Go Australia:Melbourne is home to more than four million people, but you won't feel it among the leafy parks, culinary and cultural enclaves and lively alleys of Australia's second-largest city
THERE’S AN OLD saying about Melbourne that is an apt introduction to the city. “Man has done everything for Melbourne, nature nothing. Nature has done everything for Sydney, man nothing.”
Proud Melburnians wouldn’t like the suggestion that their city is somehow lacking, yet there is a grain of truth to the adage. While Sydney gets the sunshine and the sparkling waters, Melbourne is known in Australia for its impetuous weather and “daggy” Yarra river (no other waterway in the country is more maligned). On the other hand, Melbourne’s man-made elegance and sophistication set it apart from other Australian cities. Its residents point out that it is Australia’s cultural and sporting capital – an assertion that rankles their compatriots in Sydney.
The Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation have lived in this region for 40,000 years; white folk settled in 1835. The city’s grid street system was laid down with remarkable foresight two years later, and it makes life very simple for visitors. In fact everywhere within the city centre – called the City Business District, or CBD – is accessible on foot, and there’s an excellent tram network.
The discovery of gold in the 1850s made Melbourne a national powerhouse and established its reputation for multiculturalism, with immigrants from Britain, Ireland and China coming in search of their fortunes. The city was typically the first port of call for Australia-bound liners, so it has always attracted its share of newcomers, particularly Europeans after the second World War and Asians in the 1970s.
Different nationalities have clustered in different parts of the city, establishing cultural and culinary enclaves such as Lonsdale Street (the Greek Quarter), Little Bourke Street (Chinatown), Lygon Street (Italian) and Victoria Street (Vietnamese).
Multiculturalism is one thing; inclusiveness is altogether more elusive. Melbourne strikes you as a city where people come from all over the world and just seem to fit in.
The diversity leads to a string of seemingly intractable contradictions. Primary among them is the fact that Melbourne is a big city that manages to feel like a village. It’s densely populated, with more than four million inhabitants, yet feels positively leafy, courtesy of 50,000 trees and more parks than any other city in the world.
Stand on a street corner, looking at a perfectly preserved Victorian building, and allow your eyes to be drawn up to look at the clean lines of a stainless-steel skyscraper. Go to Flinders Street and admire the neoclassical Flinders Street Station, then turn your head to look at the angular madness that is Federation Square. (Just don’t call it ugly: locals love it.)
The city’s soul can be found in its infamous alleys, which are crammed with endearing eccentricity. Melburnians are fiercely proud of their alleys, which is hard for outsiders to understand, particularly as the word “alley” has such negative connotations for us. No such problems here. By day they are a shopper’s paradise, a wonderful juxtaposition of shabby and chic. A strip club sits next to a couture design house. A store selling terribly politically incorrect golliwogs sits beside another that specialises in handmade Italian paper. If it all gets too much – and it will – sit down in one of the many little eateries and indulge in some serious people-watching.
Relentless change is the only constant in Melbourne, according to Michelle Matthews, a local we met who runs a publishing company in the city. “Bars and restaurants open and close. The city is always changing,” she said. She pointed to the buzz created by the recent appearance in Federation Square of a temporary, “sustainable” – surely a contradiction – cafe called Greenhouse, which was made entirely from recycled materials, then torn down again a few months later. “We love that sort of thing,” said Matthews.
Like Irish people, Melburnians are obsessed with the weather. If I had an Aussie dollar for every person who told me to expect four seasons in one day in Melbourne, I would be a rich man. Inevitably, I ignored them, heading out in shorts and a T-shirt on our first morning, expecting temperatures in the mid-20s – and instead got a blast of icy Antarctic air from Port Phillip Bay, which made it feel 10 degrees cooler. Whatever time of year you visit, my advice is to wear lots of layers.
The appalling bushfires that hit this part of Australia on February 7th – they did not affect the city – are a reminder of the extraordinarily high temperatures that can occur in Victoria in the summer months, from December to February. The areas affected by the bushfires are to the east of Melbourne, at least an hour and a half from the city. (Key tourism locations in the state, such as Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island and Mornington Peninsula, were equally unaffected.)
It would be remiss of me to conclude without mentioning sport. Melburnians are way too chilled out to be as maniacally sporty as Sydneyites, but they do love their sport, and the city attracts the lion’s share of Australia’s sporting events. The skyline is dotted with some seriously kick-ass venues, most notably Melbourne Cricket Ground (home to the 1956 Olympics and 2006 Commonwealth Games) and Telstra Dome (soon to be renamed Etihad Stadium – sound familiar?). Big annual events include the “race that stops a nation”, the Melbourne Cup (in October), the Australian Open at the Rod Laver Arena (in January) and the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Albert Park Lake (in March).
It all adds up to a city that practically demands a lengthy stay. Our four days and nights barely scratched the surface, which I guess means we will have to return in the future. Oh well.
** Michael Kelly was a guest of Tourism Australia (www.australia.com) and Tourism Victoria ( www.visitvictoria.com)
Melbourne: where to stay, eat and go on a visit
Where to stay
We stayed at the wonderful Hotel Sofitel (25 Collins Street, 00-61-3-96530000, www. sofitelmelbourne.com.au). We had to talk ourselves out of our room the first evening, so stunned were we by the views from the 44th floor.
Equally splendiferous are the Windsor Hotel (111 Spring Street, 00-61-3-96336000, www.thewindsor.com.au), the incredibly hip Adelphi Hotel (187 Flinders Lane, 00-61-3-80808888, www.adelphi.com.au) and the Trumpesque Crown Towers (8 Whiteman Street, 00-61-3-92926666, www.crowntowers. com.au).
Tourism Victoria has a reliable hotel search facility on its website, www.visitvictoria.com.
Where to eat
For every big-name venture we tried, such as Robert De Niro's Nobu (Crowne Melbourne Australia, 8 Whiteman Street, 00-61-3-96966566, www.noburestaurants.com) or Jamie Oliver's Fifteen (115 Collins Street, 00-61-3-96397586, www.fifteen.net), we also found gems such as Bar Lourinhã (37 Little Collins Street, 00-61-3-96637890, www.barlourinha.com.au), Mecca Bah (55a NewQuay Promenade, 00-61-3- 96421300, www.meccabah. com.au) and Circa (2 Acland Street, St Kilda, 00-61-3- 95361122, www.circa.com.au).
Where to drink
Melbourne’s progressive licensing laws mean there are bars on every corner, down every alley and up (or down) every stairway.
Go up three levels from Bourke Street in a dingy lift and all of a sudden you find a chintzy oasis called Madame Brussels (59 Bourke Street, 00-61-3-96622775, www.madamebrussels.com) – the only bar I’ve been in with an AstroTurf floor.
For a sophisticated evening try Melbourne Supper Club (161 Spring Street, 00-61-3-96546300), Gin Palace (190 Little Collins Street, 00-61-3-96540533) or, for cocktails, 1806 (169 Exhibition Street, 00-61-3-96637722, www.1806.com.au).
Where to go
The view from the city’s tallest building, Eureka Tower ((7 Riverside Quay, 00-61-3- 96938888, www.eurekasky deck.com.au), is breathtaking night or day. If you are feeling brave try the Edge, on the 88th floor: you stand in a glass cube that then moves three metres outside the building.
You can dive with sharks or see king penguins being fed at an Antarctica exhibition at Melbourne Aquarium (corner of Flinders and King streets, 00-61-3-99235999, www. melbourneaquarium.com.au).
With so much on offer in the city, it’s easy to forget beachlife is just 15 minutes away. The River Yarra feeds into mighty Port Phillip Bay, which is lined with charming enclaves such as Bayside, Williamstown and St Kilda.
If you like big, brash Broadway, head for Princess Theatre (163 Spring Street, 00-61-3-92999800, www. marrinertheatres.com.au) or Regent Theatre (191 Collins Street, 00-61-3-92999800, www.marrinertheatres. com.au).
For something a little more edgy, try the Malthouse (113 Sturt Street, 00-61-3-96855111, www.malthousetheatre.com.au) or La Mama (205 Faraday Street, 00-61-3-93476142, www.lamama.com.au).
How to see it
A great way to get your bearings is to take in the city from the back of a Harley-Davidson. A one-hour Harley ride (North Blackburn, 00-61-3-98773004, www.harleyrides.com.au) takes you from the inner city to the beach and around Melbourne Grand Prix circuit. As a bonus you get to wear leathers, feel cool and hang out with some hairy bikers.
More down to earth is the brilliant three-hour Hidden Secrets walking tour of Melbourne’s alleys (37 Swanston Street, 00-61-3- 93299665, www.hiddensecrets tours.com).
We also really enjoyed a trip to the docklands aboard a water taxi (Princes Bridge, 00-61-416-068655, www.melbournewatertaxis. com.au).
Where to shop
No retail experience in the city would be complete without a visit to Queen Victoria Market (513 Elizabeth Street, 00-61-3-93205822, www.qvm.com.au). The Meat Hall dates back to 1869; thankfully, the meat does not.
Go there
Etihad Airways (www.etihad. com) flies to Melbourne from Dublin via Abu Dhabi. Fares from €976. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from Dublin via London Heathrow from €1,026. Air France (www.airfrance.ie) flies from Dublin and Shannon via Paris from €1,160. Try also www.trailfinders.ie, www.abbeytravel.ie, www.clubtravel.ie and www.worldtravel.ie.