The friendly rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne began on my connecting flight from the former to the latter.
After 16 hours in planes and airports I’m usually not much in the mood for idle chatter, but the gushing praise for my destination from the passenger across the aisle (and evidently from Melbourne) pricked up my ears. Incredible food, friendly people, a vibrant cultural scene, great sporting events… on all fronts, it seemed Melbourne was the only place in Australia to head for. And after a week wandering the city, it turns out he was right.
Melbourne has never quite grabbed the limelight like Sydney. There’s no spectacular location for those postcards home, no bronzed beach babes sunning themselves on Bondi… instead it’s the kind of place that just keeps to itself and gets on with the important business of being one of the world’s most liveable cities. And indeed it is. If I didn’t live in gorgeous Cape Town I would live in Melbourne, no question.
With a profusion of pavement cafés and leafy city streets lined with brand name boutiques it has all the style of Europe, only without the miserable weather and grumpy people. And wandering the streets is far and away the best way to experience the capital of the southern state of Victoria. The CBD is compact, clean, safe and simply made for exploring on foot.
Your best bet is to start on Swanson Street, in the heart of Melbourne. This wide shopping arcade bustles with people at almost any time of day or night, with Melbournians enjoying the shops, restaurants and nightlife of the inner-city.
Department stores and unique boutiques aside, Swanston Street is also close to the culinary heart (or should that be stomach?) of the city. Melbourne is famous for its diverse population, and the city’s many ethnic groups have happily brought their cuisine with them.
Wander down Victoria Street for Vietnamese cuisine straight out of Hanoi, or explore colourful Little Bourke Street - home to a vibrant Chinatown where you’ll find great dim sum and Peking duck. The curiously named West Lake Restaurant does an excellent yum cha service at lunchtime, where a trolley groaning with Cantonese delights meanders amongst the tables.
Hop one block over to Lonsdale Street and you’ll find the Greek precinct – Melbourne is home to the world’s largest Hellenic population outside of Greece and you’ll find mouth-watering souvlaki and mezze dishes here. Nearby Lygon Street is home to a clutch of Italian restaurants, but the beckoning waiters on the pavement can sometime be a little heavy on the kitsch.
When your feet get tired from pounding the pavement hop on the free City Circle tram. Melbourne has the largest tram network in the world, with 249 kilometres of double track and over 1770 tram stops. On the City Circle line a tram comes along every 12 minutes for most of the day, and is free of charge. A useful audio commentary lets you know where you are on the line and where to alight for particular attractions.
Heading past the historic Flinders Street station the tram trundles towards the newest part of the city, the Docklands. It’s here that a new suburb of glamorous and gleaming high-rise skyscrapers is growing, a relatively new concept in a city of sprawling suburbs with large gardens for the weekend ‘barbie’.
Hop off the tram at Docklands for a wander along the quayside where eco-friendly public gardens provide welcome green spaces and striking street art decorates the brand new promenades. Across the road, the gleaming Etihad Stadium awaits raucous nights of Aussie Rules football. Once you’ve admired the quirky ‘Cow up a tree’ statue, take a stroll along the promenade to the James Squire Brewhouse & Restaurant at Waterfront City to sample one of Australia’s finest beers.
Hop back on the City Circle tram and ride a few more stops to the corner of La Trobe and King Streets from where it’s a short walk to the Queen Victoria Market.
There’s been a market here for over 130 years and five days a week (it’s closed Mondays and Wednesdays) it bustles with locals filling up shopping baskets, and tourists gazing in wonder at the fantastic array of fresh produce on offer.
Piles of fresh herbs lie alongside mounds of fresh veggies and cherry-red tomatoes in the vegetable hall. A fishmonger crows about his fresh Trevally and Coral Perch, while a mound of Swimmer crabs from Australia lie amongst a field of Chilean scallops.
In the meat hall racks of Australian lamb get wrapped in paper and tucked into shopping baskets alongside gourmet sausages, free-range wild rabbit and organic ducks. Or fillets of kangaroo, if you’re feeling particularly unpatriotic; Australia is one of few countries in the world to devour its national emblems.
All in all it’s an epicurean’s dream shopping arcade, but if – like me – you’re in a city hotel for the week there’s little chance to cook up a storm. Instead you’ll have to stock up on picnic goodies in the deli hall where rounds of cheeses, buckets of olives and stacks of cured meats beg to be piled on fresh sour dough from the bakery and enjoyed on a picnic blanket in one of the city’s many gardens.
And green space abounds in Melbourne. Next door to the market is the historic Flagstaff Gardens – once a harbour signal station and lookout in the 1840s – which is a convenient spot for tucking into your picnic goodies on a sunny afternoon.
Across town, the Fitzroy Gardens lies right on the edge of the city centre, yet is another wonderful escape from the crowds.
Laid out in the shape of a Union Jack (although this is only visible from the air), the garden’s acres of lawns in the shade of English Elm and sprawling Moreton Bay Fig trees offer dozens of perfect picnic spots. The gardens are also home to one of Melbourne’s most curious tourist attractions; the family home of explorer Captain James Cook.
The humble cottage originally stood in the village of Great Ayton in Yorkshire, northern England, but was moved lock, stock and barrel to Melbourne in 1934 where it was reassembled – brick by brick – to celebrate the centenary of the state of Victoria. Careful research and restoration mean that today it closely resembles the cottage Captain Cook returned to in 1771 after ‘discovering’ Australia on one of his famous Pacific voyages.
If Cook hadn’t met his maker in a battle in Hawaii I like to think he’d approve of having Melbourne as his new abode. Melbourne is certainly one of the world’s most liveable cities, but it’s also a city that tempts and entertains tourists.
After enjoying incredible food, exploring a cosmopolitan city and meeting ever-friendly locals I think the Melbourne-fan in the airline seat next to me may just have been right. Perhaps Melbourne is the most exciting city in Australia… but just don’t tell the Sydneysiders.
IF YOU GO:
- Go to www.visitmelbourne.com for more information on planning your visit.
- Qantas flies six times per week from Johannesburg to Sydney, with regular connections to Melbourne. Visit www.qantas.com.au.
- South African visitors require a visa to visit Australia.
First published in the Saturday Star Travel Section, 1 August 2009
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