The Queen Victoria Market is recognized by its expansive, low-slung iron and timber sheds that sprawl across two city blocks, creating the largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere. Officially opened in eighteen seventy-eight, it…
Best of Melbourne
This self-guided walk guides you through Melbourne's most famous cultural institutions, historical sites, and vibrant public hubs. You will see everything from the bustling Queen Victoria Market and street art laneways to premier galleries and iconic landmarks.
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1. Queen Victoria Market
2. Old Melbourne Gaol
The Old Melbourne Gaol is a fortress of heavy, dark-grey bluestone blocks that occupies a full city block on Russell Street. Between eighteen forty-five and nineteen twenty-four, this site functioned as the primary prison for the colony of…
3. State Library Victoria
State Library Victoria is defined by its massive dome and grand scale, occupying an entire city block in the heart of Melbourne. Opened in eighteen fifty-six, it stands as Australia’s oldest public library and one of the first free public…
4. Hosier Lane
Hosier Lane is a narrow, cobblestone passage distinguished by walls densely layered with vibrant, constantly shifting street art. Running between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane, the alley sits directly opposite the Atrium at Federation…
5. Fed Square
Fed Square is recognizable by its jarring, geometric facade of zinc, sandstone, and glass, which forms a series of interlocking, irregular structures across a city block. It sits directly opposite the ornate, copper-domed Flinders Street…
6. Flinders Street Railway Station/Elizabeth St
Flinders Street Railway Station is distinguished by its golden-yellow sandstone facade, its prominent green copper dome, and the row of analog clocks mounted above the main entrance. Opened on September twelfth, eighteen fifty-four, as the…
7. Eureka Tower
The Eureka Tower is recognized by its blue glass facade, white horizontal stripes, and the shimmering gold-plated glass on its top ten floors. Rising two hundred ninety-seven meters above the Southbank precinct, it held the title of the…
8. National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is identifiable by the bluestone-clad building on St Kilda Road, distinguished by a wide, arched entrance where water perpetually streams down a vertical glass wall. Founded in eighteen sixty-one, it is the…
9. Shrine of Remembrance
The Shrine of Remembrance is defined by a ziggurat roof that rises high above the Kings Domain parkland, its heavy granite form inspired by the ancient Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Built between nineteen twenty-seven and nineteen…