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If you happen to find yourself in Melbourne and you have an affinity for the arts and culture scene, then you have come to the right place in Australia. After all, you are in the cultural capital of Australia! It promises some of the world’s best cultural experiences. We have crafted this insightful list of the cultural things to do in Melbourne for you to have a memorable trip.
Hey! We are Chris and Laura from Melbourne, Australia. Traveling the world for years and living the laptop lifestyle since 2019, we are a real couple doing cool stuff in a responsible and sustainable way. You can follow our stories on Chris and Laura Travels, an adventure travel and photography blog run by us.
Melbourne for Art & Culture Lovers: An Introduction
The dynamic capital of Victoria in Australia, there’s no better place for art and culture lovers than Melbourne, the cultural heart of Australia. It’s one of the best cultural tourism destinations in the world.
From the incredible food and cafe scene, world-class arts and cultural heritage institutions, and state-of-the-art design to lively festivals and community events, all the best cafes, theatres, museums, and galleries live here in the city walls and hidden laneways of Melbourne, less than an hour from the airport you’ll easily fill an entire day exploring and roaming the streets, with a fine cup of coffee in tow.
If Melbourne is the cultural heart of Australia, Federation Square (Fed Square) is the cultural heart of Melbourne. It’s known for its cultural venues. Southbank comes in a close second.
Exploring & Navigating Melbourne: Our Two Cents
To thoroughly enjoy your time in Melbourne we personally recommend you spend a minimum of 2 weeks within the city, as you will quickly discover there are so many incredible places to visit in Melbourne CBD alone. And here we are not even talking about the amazing day trips you can take from Melbourne.
The city can be a little pricey when it comes to eating out and entertainment but if you look ahead of time at ‘whatsonmelbourne’ website you can book tickets to all kinds of events like theatre shows, beach parties, comedy shows, and art exhibitions and galleries with limited screening times.
Getting to Melbourne CBD from the international airport is best done with the public bus system called SkyBus that connects the two and will take no more than an hour and cost you $22 one way per adult.
With most of the attractions near at hand and a convenient grid layout of Melbourne CBD, getting around is swift and easy. Make sure you buy a Myki card to use the city’s vast network of trains, trams, and buses. Alternatively, you can hail a taxi or book a cab via one of the rideshare apps in Melbourne (Uber, Taxify, and DiDi) for comfortable transfers.
Where to Stay in Melbourne
Once you make your way into the CBD you will quickly realize there are a whole lot of things to do in Melbourne that will take you far beyond the reaches of just art and culture, and finding the time to do all of them is a little tricky which is why we recommend staying a few nights to get the most out of Melbourne.
Depending on your budget there are a few options to choose from ranging from backpackers to luxury options. The Ibis budget Melbourne and the City Square Motel are both 3-star budget accommodations in the heart of the city.
A mid-range accommodation option is the Hotel Grand Chancellor, a 4-star hotel on Lonsdale Street which comes with a rooftop pool with amazing views over the city on Lonsdale St.
Luxury accommodation in Melbourne is not hard to find at all if you’re willing to spend north of $500/night. The Ritz Carlton offers stunning views of the city skyline with easy access to the cultural center of Melbourne. Close to Crown Casino and a short walk from Sea Life Aquarium in Melbourne, W Melbourne is a relatively new hotel with intimate amenities like espresso makers, designer bathrooms, and laptop-compatible safes and desks which can be enjoyed for a night on the town for around $450.
11 Best Cultural Things to Do in Melbourne, Australia
Curated by true Melbournians, this list of the 11 very best things to do in Melbourne aims to inspire you and help you discover the best cultural experiences in Melbourne.
1. Check Out the Dynamic Melbourne Street Art
Melbourne proudly boasts the largest, eclectic range of street art and grunge culture anywhere in the country.
You can uncover the impressive collection of curated graffiti art in the many hidden laneways of the city.
Top of the list should be a trip to Hosier Lane accessible from Flinders St, which conveniently sits outside Flinders Street train station. This bluestone alleyway made its global debut on the art scene in 2006 and features an impressive collection of both local and international artists who paint their mark on our most famous wall.
You can walk the whole way from Flinders Street to flinders lane admiring graffiti the whole way, and when you’re finished why not grab a bite to eat at Movida Next Door?
ACDC Lane stands a close second to Hosier as one of the best alleyways to visit in Melbourne. Named after the famous rock band ACDC, this is Melbourne’s shining example of our obsession with grungy rock and roll, as it used to host a more raucous crowd in the day.
Duckboard Place is the extension of ACDC lane with the iconic pink pig mural on the corner. A fantastic option to eat at is the innovative Chinese eatery of Lee Ho Fuk, or if Indian sounds more appealing why not try Tonka?
Visiting the laneways of Melbourne is a fantastic way to spend your day and certainly a unique experience in Australia.
Recommended Melbourne CBD Street Art Tour
2. Explore the Performing Arts Scene at Arts Centre Melbourne
The unmistakable spire of the Arts Centre on the river side of Southbank hosts a variety of art projects throughout the year but principally houses the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Theatre Company, the Australian Ballet, and Opera Australia.
They host a range of other temporary events like the Melbourne International comedy festival as well as a permanent home to art and music public displays. If you feel like spending the day here, Southbank’s restaurants lie on the water’s edge of the Yarra River with hundreds of delicious local and international cuisines to try.
3. Understand Australian Art at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
The world’s first art gallery solely dedicated to displaying original Australian work, one of the best things to do in Melbourne is to spend the day exploring the gallery in Federation Square which was named after Sir Ian Potter, both philanthropist and businessman.
With more than 25,000 pieces of work on display, including a section dedicated to the cultural significance and diversity of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ artwork.
A stunning collection of photography, print, drawings, textiles, and fashion, the Ian Potter gallery is open 10 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday.
4. Explore the National Museum of Screen Culture, ACMI at Federation Square
This one-of-a-kind interactive gallery pays homage and tribute to the moving image, aptly named the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Federation Square. Film, TV, video games, and art, the center celebrates the storytelling capability of the film industry.
A range of interactive displays rotates throughout the year, diversifying exhibitions that showcase the story of the moving image and the celebration of female storytellers through the ‘Goddess: Power, Glamour and Rebellion’ exhibition.
ACMI also offers a cinema complex, an on-site shop with a restaurant attached with free public wifi, disability access, and free entry all year round except for specific ticketed events.
5. Uncover Innovative Art Trends at ACCA in the Arts Precinct of Melbourne
This award-winning art center is a must-do activity in Melbourne, purpose-built to house contemporary artwork from international and national artists like New Delhi-based artist Mithu Sen (mOTHERTONGUE).
The rusty steel facade has a European exhibition hall feel to it, which gives rise to four large gallery spaces displaying contemporary artwork from around the world. The building was designed by famed Melbourne Architect Wood Marsh.
Getting here is very easy, with a tram stop close by as well as a large car park and bike racks close by, if you take the train into Melbourne then a short 13-minute walk from Flinders Street station down St.Kilda road is the best way to access the ACCA.
6. Taste Melbourne’s Serious Coffee Culture
If you haven’t guessed it by now Melbourne is by and large known for its thriving coffee culture scene, with literally thousands of artisanal coffee shops and cafes/restaurants everywhere in both Melbourne city and the wider suburban Melbourne.
The World’s Capital of Coffee Culture, Melbourne, apparently, has more cafes per person than any other city in the world! A mecca to coffee lovers, you can’t visit Melbourne and not experience one of the best coffee cultures in the world.
In part to Melbourne’s rich and diverse migration history, the European culture is alive and well in Melbourne with entire sections of the city dedicated to Greek, Italian, Chinese, and other cultures.
It’s most notably the Italian migration history that has paved the way for an impressive coffee scene.
Head to Degraves Street to immerse yourself in the true nature of Melbourne coffee culture by heading to Tulip Coffee, this hole-in-the-wall cafe to sip your Melbourne Magic Coffee whilst people-watching.
The number 1 best-rated coffee shop in all of Melbourne CBD would have to be over at Traveller Coffee on Crossley St. This quintessential laneway coffee shop is one of the best things to do in Melbourne if you love coffee.
Become a part of the coffee culture with the benched seating and a few stools, take a step inside, and discover the part-Italian eatery part Airstream caravan inside.
Hardware Lane is a fantastic option that runs between Little Lonsdale and Bourke St after a night out in Melbourne’s famed nightlife scene. To truly appreciate the coffee/breakfast culture here, take you and your hangover to Hardware Lane and choose from a myriad of restaurants for smashed avocado on toast, a true Australian breakfast meal.
Recommended Walking Tour to Experience Melbourne Coffee Culture
7. Visit the National Gallery of Victoria
Founded in 1861 and with more than 76,000 pieces of work across years of wealth and ideas, the National Gallery of Victoria is the oldest and most visited gallery in Australia.
The center is spread over two main buildings, the Ian Potter Centre and the NGV. The gallery showcases concepts and topics like conservation, gender, and environment.
The exhibitions and artwork come from regions all over the world like Asia, Europe, America, and Oceania. Entry is free daily from 10 am to 5 pm, with a full list of current exhibitions you can download right here.
As one of the best tourist attractions in Melbourne, visiting the National Gallery of Victoria can be paired up with a trip to Federation Square, visiting St. Paul’s Cathedral, and a stroll down Hosier Lane.
8. Get an Insight into Life in Victoria at Melbourne Museum
We’ve been to the Museum here countless times and if you’re a fan of museums then you cannot miss one of the best things to do in Melbourne for art lovers.
For more than 160 years Melbourne Museum has been collecting pieces of natural history, culturally important documents, and globally significant artwork since 1854.
Come to see the displays of wildlife from around the world, everything from human history and evolution to the age of the Dinosaurs 60 million years ago and beyond.
Melbourne Museum specifically is a part of Museums Victoria; Australia’s largest public museum organisation that constantly has different displays and interactive exhibitions for adults and kids of all ages.
Currently on display is the First Nations exhibit celebrating Indigenous history and survival in Victoria or see a late-night display of Fantastic Beasts ™ – The Wonder of Nature display between 6 and 7:30 pm for $19-$35 per person In June 2023.
9. Learn About Indigenous Australia at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre
As mentioned above, the Bunjilaka Aboriginal cultural center is an immersive experience and a fantastic insight into the Indigenous cultural significance of First Nations people in Australia.
We felt it deserved special mention as the display is so in-depth, as it presents the Koorie people (a subset of Indigenous Australians) with both respect and power since opening in 2013.
The greater Melbourne Museum space is held on Aboriginal land, of what we know as the Carlton Gardens that’s also home to the IMAX theatre space where you can currently see Serengeti, Flight of the Butterflies, or Dinosaurs of the Serengeti.
For some alternative day trips from the area, you can head to Queen Victoria Market, a large open-air market space, or the beautiful State Library of Victoria.
10. Attend Latin American/Hispanic Cultural Festivals
Get your dancing shoes on and prepare your taste buds and experience Melbournes Latin corridor in the suburbs of Brunswick and Fitzroy.
Every year in February, Johnston st hosts the Johnston st Fiesta, better known as the Hispanic/Latin American Festival.
Cars disappear and dancing and sangria take to the streets for a weekend of Hispanic tradition, Cuban dancing, Reggaeton, Flamenco shows and food trucks come alive over the weekend of February 25th and 26th each year.
The Latin festival is another great cultural event in Melbourne to spend time at if you’re in town from the 13th -15th January. A festival for all ages, come for the beer garden, Latino music, Bloco parties, and plenty of activities to entertain the whole family like face painting, magic shows, and workshops.
Celebrate the history and culture of Latino America by visiting the stalls of local artists selling handcrafted gifts inside the bazaar.
The best way to enjoy the Latin festival is to take public transport either by bus or train, remember to bring a hat as it’s summertime in January, and bring your own rug to enjoy some downtime in the sun.
11. Experience Australia’s Passion for Sports at the Australian Sports Museum
Nothing is more ‘Aussie’ than having an entire museum in the country’s largest sporting arena dedicated to the game of sport.
The Australian Sports Museum is located at gate 3 of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in East Melbourne, where the sports of both cricket and Australian Rules Football are regularly played all year round.
The museum is a highlight of our intense love of sport and a homage to our great athletes past and present who have helped shape the modern world of sport in Australia.
One of the best things to do in Melbourne is to take a tour of the MCG grounds from one of the knowledgeable staff who volunteer their time to take guests around the 100,000 + seating capacity stadium.
Other well-known sports played in Melbourne include Rugby League, Tennis, Soccer, and Netball; all of which Australia has national and international recognition for.
Indigenous Australian athletes comprise a significant part of the sport in Australia and there’s also a section dedicated to their contribution to sports nationwide, and a look at the moments that generated discussion about racism and inequality between Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait islander first nations.
Recommended Guided Tour of MCG and Australian Sports Museum
We hope you find our recommendations for innovative and culturally immersive experiences in Melbourne helpful.
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