a night out, you'll opt for Ramen at 2am.

More on the Culture of Melbourne...

In Melbourne, you have an insight to Aussie culture, not quite as stereotypical as up North, but you do notice flickers of 'Straya that you slowly become accustomed to. Horses should be the national anthem and it's sang on karaoke like Wonderwall is played at any UK wedding party. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is abbreviated. Case in point: 'After too many CC's and dry in the Arvo, I need a Parmi or a Macca's.'*

Being a foreigner though, there's still some things you never truly adopt or understand. Sure, you get used to hearing 'How ya going?' but you still don't really know whether it's a question or a greeting. And you can't quite fathom how RSA rules are strictly enforced yet kids and pregnant women always order a Lemon, Lime, Bitters. The latter being 45% alcoholic.

*'After drinking a lot of Canadian Club (Whiskey) and Dry Gingers in the afternoon, I need a parmigiarna or a McDonalds.'

The Best Things to Do in Melbourne

1. Drink Famous Melbourne Coffee
Coffee is no joke in Melbs. The locals take their brews very seriously. If you're here to work and want to get a job as a Barista, you need to take a course and even then places are wary about hiring you without training you themselves.

Wherever you choose to try the local stuff, it's bound to be delicious (even the 7/11 coffee are good and they're just $1). Don't do yourself a disservice though, and head to the CBD (Central Business District) at one of the hundreds of cafes.

An important lesson to learn when living in Melbourne is to accept that it's the best coffee in the world and Melburnians will not hear otherwise. There is nothing more obvious that you're a visitor than when you ask 'can I have a coffee?'. The barista/wait-person will want to roll their eyes at you and ask what kind of coffee in one big sigh. Learn the differences between 3/4 skinny flat white and a long macchiato.

2. Visit Unique Suburbs
The culture of a city is only lightly touched upon in the centre as it's the surrounding neighbourhoods where you delve deep into the make-up. Melbourne wouldn't be Melbourne without its unique suburbs.

My favourite suburb is St Kilda where I lived and spent most of my time outside work. I also lived in South Yarra which is home to the popular Chapel street.

There's suburbs like Richmond, Port Melbourne, Abbotsford, Brunswick, Collingwood and more! You can head North of the Yarra River to explore Fitzroy, Carlton for urban bars and parks. Spend time in each to get a feel because there's something for everyone in Melbourne.

3. Walk the Length of the Yarra River
The Yarra River separates the North and South Melbourne suburbs and has so much to do within its vicinity. Whether it's exploring Crown casino, shopping at DFO, taking a helicopter flight, a river booze cruise, rowing or finding some of the best eateries in Southbank.

4. Spend an Afternoon in a Local Brewery
Bars around Melbourne take pride in the local Victoria beers/ciders they provide to punters. Popular ones for you to try are Furphy, Mountain Goat, Victoria Bitter, Little Creatues and Carlton Draught. You can visit some of the breweries too for a tour and tasters!

5. Brighton Beach Bathing Boxes
For the iconic shots of people in front of the Aussie flag, Brighton is the place to find them. Take an afternoon marvelling at the bathing boxes' paintings, watch para-gliders and kite-flyers and enjoy an ice-cream on Brighton Beach.

6. Eat Cuisine Around The World
Beautifully diverse is Melbourne city and there's no better way to celebrate it than through the wonderful array of food! You can literally go 'round the world through Melbourne food.

Get your Greek on in Oakleigh, Italian specialities in Carlton, hit up Chinatown for the obvious, Ramen Houses on Little Bourke Street, Vietnamese Pho in South Melbourne (what is Pho?), Middle Eastern food in Brunswick or expensive and book-months-in-advance Attica in Ripponlea. I re-lived my favourite foods from South East Asia in Melbourne through Massaman Curry, Khao Soi and Banh Mi!

7. Fairground Fun at Luna Park
Luna Park is a theme park in St Kilda overlooking the beach. You can't miss its distinct facial entrance and overarching rollercoaster tracks. You can get the 16, 3a and 96 straight to the entrance of Luna Park and unlimited rides costs $51 per person.

8. Explore Markets of Melbourne
There's an abundance of great markets to explore around Melbourne for everything you can think of. A few of my favourites are:

Queen Victoria Market for street food
Prahan Market for fresh produce
South Melbourne Market for coffee
St Kilda Foreshore Market on Sundays for souvenirs
Arts Centre Melbourne Market on Sundays (see more below)
Camberwall Sunday Market
Queen Victoria Book Market (Saturday and Sunday)
The Rose Street Artists Market in Fitzroy (Sat and Sun)

9. Neighbours Film Set Tour
'Become good friends..' Australia has two famous soap operas in the UK, Home and Away and Neighbours. Melbourne is the home of the latter and you can take a full set tour when in the neighbourhood. Go to their website here.

10. Stroll the Royal Botanical Gardens - Things to Do in Melbourne
Just a few stops from the CBD, the Royal Botanical Gardens is a large and free park perfect for strolls and picnics. And of course, lots of pretty plants admire.

11. Visit Other Parks of Melbourne
Melbourne parks are everywhere and in every neighbourhood. You can enjoy Fitzroy Gardens, St Kilda Botanical Gardens, Fawkner Park and with a huge lake, Albert Lake.

12. Drink on the River at Arbory Afloat
Arbory Bar is located at the back of iconic Flinders Street Station so after you snap the famous shot of the building, head to the longest bar in Melbourne. During summer, they have Arbory Afloat where you can enjoy a pink gin while floating on the Yarra River. Watch those expensive prices though!

13. Catch an AFL Game
Melbourne is the sports capital of Australia, without a doubt, and locals claim it as the sports capital of the world. Australian Football League is a religion round these parts and on Grand Finale day, every soul will be glued to the game. Other times of the year, you can get cheaper tickets to watch the games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

14. Tour the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground)
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is a huge stadium in the centre of Melbourne that holds the AFL games and cricket games. You can grab yourself a tour of the Mecca that is the MCG.

15. Find Pop-Ups/Festivals Around the City
There's always free things to do Melbourne and pop-ups and festivals are everywhere. In my first week in Melbourne, I viewed pop-ups relating to Melbourne Fashion Week, White Night celebrations at Federation Square and the Mid-Autumn Festival on Crown Walk.

16. Shopping at DFO
There are a few DFO Shopping Centres dotted around Melbourne, the most accessible being on South Wharf. Here you'll find all the high street retailers at massively-reduced prices as well as a huge food court.

17. View the City Skyline at Night
Look at the city from the river at night and you'll feel like you're in Gotham City.

You can even check out Batman Park! A founder of Melbourne was named John Batman and so the park is named after him but I love how when you stand in Batman Park at night, all you see is Gotham!

18. Eureka Sky Deck
Conventionally, you can see a 360 degree view of Melbourne at the Eureka Sky Deck which stands at almost 1000 ft. Melbourne's Melbourne Skydeck costs $22.

19. Shrine of Remembrance
Found in South Yarra, the Shrine of Remembrance is a free place to go in Melbourne to remember those lost during the wars. Just before the centre shuts, around 4.30pm, you can watch the flags lower and pay your respects. Alternatively, you can walk around the grounds and read the remembrance writings.

20. Moonlight Movies Under The Stars
Would you like to watch a classic film on cosy sofas in the park while bats are flying overhead? Ye, thought so. Head to Moonlight Movies for the line-up and get your tickets. I bought a pass to watch Home Alone and had the most atmospheric cinema experience with free ice cream. This is, hands down, the best thing to do in Melbourne in Summer at night.

21. Melbourne Exhibition Centre
Opposite the Crown Casino is the MCEC where you can attend events, exhibitions and concerts. The architecture of the three buildings making up this centre is impressive alone. Find out what's on here.

22. Melbourne Museums
With any Melbourne travel guide, there's going to feature the museums!

Melbourne Museum is a great place to start. Located in Carlton Gardens, get your learning on in this staple centre of any major city!
Or try the Immigration Museum to learn about the make-up of Melbourne through its diverse peoples.
Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre to learn about Australia's indigenous people.
Melbourne Gaol is the old jail you can explore the lives of infamous men and women who did time here.
National Gallery of Victoria is a fantastic art centre full of exhibitions and guided-tours.

23. Immigration Bridge
A free activity in Melbourne is doing a self-guided tour of the Immigration Bridge. You can find out all about immigration in Australia. I loved finding the small plaque about Welsh people. Find your country located over the Yarra River.

24. Arts Centre
Fancy seeing Melbourne's Symphony Orchestra? How about top class musicals? The Arts Centre has something every day and night to view and you can't miss the building that resembles the Eiffel Tower. Head here on a Sunday for the local market along the walkway of St Kilda Road.

25. Crown Casino
No windows and no clocks just 24/7 gambling is the Crown Casino! The entire Crown facilities is huge including pubs, restaurants, cinema, arcade and shopping centre. The Crown is a must-do in Melbourne just for the sheer size of the place.

26. Street Art
Iconic streets for street art in Melbourne are AC/DC Lane, Hosier Lane and . The artwork is astounding here. In February 2020, there was a controversial debate about painters in Hosier Lane spray-painting over the artwork. Was it graffiti or further expressions of art? Read all about it here.

27. Chinatown
Every great city has a Chinatown and you don't want to skip Melbourne's. One of my favourite eating experiences was having a Hot Pot here where you grab a bowl, add whatever ingredients you want, pick a broth, weigh it, pay and enjoy!

28. St Kilda Beach Day Trip
Ah, Melbourne by the sea! When I say a part of my heart was in Melbourne, I'm talking about St Kilda. Even Paul Kelly said he'd trade all of Sydney Harbour just for St Kilda Promenade.

St Kilda is backpacker central but the closest beach to Melbourne. Not the idyllic sands you imagine Australia to be, but worth a dip nonetheless.

29. Rent Roller Blades / Skateboard
While you're in St Kilda, go to the end of the beach and find a little pink van called Roller Bae and rent funky skates to embrace the skating culture you'll see (and dodge) everywhere in Melbourne.

30. Outdoor Swimming Pool in Fitzroy
On a hot day (Melbourne gets well over 40 degrees in summer), if you don't want sand everywhere but need a swim, head to Fitzroy's outdoor pool.

Address: 160 Alexandra Parade, Fitzroy VIC 3065, Australia

31. Eat a Burger in a Converted Old Train
Want the best burger in Melbourne? There's lots of great burgers, but for the best burger experience in Melbourne, Easey's is one of a kind.

Found in Collingwood, this joint has three converted trains on the rooftop of the building selling burgers and beers! I loved this placed for its deliciously messy burger and the eccentric decoration from the old train driver seat to the Melbourne train route on tables.

32. Brunch Culture (including Bottomless Brunch)
Brunch is a big deal in Melbourne. It's embedded in Melbourne culture and everyone you see around 11am are probably going for Brunch. I brunched a lot while in Melbourne, my favourite being Eggs Benedict! A branch of brunch in Melbourne is bottomless drinks on the weekend! You choose a brunch dish and unlimited drinks for 1-2 hours and it's a popular trend.

33. Experience Melbourne's Nightlife
Melbourne bar scene is pumping both day and night from afternoon bottomless brunch to clubs starting at 7am on a Monday morning. Going to a rooftop bar is a popular thing to do in Melbourne and watch the skyline of the city over a Margarita.

You can choose a neighbourhood to your liking for a party or spend the night down Chapel Street or in the heart of the CBD at places like Storeyville, Guernica and Joint Bar.

34. Revolver Upstairs aka Revs
Found on infamous Chapel Street is Revolver Upstairs, a club widely-known as Revs. This dark, anything-goes place isn't for the faint-hearted or light-clubber. Their trademark is the iconic cage and they have DJ's from over the globe who often do sets in Revs for the sheer fun of it. At the start of 2020, Fatboy Slim played a set at Revs to raise funds for the Bushfire relief and Victoria's wildlife!

35. The Breakfast Club
While Revs is a timeless, all-weekend party it does come to an end at 9am Monday morning.

But the Melbourne party never ends and every Monday, One Six One is where you 'kick on', opening at 9am but get there earlier for the queue and ensure you get on that rooftop for the all day party and free watermelon.

36. Day Trips Outside of Melbourne
There's so many places outside of Melbourne for a day trip. You can visit the Grampians, Yarra Wine Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Phillip Island Geelong, Sorento and Dandenong Ranges to name a few.

28/04/2020 by SHIREEN

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