Find fashion people flocking to this neighborhood botanic garden on the the first and third Sunday of the month. Emerging designers and artisans sell their hip textiles, jewelry, and home decor.
Corner of Greville and Grattan Sts.
Super hip enclave of weekend vendors fill this bright and sunny lot with plants, clothes, vintage goods, and more.
60 Rose St.
+61-3-9419-5529
Immerse yourself in Australian vintage culinary titles and new food works from around the world.
233 Gertrude St.
+61-3-8415-1415
There are several small design shops — Danish modern, mid-century — on this stretch of Johnson Street in the Fitzroy neighborhood and this one falls into the wabi-sabi category. The ‘70s-era Japanese aesthetic is organic, rustic, minimal, and perfectly imperfect. Here, you can find hand-molded soaps, wooden cutting boards, one-of-a-kind clay tea cups, small wooden furnishings, and hard-to-find books on ikebana, the art of minimalist Japanese flower arranging.
248 Johnston St.
+61-3-8415-1541
A gentleman’s club of yesteryear, without the misogyny but with a cafe and barbershop and studio for bespoke suits.
2 Somerset Pl.
+61-3-9670-4405
A nightclub called Toff in Town, and beer hall called Cookie, and a Rooftop Cinema (November through March) makes up the “vertical laneway” of an Art Nouveau building and one of the most popular destinations in town.
252 Swanston St.
+61-3-9639-8770
The old-fashioned trams that run through Melbourne’s city streets are striking and efficient. Three of them, maroon and with the word Restaurant scrawled across them, serve surprisingly good three-course dinners for about $50 over the course of two hours nightly. There are early and late seatings; diners get a chance to rumble through various neighborhoods while clinking glasses along the way. Must reserve in advance.
Various locations
+61 3 9695 4000
For highbrow Australian without the cliches, go to the 55th floor of the Rialto Tower, where a carbon-neutral dining room displays locally made furniture and 360-degree views of the city. The classy Lui Bar is a hand-cut ice kind of establishment.
Level 55, South Tower,
Rialto Building 525 Collins St.
+61-3-9691-3888
The first major gallery showcasing Aboriginal paintings, colonial works, Heidelberg School Impressionists, and contemporary Australian art. In the city’s newest park the Birrarung Marr.
Federation Sq.
+61-3-8344 5148
A local favorite, the old pub has been recently revamped and serves quality snacks with cold, crisp drafts. For something more substantial, the Moon Under Water dining room serves a changing four-course prix fixe.
211 Gertrude St.
+61-3-9417-7700
Small and cozy with an unassuming storefront (they left the former tenant’s sign and spray painted “Liberty” over it, but with a fabulous wine list and snacks menu with equally great descriptions. Start with something from the bubbles section, and the tender will wheel over a bar cart in the shape of a globe to reveal your options. Go with something local every time and you won’t be disappointed. On nice nights, especially at aperitif hour, the cute backyard will satiate your thirst for a summery ambiance.
234 Johnston St.
(No Phone)
Japanese-inflected breakfast buns (kimchi scrambled eggs!) in a cheery corner spot with picnic tables in the adjacent laneway for lazing and grazing with friends or the paper. Coffees are on-point, of course, but so are delightful twists on things like morning muesli (raspberry foam, quinoa crisps).
240-242 Johnston St.
+61-3-9415-6420
Somewhat hidden (on a residential street with only the slightest inkling of a sign), but you’ll smell the place from a mile away. You’ll see the lines too, and you’ll want to make the trek early or miss out on flaky half moons of buttery perfection.
119 Rose St.
+61-3-9419-2320
A beautifully unfinished brick and tile space is the perfect backdrop for wildly delicious gelato. Flavors are inventive but not over the top — coffee with crumb cake, pandan, peanut butter swirl — and served the correct Italian way, not scooped, but worked up onto a spatula and slathered onto a cone like a sculpture coming to life.
296 Smith St.
+61-3-8466-0071
Named after a former governor’s wife, there’s an air of old-world ladies-who-lunch, a high tea happening with pinwheels, dainty sandwiches, truffles, scones, and fruit tarts.
Block Arcade, 282 Collins St.
+61-3-9650-2777