What's happening in Melbourne
The best things to do this week
Enjoy a three-course Thai-Australian meal – with matching gin – at this Melbourne bar
Play with baby goats, ride on on a magic carpet and load up with show bags – it’s Royal Melbourne Show time
Drop to the bottom of the deepest prehistoric oceans in ACMI's immersive VR experience for families
Even if you're not into AFL, the sheer excitement of the AFL Grand Final weekend is something worth experiencing. To help celebrate Melbourne's biggest...
This masterclass lets you learn to cook with some of MasterChef’s best alumni
Oriental Teahouse is serving bottomless dumplings
Think you have to go to Japan to see the cherry blossoms? Think again
The latest news
Competitions and announcements
Become the popular one in your peer group, the San Telmo way
The San Francisco bag outfitters are opening up shop in Melbourne
The best of Melbourne
This is it: the definitive list of the people, the places and the things that make our city so great
Expert tips for exploring the city's best attractions for zero dollars
From world-beating cocktail lounges to down-and-divey saloons, here's everywhere worth drinking in Melbourne
Behold, our eat-and-destroy list – a guide to Melbourne's best restaurants, from fine dining to cheap eats
When you think Melbourne, some of the words that come to mind surely must be 'coffee', 'laneways' and 'street art'. Street art covers almost every nook and cranny of our creative, colourful city, but there are more highly concentrated clusters than others. These are the street art hotspots that any self-respecting 'grammer should be snapping: the city's ten best street mural hotspots, in all their spray-painted laneway glory. Continue your art journey through Melbourne at these free galleries, or purchase your very own piece of art at one of these weird and wonderful shops.
If you know where to look, you can get by in Melbourne for a lot less than you'd think
If you're looking for a break from the inner-city grid, there's no better cure than a day trip from Melbourne.
Melbourne area guides
The heart of the city, home to Chinatown and some of Melbourne's best restaurants and arts institutions.
Exceptional Italian food, gelato and coffee, plus an excellent museum and theatre.
Kensington has northwest charm in spades: there are wide, tree-lined streets, plenty of public transport and green spaces aplenty.
Inventive bars, geek girl boutiques and envelope-pushing eateries. Plus live music institutions.
Multicultural hub, with dining options from all over the world and a thriving food scene.
Our guide to casual dining in Melbourne with American Express
Melbourne’s vibrant food scene has no shortage of treats that won’t bust your weekly budget. From tasty Mediterranean and Asian classics to Middle Eastern and American dude food, these are all excellent dishes by chefs at the top of their game. All these venues take American Express. Would you like a complimentary side with your meal? Check out these Side with Amex venues.
Twirling spoons at the ready? We’ve scoured Melbourne’s many Italian restaurants to find these Nonna-approved pasta dishes, from pillowy soft gnocchi to tangy pesto just made to be sopped up with bread. The best part? You’ll be able to dine in confidence with the knowledge that these venues welcome American Express. Buon appetito!
Melbourne is home to excellent Chinese restaurants that serve up dim sum with serious style. Whether you're after an elegant banquet, a hangover-soothing repast or some steaming hot dumplings, these restaurants have some seriously great dim sum dishes. At all these venues, you’ll be able to dine in confidence with the knowledge that they welcome American Express.
You know how it is. You pop in for a quick drink when a glance at the snacks menu reminds you that something to do with your other hand would complete this picture of pre-dinner bliss. Maybe it’s a little cheese and cured meats to whet the appetite; some dips to sate the rumblings of a hungry stomach; or a bridging meal that could be a snack or could be dinner depending on how you’re feeling. And the best part is, whether you go on to make a meal out of it or leave it there, you can pay for all of these bar snacks using your American Express.
You can find something cheap and delicious on almost every street in Melbourne – the city has never had an issue in feeding the masses for less than a tenner. It's not all dims sims and jam doughnuts either: in the world's most liveable city, $20 will get you treats like goat's cheese churros, pillowy xiao long bao, and pear and black pudding tarte tatin. And when it comes to the bill you can pay with confidence, knowing these venues take American Express.
A little bit of this, a little bit of that: antipasto is a dish loved by the grazers of the world. In what might just be the greatest Italian invention, apart from the espresso machine and Isabella Rossellini, the traditional spread consists of cheeses, cured meats, olives, seafood, pickled vegetables, and breads; and is usually served as the first course of a meal. Anti - pasto = Before - meal. But, down here on our Antipodean shores, an antipasto platter is a meal unto itself. Best served with a bottle of wine and friends who share your choice in cheese selection; antipasto is a fine art in the Melbourne restaurant scene. Whether it’s a grazing plate at your local bar, or more of a fancy feast, we hunted down some of the best antipasto plates in Melbourne. When it comes to getting the cheque, you can pay in confidence knowing these venues welcome American Express.
We love a good rooftop and a pub will always earn an extra special place in our heart if it’s got a great beer garden – so it’s agreed by almost everyone – dining in the sunshine is always a good idea. With that in mind, we scoured the city for the best terraces, balconies, rooftops and gardens, where you can enjoy an alfresco snack and a brew or two. Then, when it comes to getting the cheque, you can pay in confidence knowing these venues welcome American Express.
A dish born in the Indian subcontinent, curry has been adopted and adapted by many cuisines, from Thailand to Malaysia and Japan-via-Britain, with each culture applying their own configuration of herbs, spices and fresh ingredients to create something entirely new. Next time you’re hankering for a serving of saag aloo, massaman or goan barramundi curry, hit up one of these restaurants around town. And after you’ve used your naan to mop up every last drop, you can pay in confidence knowing these venues welcome American Express.
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Melbourne is known for its dynamic arts and culture scene year-round, but from October 3-21 it goes into overdrive when the Melbourne International Arts Festival takes over some of the city's most important public spaces, cultural institutions, galleries and theatres. If you're looking for a fiery public spectacle, French artists Compagnie Carabosse will be taking over the Royal Botanic Gardens with Fire Gardens, a series of huge, flaming installations that will light up the gardens for three nights only. The Royal Botanic Gardens will also play home to Lexicon, a new work (and the only Australian performance) by immersive circus arts troupe NoFit State. To follow on from last year's House of Mirrors, the trippy 1000 Doors will take over Arts Centre Melbourne's forecourt. It's a maze of doors, some locked, some open, some leading to corridors and rooms, and some leading to cupboards and dead ends. Visitors will be able to walk through the installation, opening whatever doors they fancy and discovering new and interesting pathways through the maze. Melburnian music lovers will want to nab tickets to 16 Lovers Lane, a one-night-only supergroup performance of the classic album with the original members of the Go-Betweens, Paul and Dan Kelly, Romy Vager, Laura Jean and Jen Cloher. Contemporary dance will also take centre stage with the Australian premiere of modern ballet A Quiet Evening of Dance, and a large-scale production of operatic dance piece Layla and Majnun. Check
Melbourne is home to excellent Chinese restaurants that serve up dim sum with serious style. Whether you're after an elegant banquet, a hangover-soothing repast or some steaming hot dumplings, these restaurants have some seriously great dim sum dishes. At all these venues, you’ll be able to dine in confidence with the knowledge that they welcome American Express.
The beating heart of the Melbourne Fringe Festival is its raucous club, where art-loving audiences dance and drink at themed parties presented by different performers every night. The Melbourne Fringe Festival Club kicks off with the Opening Night Party on Thursday, September 13, complete with an opening ceremony lead by DJ Andrew McClelland of Finishing School fame and the Sydney duo the Dollar Bin Darlings. Other highlights of the program include All that Glitters is Blak, Fringe's very own First Nations dance extravaganza, as well as Queen of the Night a celebratory tribute to Whitney Houston. If you're after more nostalgia make sure you head along to the Year 10 Formal night, or 1992-1-OMG!, a super fun '90s themed pop party. If you're not into dancing, head in for the Test Drive comedy night hosted by Nath Valvo, the theatrical Circus Battle Royale, or sign up for All Gender and Sexuality Speed Dating. And that's far from it. For the full list of parties, head to the Festival Club website. It's open every Tuesday to Saturday night and it's totally free! It's not uncommon for queues to snake out of Arts House, so arrive early to avoid disappointment. Find out more about the Melbourne Fringe's Festival Club here.
Do you long for the days of classic arcade games? QV Melbourne has heard your pleas and they’re hosting a free, three-week retro gaming festival called Game/On. From August 31 to September 23 QV Square and its surrounding laneways will be transformed into a gamer’s paradise complete with retro '80s fitout, a live game art mural, competitions and a selection of old-school arcade games. Here’s what to expect from the free Game/On festival at QV Melbourne.
The route 96 is one of our favourite tram routes in Melbourne. It stretches from St Kilda to East Brunswick, going along Bourke Street in the city, and the light rail component means it's one of the fastest ways to get around. You also don't have to deal with traffic or parking, and tools like the PTV app allow you to find real-time departure info, so you'll never miss your tram. And even if you linger over your coffee and miss one, there's no need to stress – this is one of the most frequent routes in Melbourne, with trams as often as every five minutes. Sorted. There's heaps to do along the route, too. From bowls clubs to brilliant street art and everything in between, here are five awesome adventures you can have on the 96 tram. Plan your journey and have a brilliant Melbourne adventure.
Melbourne's own celebration of indie theatre, comedy and performance art doesn't just cater to grown-ups – the Melbourne Fringe Festival turns the city into a giant playground and little ones are invited to play too. Many of Melbourne’s best-loved artists are making shows designed to empower young ones and unleash their creativity, too. The Fringe Festival team have tailored a pint-sized program so your you kids can get involved in the festival fun. Highlights include Truth or Dare, a daring interactive theatre piece that takes the old-fashioned game to centre stage, allowing kids to ask grown-ups about their own niggling curiosities. Prehistoric VR will allow aspiring palaeontologists to take a deep dive back to explore the creatures of the deep; while M-Ball will let them play a giant musical ball-shaped instrument. Kids in Fashion is all about giving artistic license to little ones, as local makers create IRL pieces designed by kids, so they can sashay down the runway. They can also be creatively empowered at Voice Lab, an immersive experience in which a concealed performer will ask questions and regard the child as the expert and their unfiltered opinions as paramount. Circus and theatrical shows include Wild Child, Children Are Stinky and the World's Worst Babysitter. So browse the program and head to Melbourne Fringe Festival with your kids today.
With Australia’s human rights record back in the headlines thanks to the recent leadership change, Belarus Free Theatre’s defiantly political works have never been more necessary. Banned in its native country, the company’s members, led by husband and wife Nicolai Khalezin and Natalia Kaliada, have served time in prison, lost their jobs, gone into hiding or been exiled for their belief that theatre can be used as a means of resisting government censorship and political pressure. Now they turn their attention to the Great Australian Silence: our struggle to speak out against atrocities both at home and abroad, and the dangers of speaking the truth. Australian performers Tammy Anderson, Natasha Herbert, Niharika Senapati, Hazem Shammas and Daniel Schlusser join them.
Get your lederhosen and dirndl out of storage because Oktoberfest is once again upon us. It’s time to celebrate with beer and bratwurst and no one is more keen to kick off the party in Melbourne than Hofbräuhaus. From September 22 to October 27 Hofbräuhaus Melbourne is throwing an authentic, Oktoberfest celebration right in the heart of Chinatown (though you might mistake it for Munich). Starting with a huge opening party on September 22, Hofbräuhaus has lined up all the Oktoberfest must-haves. There will be boutique Bavarian beers, traditional Oktoberfest food (think pork knuckle, sausages and crumbed-to-order schnitzel), Bavarian music, traditional dancers and feast platters to share with your freunde (friends). Oktoberfest 2018 also marks the 50th year of Hofbräuhaus Melbourne, so they’re throwing in a few little extras on their September 22 Oktoberfest launch party. Test your Oktoberfest spirit with a stein-carrying competition where the person who can carry the most skeins (without dropping any!) will be rewarded with a free 300ml bier every time they come to Hofbräuhaus Melbourne for a whole year. If you’re not so steady with the steins don’t worry – the launch party will also crown an Oktoberfest duke or duchess who will not only win their own year’s supply of beer, but have the honour of tapping the keg during the launch party as well as a free feast and ceramic stein. For your chance to become Oktoberfest royalty you’ll need to dine in before September 10, snap
More than 200 Roman artefacts from the British Museum's collection will be flown across the world for this exclusive exhibition in Canberra. A collection of rare jewellery pieces, statues and medallions from around 27 BC to 395 AD will be on show, depicting the life and times of the Roman era. The exhibition will use these objects to tell the story of how Rome became one of the largest cities in the world at the time, which was headed up by emperors who ruled large territories, and created architectural and historical monuments that are still around (and admired) today. To complement the historical objects, the exhibition will also have interactive sections, including tactile replicas, story telling displays and a digital colouring-in portrait. You can also wonder inside the Olfactorium, which recreates the different parts of the ancient Roman city by using an array of scents. On your visit, you'll also have the chance to enter a competition, where you can win a Roman holiday for two, including flights, airport transfers, accommodation and a tour of the Colosseum and ancient sites with an expert guide. Find out more about Rome: City and Empire.
When Queensland shakes off its not especially wintry chills, towns and cities around the state spring into step with food, culture and music up for grabs. Over the coming months Brisbane will uncover some of the greatest up-and-coming musical talent; the Gold Coast will be hauling supersized body parts and animals onto the sand; and Toowoomba will be unfurling brilliant carpets of flowers. September sees Brisbane turn on its biggest festival of the year with a back-to-back schedule of music and theatre performances, plus plenty of food and drink to sample. The event is well known for its Sunsuper Riverfire grand finale, which illuminates the city with pyrotechnic sparkles. Further up the coast, Bundy brings the house down with its Crush fest and proves culture and fun go hand-in-hand, and in Tropical North Queensland, Yarrabah unites the community with live music, food and a celebration of Indigenous culture. Suffice to say, all events are a gathering of energy and a showcase of the happy vibes of Queensland, where life is beautiful one day and perfect the next.
