Get us in your inbox

Search

We're sorry, we can't find the page that you're looking for

We have either moved the page or it no longer exists. To help you find your way, here are some search results we think may be of interest.

Advertising
  • Travel
  • Transport & Travel

Regional Victoria has no shortage of amazing natural wonders to enjoy, and now one of the state's most awe-inspiring attractions is about to begin welcoming back visitors after crazy rainfall across the Christmas period forced it to close.  Located in East Gippsland, Buchan Caves truly have to be seen to be believed. The site features two underground caverns that comprise elaborate limestone sculptures, pools, stalactites and stalagmites that came to be naturally over thousands of years. Researchers believe the caves date back to the Devonian period, which was about 400 million years ago – whoa! The caves were formed by underground rivers cutting through layers and layers of limestone rock.  Unfortunately, when Victoria experienced the insane rain deluge on Boxing Day last year, with 60 millimetres of rain falling in 30 minutes, it caused major damage to the surrounding nature reserve and road network. Parks Victoria was forced to shut the caves during peak tourist season, due to safety concerns. After a huge clean-up job, the attraction is set to reopen on Tuesday, March 26 – just in time for the Easter long weekend.  So if you've never been to this phenomenal natural wonder and you're looking for something to do on the upcoming long weekend, let this be our suggestion. It's a long road trip from Melbourne (about a five-hour drive), so if you can't make it quite that far, there are other spectacular natural caves across the state. If you're looking for more options for thing

  • Travel
  • Transport & Travel

Market shopping is a normal part of life for most Melburnians – we're lucky to have so much delicious produce grown right here in our bountiful country that it would be silly not to enjoy the literal fruits of our farmers' labour. We're blessed with so many incredible food markets across our city, from the famous Queen Victoria Market in the CBD to Dandenong Market in the outer 'burbs. These beloved favourites are super popular, but it turns out that if you're looking for a true gem of a market, you'd best travel further afield to the countryside. Grab your nanna trolleys, because a farmers market in a small regional Victorian town has been named as the top-rated market in the whole of Australia.  Creswick Market, located 120km from Melbourne near the regional hub of Ballarat, has taken out the title of the top market in the country – as rated by tourists. The rankings of the top markets for tourists in the country were determined by retail blog Merchant Machine, who analysed Tripadvisor reviews for listings tagged 'farmers market' or 'street/flea market' and ranked them by their percentage of five-star reviews. While Creswick Market may be little, it had the largest percentage of five star reviews Australia wide, with 72.8 per cent.  Situated in the picturesque, historic town of Creswick, this farmers market runs on the third Saturday of each month from 9am to 1pm. You'll find more than 90 specialist vendors, offering a variety of locally made goods ranging from food and pro

  • Things to do

Whether you're a first-time visitor to Melbourne or have lived here all your life, there are some absolute must-do Melbourne bucket list items that just can't be missed. And yes, we may be slightly biased in saying that Melbourne might be the greatest city on Earth – but we have the stats to back us up, with Melbourne consistently ranked among the world's most livable cities.  Melbourne's food, drink, coffee, art, theatre and sport culture are among the best in the world, and we reckon you should try to experience every single one of them at least once before you die. So here is our ultimate bucket list: 100 amazing things to do in Melbourne right now, plus attractions, great restaurants, bars, fun festivals and everything in between. Enjoy, and thank us later. For a deeper look into two of our greatest pastimes – eating and drinking – browse our guides to Melbourne's best restaurants and best bars. Need somewhere to stay? Check out Melbourne's best Airbnbs, or Melbourne's best hotels.

  • Restaurants

If you're feeling motivated to do more than sit at home and eat chocolate eggs and hot cross buns over the four-day long weekend, we've rounded up a list of cafés, bars and restaurants that will be open. Whether you're after a bougie brunch on Easter Sunday, a late-night snack on Good Friday or a cheeky drink on Saturday night, look no further than this list. For more Easter fun, check out our guide to the best hot cross buns in Melbourne. Plus, here's where you can buy booze on Good Friday.

  • Restaurants

March 2024: We Victorians are blessed with two long weekends (and shorter work weeks) in March, thanks to Labour Day and the Easter holidays. Why not make the most of your free time by catching up with friends or family over an A-grade meal at one of these top spots around Melbourne? Whether you've been waiting for a good time to revisit an old classic or you're keen to try somewhere new, this list is the ultimate place to start. The continually evolving and expanding dining scene in Melbourne is both a blessing and a curse: how do you choose between so many incredible restaurants? Well, that's where we come in. Stop endlessly scrolling, and commit to making your way through Time Out’s list of the best restaurants in the state right now. Our always-hungry local experts and editors have curated 2024's most delicious and divine, innovative and imaginative, comforting and familiar, memorable and magical dining experiences right here at your fingertips. From old favourites and culinary institutions such as Attica, Stokehouse and Flower Drum, to emerging standouts and instant icons such as Serai, Gimlet, Amaru and Reine and La Rue, we've got it all covered here.  Get out, and get eating! You've got a lot to get through!  Prefer a tipple-focused adventure? These are the best bars in Melbourne. Looking for a knock-out dining experience that won't break the bank? Look no further than our list of Melbourne's best cheap eats.

  • Things to do
  • City Life

If the high cost of living has been getting you down, it turns out you're more than justified in feeling blue. According to a new study, happiness has a dollar figure attached, and (spoiler alert!) it's quite expensive here in Australia. Researchers have calculated the exact amount of cash you need to be making to be happy while living in different places around the world, and Australia cracked the top three out of 164 nations. That's definitely not a list that we want to be ranking highly on. Apparently, to be 100 per cent happy Down Under, you need to be making a grand total of $121,191 USD – which equates to about $190,819 in AUD a year. It's an insanely high figure, and it certainly rules out most of us succeeding in the quest to buy happiness, as the median annual income for Aussies is only $52,338 AUD.  There is a method behind the madness of this inflated figure. Currency exchange website S Money used information from a Purdue University study to find the price of happiness in locations across the globe. The study focussed on the relationship between money and happiness, and concluded that a greater income generally improves people’s moods – but only to a certain point, which they refer to as 'income satiation'. Past this tipping point, the correlation between increased satisfaction and increased salary massively dwindles. It also took data from a Gallup World Poll, which surveyed a representative sample of 1.7 million people worldwide. With this in mind, they calculat

  • Restaurants
  • Bars & Pubs

Why settle for a drink when you can have a drink with a view? If there's anything we Melburnians are willing to climb plenty of stairs (or squeeze into a rickety lift) for, it's a hot rooftop bar. And now we can lay claim to having some of the best of them, thanks to a brand new ranking of the world's top sky-high drinking spots. Ten of our beloved rooftop bars nabbed a spot on the list, the result of an intensive study by Mandoe Media. The company analysed 703,289 online customer reviews from 997 bars across 135 global cities to come up with a definitive grading of the 200 best elevated watering holes on the planet. TripAdvisor ratings, drinks prices and Instagram shares were all taken into account, and the results are now in.  The highest Melbourne bar to rank on the list at number 15 was Fitzroy's very own Naked in the Sky, a rooftop haunt that boasts one of the best views of the city skyline and a perennially cracking vibe. Coming in at 41st place, Bomba is a funky Spanish tapas bar in the CBD that's particularly prized for its generous selection of vermouths.  Photograph: Vince Caligiuri Hot on Bomba's heels was another CBD-situated bar, Rooftop QT, which came in at 53rd place. The hip joint has recently entered a new era, thanks to a fresh new look and Mediterranean-inspired food and cocktails menu.  In 61st place was Rooftop Bar, located on the uppermost floor of Swanston Street's historic Curtin House and a favourite for Melburnians since it opened in 2006. This was

  • Things to do
  • City Life

Imagine this: it's a swelteringly hot day in Melbourne and you've made plans to explore the CBD. But instead of this sounding like a recipe for a sweat-drenched venture, you can beat the heat by taking a dip in the cool, clear waters of the Yarra River.  It sounds like an unrealistic fantasy, right? Well, a determined environmental group is on a mission to make it a reality, with a plan to restore the Birrarung waterway so that Melburnians can enjoy a leisurely swim right in the city centre.  The organisation behind this pipedream scheme is called Regen Melbourne, and they're working with researchers, environmental advocates, Indigenous leaders, engineers, entrepreneurs and environmentalists – all of whom are committed to the mission of making the Yarra River swimmable. While it would be easy to scoff at this project, the Regen Melbourne team willingly admits that it's "wild and ambitious", and that they are already on the path to making it happen.  Currently, city bylaws make swimming in the section of the river between Abbotsford and Port Phillip Bay, where the river flows to the sea, illegal. Not only that, but the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), which measures the water quality, states that the water isn't suitable for swimming until it winds out to Heidelberg. There is good reason for this: the waterway has been heavily polluted by rubbish, E. Coli bacteria and other nasties since colonial settlement. Despite this, Regen Melbourne is adamant that the CBD porti

  • Things to do
  • City Life

In news that is sure to make every Melburnian swell with pride, it has just been revealed that none other than High Street in the city’s inner north has been crowned the coolest street in the world right now. Yes, you read that right: lil’ old High Street, which weaves through the suburbs of Northcote, Thornbury and Preston, has landed in the number one position, stealing the crown from Hollywood Road in Hong Kong, East Eleventh in Austin, Guatemala Street in Buenos Aires and Commercial Drive in Vancouver (which rounded out the top five, respectively). Excuse us while we go shout it from the rooftops. To determine the rankings, Time Out reached out to its global team of local expert editors and contributors, who each made a case for the coolest street in their city. The selection was then narrowed down to create a definitive list of the best avenues, thoroughfares, backstreets and boulevards on the planet. Every street to make the cut represents a destination with exciting new ventures in food, drink, nightlife and culture, aka the coolest spots you’ll want to hang out this year. So what makes High Street so damn cool? This is a strip that has cemented its gold medal status thanks to an abundance of offerings that appeal to both locals and visitors alike. Craving the best lasagne of your life? You need 1800 Lasagne on speed dial. Keen to take in sweeping views of suburbia at sunset with a Spritz in hand? Head to Gigi Rooftop, a teeny spot accessible only via an espresso bar.

  • Things to do

Autumn is one of the most beautiful seasons, with deciduous leaves changing colour to warm, crackly hues before dropping to the ground. If you're keen to make the most of this fleeting season, here are the best parks and gardens in Victoria to visit to see the changing leaves. Want more outdoor adventures? Here are the best day hikes in Melbourne. And if you want to see the gorgeous waterfalls of our state at their absolute peak, we've compiled a list of absolute stunners.