This post was originally published on A Globe Well Travelled in 2021. The content has been revised and updated with fresh information.
Melbourne has been one of my favourite cities to escape to for years.
Back when I lived in Tasmania, it was the closest place to soak up big-city culture — and after countless weekends spent exploring its laneways, markets, bars, and neighbourhoods, I’ve come to know exactly where Melbourne really shines.
On my most recent trip (a long weekend birthday trip for my husband and I), we skipped the usual CBD sights and went hunting for the best things to do in Melbourne, including some underrated attractions and local hidden gems you won’t find on the standard tourist lists.
If you’re planning a visit and want a mix of iconic attractions, street art, brunch spots, riverside strolls, cool bars, and quirky neighbourhood finds, here are my top Melbourne activities — tried, tested, and absolutely worth adding to your Melbourne itinerary.
Quick summary:
Discover the best things to do in Melbourne, from iconic attractions and cool neighbourhoods to local markets, rooftop bars, street art, and hidden gems—all based on my many visits to the city.
Recommended tours & tickets:
🎨 Melbourne Street Art Tour – Explore iconic laneways with artists who reveal stories behind the murals.
🍸 Local Laneway Bars & Their Stories Tour – Visit four timeless bars and learn how they shaped Melbourne nightlife.
⛴️ City Highlights River Cruise – Relax on a 2-hour narrated Yarra River cruise past major landmarks.
🐧 Penguin Parade & Wildlife Day Trip – See Brighton Bathing Boxes, Moonlit Sanctuary animals, and Phillip Island penguins.
Top things to do in Melbourne:
Street art in Melbourne: Hosier Lane, Fitzroy & hidden laneways
Melbourne is known for having some of the best street art in Australia. Hosier Lane and the adjoining Ruttledge Lane are great spots to check out some of this art. These colourful and vibrant alleys in Melbourne’s city centre have murals and graffiti covering nearly every surface, including the garbage bins! You might even be lucky enough to spot an artist or two spraying something new on the walls while you’re there.
🎨 If you’d like to learn some of the stories behind the artworks, it might be worth hopping on a Melbourne street art tour. This tour is led by the street artists themselves and includes some fancy snacks of cheese + wine/beer!
Ride Melbourne’s iconic trams (and the free tram zone)
Trams have been a part of Melbourne since the 1880s and are still a major part of the city’s transport system. They are all over the city centre, and if you want to jump on a tram for free, you can do so within the free tram zone.
Alternatively, you can catch a tram all the way to St Kilda which takes seemingly forever but is also a novelty for those of us who don’t normally travel on trams. For this, you will need to get a myki card which is somewhat of a hassle, but it will also allow you to use the public transport network all around Melbourne so it’s probably worth it if you plan on getting around that way.
Wander along the Yarra River: Best riverside views & bridges
The Yarra River winds through downtown Melbourne. Walking along the riverside and over some of city’s bridges, such as the ultra funky Webb Bridge, is a great way to experience the city centre. Follow the Flinders Walk or Main Yarra Trail for views back towards the city.
Hidden Gem: Ponyfish Island
Ponyfish Island is a local favourite for office workers who flock to this joint after hours on a weekday. The appeal of Ponyfish Island is that you’re right in the middle of the Yarra underneath Evan Walker Bridge. Order a fancy cocktail and some food from their snack-style menu for a pleasant afternoon dining by the river.
⛴️ An alternative way to experience the Yarra is by hopping on a scenic river cruise. The Melbourne: 2-Hour City Highlights River Cruise takes you along both the upper and lower stretches of the Yarra, with a narrated journey past some of the city’s most iconic landmarks.
Melbourne markets: Queen Victoria Market & local artisan finds
Melbournians really love their markets–there are pop up stalls and permanent markets scattered all over the city. Queen Victoria Market next to downtown Melbourne is the most well known. Situated in a huge city block within various large sheds, you could easily get lost for hours exploring this market (which has everything from fried ice cream to aromatherapy spray for your pets). QVM also does specialty markets on occasion, so check out their events page to see what’s coming up.
Hidden gem: Rose Street Artists Market
A more boutique option is the Rose Street Artists Market, which I checked out last time I was roaming the streets of Melbourne. The stalls for this makers market are set up every Saturday and Sunday 10AM-4PM in Fitzroy with vendors selling handmade items such as jewellery, homewares, and art. Definitely my kind of jam!
Melbourne bars: Rooftops, speakeasies & craft beer spots
If there’s one thing that Melbourne does exceptionally well, it’s small bars. We visited a few great drink spots on our last trip to Melbourne. There seems to be an unlimited number of rooftop bars, basement bars, craft beer bars, cocktail bars, and any other type of ultra-fancy bar that you can think of.
Craft beer is also easy to find in Melbourne’s bars. We visited Naked in the Sky in Fitzroy (which also had fab rooftop views), as well as the trendy Beermash bar in Collingwood.
🍸 If you’re keen to dive deeper into Melbourne’s legendary small-bar culture, consider joining the Melbourne: Local Laneway Bars and Their Stories Tour.
Rather than chasing the newest hotspots, this experience focuses on four long-standing venues that helped shape Melbourne’s nightlife—from heritage buildings reinvented as intimate cocktail spaces to pioneering laneway bars that sparked Australia’s small-bar revolution.
Each stop reveals a different chapter of the city’s transformation, with stories woven through the architecture, atmosphere, and history of the neighbourhood. It’s the perfect option if you want a meaningful, story-driven bar experience that goes beyond just grabbing a drink.
Best brunch in Melbourne: Fitzroy cafes & local favourites
The brunch scene in Melbourne is like nothing I’ve encountered anywhere else. I would make some suggestions but honestly, any cafe in Fitzroy is a good place for an exceptionally fancy plate of breakfast food. Order an avo smash and a soy latte, and you’ll fit right in with the hipsters who frequent this area.
Hidden gem: Lune Croissanterie
This croissant bakery is not well known to tourists but is a local fave. They don’t just sell any old croissants… the baked goods you’ll find here are made in decadent and elaborate flavours. Beware, this place can get super busy so you will have to line up (for a long while!).
Check out St Kilda: Beach, pier & Luna Park
One of the best things to do in Melbourne is to take the tram to St. Kilda (which takes aaaages as it stops every two seconds along the way, but I suppose that’s all part of the experience!).
If you’re planning to spend a few hours in St Kilda, one of the best things to do is visit Luna Park Melbourne — the whimsical, old-school amusement park that’s been delighting visitors since 1912.
🎡 With the Luna Park Entry Ticket with Unlimited Rides, you can hop between roller coasters, spin on the teacups, and indulge in classic carnival treats as many times as you like. It’s a fun, nostalgic way to experience one of Melbourne’s most iconic attractions, and a great add-on to a beach or pier visit.
Brighton Bathing Boxes: One of the best photo spots in Melbourne
These colourful beach huts are one the best Melbourne attractions and are located a half hour train ride south of the city centre. They’re a popular spot for tourists to get some photos for social media. I visited them on a super gloomy day but still found them to be proper adorable.
The bathing boxes were built from the 1860s then were rented out or sold to private buyers to use for dressing into swimwear and relaxing by the beach (kind of like a permanent beach umbrella that also offers privacy). There are currently 82 of these bathing boxes in Brighton and they rarely come up for sale. If one does become available, you’d be looking at spending upwards of $200,000 AUD to buy it!!
🐧 If you’d like to combine the Brighton Bathing Boxes with a full day of wildlife and coastal scenery, the Penguin Parade & Wildlife Day Trip from Melbourne is a fantastic option.
This tour begins with a stop at Brighton Beach, where you can snap photos of the iconic bathing boxes and enjoy views of the Melbourne skyline. From there, you’ll visit Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park to meet koalas, kangaroos, and other native animals before continuing on to Phillip Island.
Take in dramatic coastal views along the Nobbies Boardwalk, then cap off the day at the world-famous Penguin Parade, watching hundreds of little penguins waddle ashore at sunset. It’s an easy, all-in-one way to see the bathing boxes plus some of Victoria’s best wildlife experiences.
Melbourne skyline views: Best lookouts, rooftops & hidden spots
🏙️ Many visitors to Melbourne will head up to the Melbourne Skydeck (which claims the title of the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere).
If you’re hoping for something a little less touristy, there are some great places to eat or drink with a view. I mentioned Naked in the Sky earlier for its casual beer garden rooftop, or if you’re hanging downtown and want something classy you can head to Rooftop Bar (yes, that’s actually its name!) or The Rooftop at QT.
Hidden gem: Easey’s
The city skyline views pictured above are seen from Easey’s, named for its location on Easey Street in Collingwood. This diner-style burger joint is inside decommissioned train carriages that have been placed on the rooftop of a building! Pretty neat, huh! My husband and I went here for dinner one night, and we were exceptionally impressed by the graffitied uniqueness of the venue.
Where to stay in Melbourne
I’ve stayed in various locations around Melbourne over the years. On my most recent trip, my husband and I stayed in District Fitzroy, which is an apartment hotel in between the trendy inner city suburbs of Fitzroy and Collingwood.
The area is fantastic and is a great place to base your stay in Melbourne if you don’t want to stay in the city centre. We found the hotel’s check-in process to be kind of weird and annoying (they wanted us to email through a selfie while holding our drivers license and credit card? What??) so that’s just something to be aware of when booking.
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