Visiting Melbourne, Australia

I'm off to Oz, Melbourne - to meet the in-laws for three weeks.

We have our own ideas for what we want to do but does anyone else have suggestions too?

You must check out St. Jeromes (located between Lonsdale and Little Bourke St) if you want the ultimate back-alley bar experience...although it's gained quite a bit of fame the past few years (and even has a Laneway Festival named after it) and therefore a bit of the original charm is gone...nonetheless one of the coolest places to go.

Or, if you're up all night and have money to hand over to Mr. Kerry Packer's corporation...head down to Crown and every hour during the evenings you can get your meat roasted on the giant flamethrowing stacks they have built along the Yarra...

anything else you have to be a bit more specific

Oh...and the best place to grab some late-night chinese food: CHINA BAR at the corner of Russell & Lonsdale St...I pine for that place each time I attempt to eat 'chinese' food here. And if you're a fan of sushi...well the city's got a sushi bar every other block (followed by the juice bars in between).

I miss the food in Melbourne with a vengeance... (can you tell??)

Oh..some cool sights to check out:

In the botanical gardens they have Moonlight Cinema that runs all through the summer...that's quite cool...

Down at St. Kilda you can check out the cute little penguins down at St. Kilda Pier, and enjoy some great food at Soul Mama's at the St. Kilda Baths...

I could go on...

thanks for the tip on st Jeromes! That is exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for. My partner Iceboy comes from Melbourne but last lived there over 20 years ago and as his parents are getting on a bit we were looking for more colourful things than the Botanic gardens, Yarra Valley etc which we already have scoped out.

Drive up to Sydney, seriously!

do so! this is absolutely perfect!

we were going to go to Sydney for Mardi Gras but decided it was going to eat up the time we were supposed to be spending with each of Iceboy's relatives so decided to leave sydney for the next visit

Yeah, there is never enough time to catch up with family and friends. That's why I have never been to Melbourne. I have only come halfway so far (from Sydney).

Well in terms of awesome and alternative-places for nightlife (i.e. laid back lounges, jazz bars...places decorated with abused baby dolls.), go upto Brunswick St. Fitzroy (and if you're in the mood to pick up some bargains a la discount outlets, check out Smith St. that runs parallel to it)...places like Black Pearl, The Bar With No Name, Night Cat..Bimbo's...

If you want the ol' school dive bar kinda jaunt...there's Cherry Bar (on AC/DC Lane I believe) where lots of famous musicians often go to hang out after their shows in Melb and Ding Dong Lounge (somewhere among the numerous little lanes and alleys within the CBD) which is part of a group of lounges around the world..i think there's one in NYC and London as well?

If you're thinking of doing daytrips outside Melbourne...I would highly recommend going down to Wilsons Promontory (the southern tip of the continent) if you haven't already, and another place you might have been already..The Grampians..

Sticking to the city...if you're interested in shopping..you can also check out the giant DFO's at the Southern Cross station..lots of outlet stores...but if you don't care so much for the price tag...there's always Toorak Road and Chapel St. down in South Yarra..

Oh and I think the Moomba Waterfest is happening soon too..so yeah, random stuff and fireworks on the Yarra...

you should check out this website, they have lots of info on goin out and dining,etc.

Be very very glad, Matt T is not near a computer for a few days, because if he read that, you could do your Crown-style bbq by holding your steaks to the screen!
Am sure he'll post some of his homehown tips when he's back online though.

No offense Katrina, it's the drive I am talking about. Not comparing anything

Phew! War averted then

yeah just as well Iceboy is working late tonight too ;-)

I lived in Melbourne for a few years, and can say that Cookie on Swanston st is pretty damn good, a roof top bar (among other things) in the CBD with excellent views and good drinks. Also if you want an aerial experience, the Eureka tower has an observation cube that juts out of the building, you can't go on the ferris wheel anymore as it buckled due to to the heat, so this is a great option. Also Fed Square has some great bars in it and down on the banks of the Yarra too. If you like the cafe scene, Lygon st Carlton is a good spot for some good pizza and pasta and has some interesting history.

Richmond has some greatl ittle bars too, The Corner on Swan st often has some great live music and a decent rooftop bar as well. THen all along swa and church sts in Richmond are decent bars and lounges as well.

Along Fitzroy st in St Kilda are some good bars, Prince of Wales, Cushion, and a host of others for nightlife. And at the sea baths there is an excellent outdoor area right on the boardwalk great for enjoying a beer by the bay and people watching. Can't remember what its called but very hard to miss. Also in St Kilda is Acland st, where there are some nice cafe's like Bigmouth on the corner of Acland and Barkley sts, Grapevine opposite Luna Park and the Esplanade just up the road with some amazing bands playing. Jet used to play there while they were up and coming.

If you have any specific questions PM me and I'll do my best to answer.

Enjoy Melbourne, a beautiful city.

Its a bloody long drive though (and back). Not to be recommended if you only have three weeks, I think.

and another thing: I like to read broadsheet newspapers when on holiday and in a non-English speaking country would look for places with English papers such as the Guardian, The Telegraph or the Scotsman if they are available. However, as Australia is English speaking can anyone recommend a good paper for me to read in Melbourne?