How to spend a perfect 48 hours in Melbourne

If you can score a table, that is. Walk into Gimlet, the glamorously retooled Art Deco beauty Cavendish House on the corner of Russell and Flinders Lane and you’re whisked to another era, when people dressed for dinner and seafood arrived on silver platters. There are twinkling chandeliers and horseshoe-shaped booths, rippled glass and winking brass – and bless the amphitheatre-like tiered seating for making it easy to spy on the media-influencer-politico-celebutant faces flocking here like moths to a flame. Sigh. Andrew McConnell’s latest addition to his glittering restaurant portfolio (Cutler and Co, Cumulus Inc, Marion et al) is a full-throated celebration of occasion dining. The soul of a New York steakhouse spliced with the DNA of a Parisian bistro is pure restaurant classicism, with subtle mod-Oz flourishes carbon-dating it to the modern era.

It's been crowned as one of the best bars in the world, and we awarded it Best Casual Drinking Venue in Melbourne, so you know it must be pretty special. Caretaker's Cottage is a button-cute bluestone that is a time portal back to the ye olden days, nestled beside a resilient olive tree with origins dating back further than 1875. It's a bustling, albeit pint-sized public bar where you can feel part of Melbourne’s history, and its future, all at the same time. 

There is a reason The New York Times said Lune Croissanterie's croissants were "the best in the world". Lune croissants are almost mathematically perfect: crisp and golden with visible layers of delicate pastry. Come early if you want to nab a twice-cooked almond croissant or the lemon curd cruffins, piped to the gills with a tart curd and sprinkled with citrus sugar. One of the baristas takes coffee orders from the queue to the pastry service counter and by the time you pick a croissant or cruffin and have it served to you warm from the oven, your coffee will be ready. And if you don't feel like schlepping to Fitzroy, there is also an outpost on Flinders Lane in the city. 

Spend your late morning strolling around the historic (and free!) Abbotsford Convent. You can feel the weight of the past as soon as you step onto the grounds and look up at the gothic spires. It’s a hub for artists, makers, community radio broadcasters and teachers – as well as a beautiful place to explore. 

You definitely should spend some time checking out (and 'gramming) Melbourne's famed street art. The best place to start looking for jaw-dropping murals is Hosier Lane, opposite Federation Square and joining Flinders Lane with Flinders Street. From there walk to Centre Place (off Flinders Lane between Elizabeth Street and Swanston Street). A few more blocks and you'll find ACDC Lane (off Flinders Lane between Exhibition and Russell streets). From there it's a 10-minute stroll to Croft Alley, which is definitely worth checking out.

Every time is party time at Section 8, a bar in a converted shipping container loaded with booze, good-looking hipsters and enough intriguing graffiti to fill a whole other laneway. The drinks selection is solid and ranges from top-shelf spirits to longnecks. The crowd skews young and is heavy on arty types - Section 8 is one of the CBD’s best spots for people watching and there’s a see-and-be-seen element to any night here. It’s a popular venue for DJs and MCs and is busy – and loud – most nights.

Around the corner from Section 8, you'll find yourself in Chinatown – and there are few restaurants in the district with as long a pedigree as Supper Inn. The menu is long. As in really, really long, but among the best dishes are the congee with chicken, flecked with ginger; whole steamed flounder; sizzling chilli quail; hotpot with pork; and the roasted suckling pig with the sweetest meat and skin like chewy, salty toffee. Plus, Supper Inn is open until 2.30am, so you can rock up late and still take your time. 

With a huge number of stalls selling clothes, accessories and other bric-a-brac, the markets have evolved into more than just the place to get your weekly shop. Cafés line the market's outskirts and are usually heaving with brunchers every weekend. Swing by for to take in the sights, sounds and smells and grab a coffee and a hot jam doughnut before you leave. 

Make your way to one of the most beautiful oases in Melbourne: the Royal Botanic Gardens. Located on the city’s fringe, this expansive garden is home to a cool 8,500 plant species, zen lakes and lush lawns. It's free to enter. Once you've finished your brekky, stretch your legs and take in the verdant scenery. The camellia collection is one of the world’s best, with more than 950 different types; Fern Gully recreates a cool forest, which showcases many fern species; and the Tropical Glasshouse is filled with colourful flowers and palms. 

Emerge from the gardens refreshed and ready to take on Australia's oldest and most popular art museum, the National Gallery of Victoria (universally called the NGV). The permanent collection includes a Rembrandt, a Bonnard and a Tiepolo. The ground floor is where you'll usually find the gallery's major exhibitions, and it's also where you'll find the magnificent, boiled lolly-like stained glass ceiling in the Great Hall. Upstairs you've got the permanent collections, as well as the smaller visiting exhibitions. Visiting exhibitions usually cost money, but the permanent collection is free. Check out the NGV's shop, too, for some killer gifts.

Brunetti is a Melbourne institution – a triple threat café, bar and restaurant where you could pass the whole day, going from meal to meal and then browsing the pastries and cakes in the interim hours. The décor harks back to 1950s and ‘60s Italy, with a dedicated gelato bar, a bunch of whirring coffee machines, a mini paninoteca serving sandwiches and deli eats, and a massive mural of a bustling Italian square by illustrator Filipe Jardim. Get yourself a treat, lunch or just a coffee (be honest, though, you're going to get the treat), people watch and stretch out that museum back.