An exciting city with beautiful parks and green spaces. Great street art, a variety of dinner options for every budget, an incredibly brilliant coffee culture — Welcome to Melbourne! Melbourne was even the number one livable city in the world in 2017. Well, if that’s not promising.I lived and worked in Melbourne for three months. Here are my personal To Dos, which you cannot miss there.

The Brighton Bathing Boxes are among the most photographed locations in Melbourne. The 82 colored beach boxes are a 20-minute drive from the city center. Brighton is one of Melbourne’s most exclusive suburbs.

The brightly colored houses were built more than 100 years ago in order to guarantee a certain level of privacy at the beach while changing your swimwear. Today, the boxes are used more for storing fishing equipment and deck chairs — AND used as a photo spot.

You will find a small crowd of tourists especially in front of the famous boxes with the Australia flag or the kangaroo. When you got your photo, you can relax on the beach with the view of the beautiful Melbourne skyline.

How to get there:
From Melbourne you can take the train from Flinders Station to Middle Brighton Station. You only have to walk 10 minutes to the beach.

At the Queen Victoria Market you will find everything your heart desires: fresh fish, cheese, sausage specialties, countless fruits and vegetables, spices, coffee, but also handicrafts and souvenirs. The market is open until 3 pm every day and if you come just before closing, you can often get a lot of goods such as fresh fruits for a cheaper price.
The normal weekly market is closed on Wednesdays: But there is a night market in the evening from 5 pm. This night market always has a different theme depending on the season. I arrived in Melbourne in August, so I spent my first evening at the Winter Market and was thrilled with the food! Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed with the “German mulled wine” that was offered there. Nothing can beat the original mulled wine from Germany. But an evening at the Night Markte is definitely worth it — you definitely have to go there hungry. 🙂

How to get there:
The market is near Flagstaff Gardens. You can either get off at Flagstaff Station by train or take the tram to Queen Victoria Market.

Melbourne is known for its excellent coffee and fantastic coffee culture! A decisive reason why I ended up here. No matter where you go: a coffee smells amazing, always looks beautiful and simply tastes incredibly good. Are you a coffee lover? Let’s go to Melbourne!

In the first few weeks I was in a lot of cafes in Melbourne, because I was looking for a waiter job and at the same time I was happy about the luxury of a great coffee with milk foam after my months in Asia. Here you will find my favorite cafes that you should definitely visit.

Melbourne Flinders Street train station is the main hub for local public transport. And the train station is especially beautiful in the evening! From here you can also reach many cafes and restaurants.

I definitely recommend you to walk from the station across Princes Bridge and then stroll along the Yard River on Southbank Promenade. In the evening the city looks really beautiful from here and the bars and restaurants are first class amazing (accordingly a bit more expensive)!
If you are here, make a detour to the Eureka Tower. Such a perfect view of Melbourne from the Skydeck.

If you walk a little further on the promenade, you will reach the DFO South Wharf after a few minutes. A huge outlet shopping center with unbeatable prices. Take enough time in the stores and get the best bargains.

If you are a fan of mini golf then you definitely have to visit the Holey Moley Golf Club! The classic 18 holes are spread over two routes — the routes are partly really demanding due to the creative themes but guarantee a crazy mini golf experience.
If you are rather untalented, you can treat yourself to a cocktail and a few snacks after the round of mini golf.

To cover the entire 18 holes, you pay AUD 34 per person or AUD 18 for 9 holes.

How to get there:
You can find the Holey Moley Golf Club either at the Crown Casino or at 590 Little Bourke St.

St Kilda is less than 8 kilometers from Melbourne City. During the day you can stroll along the beautiful esplanade, chill on the beach or in the green areas, wind surf, swim or simply enjoy life with an Aperol Spritz. In the evening you will find many backpackers and locals in the bars and music clubs.
If you’re longing for European pastry shops, Acland Street is the place for you.

Highlight: At St Kilda Pier you can see many little penguins between the stones on the jetty after sunset. Be calm and don’t take pictures with flash of the little residents.
I have never seen penguins in wild life before — absolute highlight ♥

Another beautiful part of Melbourne that is less crowded with tourists is Williamstown. You can drive to the small port town by car in just 20 minutes. Enjoy a relaxing picnic in the evening sun at Williamstown Beach or visit the botanical garden. At Gem Pier you can see one big yacht next to the other and eat really delicious seafood!

How to get there:
By train you are from Southern Cross Station in 30 minutes in Williamstown!

Phillip Island is an island located on the Australian south coast and is a great destination for a day tour from Melbourne! You can see the beautiful coast and especially observe kangaroos, koalas and penguins.

From Melbourne, you have to drive to the beautiful island only two hours or book a day tour with a bus company. However, it is definitely worth renting a car for one day — you are wonderfully flexible and can even enjoy the places without the hustle and bustle of tourists.
You can find my post about our day trip to Phillip Island here.

One of Australia’s most famous roads and highlights begins about 90 minutes’ drive from Melbourne: the Great Ocean Road. If you have several days, you should use this time and drive the whole 400km long road. Small fishing villages, one impressive coastal landscape after another, rainforests, waterfalls and old volcanoes. The nature heart will definitely beat faster here!
I was only able to take one day off from work, so I only spent one day on the Great Ocean Road with my couch surfing host — but even a day here is amazing! We made a stop at his lovely family in Lorne and finally made it to the famous 12 Apostles! Fortunately, the weather god also was really good and we stopped at almost every visit point along the street. 🙂

You see: Melbourne is worth it! And these are just the few highlights that you can do here. You can also get to know the city and its history on a free walking tour and at the same time get insider tips for special restaurants. However you spend your time here — it will be great! Melbourne has more than earned the title of one of the world’s most livable cities.

Lots of Love ♥