Melbourne Summer Guide
4 min readMay 4, 2018
Situated on Port Phillip Bay in southeastern Australia, Melbourne is Australia’s second-largest city. Melbourne is known as a cultural and educational capital of the country.
The city is especially superb in the summertime with its ample outdoor activities and spaces. It’s full of parks and gardens, rooftop bars, outdoor dining, and a lively waterfront.
Here’s a guide for how to enjoy summer down under in Melbourne (that’s December, January, and February, folks)!
See & Do
- Grab a blanket and a bottle of wine and spend an evening listening to the symphony outdoors at Sidney Myer Music Bowl (free!)
- Spend an afternoon lawn bowling at Fitzroy Bowling Club
- Cheer with the locals at a cricket match
- Enjoy happy hour cocktails in the sky at one of the city’s many rooftop bars like Goldilocks, Good Heavens, or Naked for Satan
- Eat your way through Queen Victoria Market; if it’s a Wednesday, check out their popular Night Market filled with food trucks, handmade goods, and DJs spinning live music
- Catch a show at Forum Theatre
- Take a day trip along the Great Ocean Road, stopping in Lorne for the afternoon to enjoy the beach, shopping, and lunch
- Shop local at weekly markets like Rose Street Artists’ Market (every weekend in Fitzroy) or South Melbourne Night Market (Thursday nights)
- Pack a picnic and wander the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens (free!)
- Spend the day admiring street art in the Fitzroy neighborhood
- Have a movie night outdoors with Barefoot Cinema, Rooftop Cinema, or Moonlight Cinema in the Royal Botanical Gardens
- Take a day trip to the Mornington Peninsula for wineries and a dip in the hot springs
- …and if it’s a rainy day, visit the National Gallery of Art (free!)
Eat & Drink
- Archie’s All Day — Popular cafe on Gertrude Street serving the best avocado toast in town; opt for seating on the back patio if the weather is nice
- Belles Hot Chicken — Delicious Nashville-inspired fried chicken
- Smith & Deli — Popular lunch spot slinging vegan versions of deli classics. No seating inside, so take your sandwich to go and enjoy it in the lawn of nearby Carlton Gardens.
- Proud Mary — Flagship cafe for popular coffee roaster found in many Melbourne cafes; offers a unique brunch menu (salted caramel chocolate brioche french toast topped with potato chips, kimchi avocado toast)
- Aunty Peg’s — This roastery for Proud Mary is a great experience for coffee enthusiasts
- HuTong — Divine XLB (xiaolongbao) soup dumplings. Make reservations or arrive early.
- Juicy Bao — Another popular dumpling spot in Melbourne’s Chinatown. There will be a line out the door, but the staff is efficient with moving diners through. BYO. Four types of XLB!
- Juliet — Stop into this basement bar in Chinatown on a Thursday for live jazz, a glass of wine, and their amazing raclette
- Bar Americano — Tiny cocktail bar hidden in an alley behind an alley in the CBD
- Above Board — Incredible cocktails in an intimate space; classic cocktails done amazingly well
- Marquis of Lorne — Bar on the first floor, great restaurant serving classic pub fare on the second floor, and a rooftop bar on the third floor
- Amarillo — Great wine bar on Brunswick with tasty small bites
- Black Pearl — Popular Fitzroy cocktail bar on Brunswick Street
- Lune — Bakery with croissants that rival the best in Paris
- The Arbory — Buzzy spot along the river, behind the train tracks. Stop by for happy hour on a nice day to mingle with the locals and enjoy riverside drinks.
- Movida — Popular Spanish tapas restaurant in the CBD, near the Forum Theatre
- Piccolina — Delicious gelato shop on Smith Street. Messina is another great option for gelato on a hot summer day.
- Alimentari — Popular deli on Brunswick Street for dine-in or takeway (also has rooftop seating), with another location on Smith Street
- Marion — Restaurant and wine bar on Gertrude St, perfect for a dinner date
- The Standard Hotel — Classic pub with a great outdoor back patio
