The best things to do in Melbourne this weekend

The Mornington Peninsula, Great Ocean Road and Yarra Valley Chocolateries are famous for their month-long festival dedicated to hot chocolate in all its irresistible forms, and this year’s no different. A total of 31 limited-edition flavours will be available to try throughout August, with decadent options loaded with everything from boozy truffles to choc-lined ice cream cones. Some of the flavours already revealed include Sweet Berry Tacos, a berry-infused hot chocolate accompanied by a sponge taco filled with white chocolate ganache and fresh fruit for dunking; and Dubai Sphere, which features a pistachio marshmallow sphere filled with Dubai chocolste crème that can be dropped into your steaming-hot bevvie. Heaven! Each steamy creation is barista-made with a shot of either dark, milk, white, ruby or caramelised warm couverture chocolate, and served in a large glass with a giant fluffy marshmallow and a selection of artisan ingredients.  “Our annual Hot Chocolate Festival has become a real feature on the calendar for our three Chocolateries, and we’ve loved coming up with even more over-the-top creations and experiences this year,” says head chocolatier, Allan Grandjean.     Can’t decide on just one hot choccie? Then the tasting sessions have your name on it. At $28 per person, it’s an opportunity to sample eight different flavours. You'll also get the chance to flex your culinary chops by choosing from 50 different ingredients to make three bespoke creations....

What’s better than gorging yourself on scones, finger sandwiches and Champagne at a regular high tea? Gorging yourself on piles and piles of cheese at the Westin’s un-brie-lievable High Cheese event, of course. Yes, the insanely successful event is back at the Westin's Allegro Restaurant for another year, and we turophiles couldn't be more thrilled. The idea for High Cheese first crystallised a few years ago when the Westin's executive chef at the time, Michael Greenlaw, teamed up with Anthony Demia from Maker and Monger to bring a series of cheeses together in both sweet and savoury dishes. Years later, the much-loved tradition continues. In 2025, the indulgent menu has been curated in collaboration with renowned cheese masters, brother-sister duo the Studd Siblings and vino legends Zonzo Estate. Ellie and Sam Studd, both members of the International Guilde des Fromagers and Certified Cheese Professionals, have joined forces with the Westin's executive chef, Apoorva Kunte, to curate an enticing three-tiered selection of dairy-licious treats. We're listening... Each creation showcases the finest quality cheese from around the world, with each tier crafted to highlight bold flavour, balance and technique. Highlights from the menu include Aphrodite Barrel aged organic fetta with tomato and lychee tartare, Woombye triple cream brie with pickled beetroot and raspberry almond pesto, and a shared baked Le Conquérant camembert with thyme and garlic. Yum! And a high tea wouldn't...

Melbourne's favourite illuminated event is back again for a fourth year, with more than 20 dazzling new light installations to meander through in wonderment. From June 20 to August 10, take a nighttime stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens and experience luminous pathways, lit-up tree canopies, soothing soundscapes and more spectacular sights. For the upcoming season, you can expect a reimagined 2.2km trail accompanied by stunning lakeside reflections, large-scale illuminated sculptures and other wonders, with more than 100,000 tiny lights on display. Expect 2025 highlights to be huge illuminated canopy of flowers and the mesmerising 'lawn of light'. Most importantly, you'll also be able to grab a bite to eat and warming drinks, like hot chocolate and mulled wine, at the Welcome Zone or along the trail. They say that Melbourne is at its best in winter and events like Lightscape, where you can rug up and join friends for a magical experience, are a big reason why. Adult tickets start at $36 and are available through the website – be quick as they tend to go fast.  Want more? Check out the best things happening in Melbourne this week.

Way back when Tim Burton was a much weirder filmmaker, my wee brother and I were unreasonably thrilled by the chaos engine of awfully bad behaviour that was Michael Keaton’s unhinged and unwashed demon, Betelgeuse.  The grotty stripe-suited monster ate up the 1988 film of not quite the same name – the studio figured folks would stay away unless the title was simplified to Beetlejuice. Named after the red supergiant star blazing ferociously in the constellation of Orion, some 600 light years from our solar system, Betelgeuse is an outcast from the hilariously bureaucratic afterlife, aka the Netherworld. Which leaves him preying on the naïve recently deceased, like sweet young couple Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), in an attempt to crowbar open the sort of ridiculous loophole the Greek gods are fond of. Say his – apparently too complex – name three times and he’ll be unleashed on the mortal coil once more.  But Betelgeuse’s sleazy attentions are soon distracted by Winona Ryder’s goth child Lydia, when she reluctantly moves into Adam and Barbara’s now-empty house with her dad, Charles (disgraced actor Jeffrey Jones), and his new squeeze, OTT sculptor Delia (fabulously demented goddess Catherine O’Hara). A smash hit, Beetlejuice is a wild and unruly thing writhing with unhinged ideas, from its stop-animated black and white sand worms to characters shrunk into a model of sleepy town Winter River, and on to the hilariously-depicted dead of the surreal...

It’s not uncommon for theatre productions to cast teenage characters a good bit older, body-swerving labour laws limiting the amount of time a young performer is on stage, and rightly so. At least the audience’s distance, unless you forked out for exxy tickets, allows hand-waving fuzz. When Ben Platt was cast in the Tony Award-winning Broadway run of Dear Evan Hansen, he could just about pass for 20. Not so much when he also played the high schooler in the big screen adaptation while closer to 30. So if you go in cold to MTC’s latest Tony-festooned Broadway import, Kimberly Akimbo, you might find yourself blinking for a moment at 60-something soprano and musical theatre matriarch Marina Prior doing so. But there’s an in-show explanation. Her titular character, Kimberly Levaco, is an old soul in a 16-year-old’s body, one that’s rapidly aging at four times the normal rate because of a rare genetic condition.Jaunty opening number ‘Skater Planet’, set at the local ice rink, establishes her outsider status. “It’s Saturday night and I’m the new girl, so I get to start from scratch… Sure, tonight I’m getting looks, but tomorrow they might see me.” The theys are a quartet of Bergen County, New Jersey, teenagers who look the part: Delia (Allycia Angeles), who secretly fancies Teresa (Alana Iannace), who quietly digs Martin (Marty Alix), who’s pining for Aaron (Jacob Rozario), who in turn only has eyes for Delia.  An adorkably awkward gang, they aren’t in touch with their feelings...

French Impressionism is host to arguably some of the most famous (and most loved) artists of all time. Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Van Gogh and Degas are just some of the artists who achieved such acclaim that they remain household names even a century after their deaths. And this winter, you can see some of the artist's most beautiful and well-known works right here in Melbourne at the NGV's new exhibition, French Impressionism: From the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. From June 5 to October 5, 2025, the NGV will host more than 100 French Impressionist works by artists like Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne and Mary Cassatt – including works never before seen in Australia. The exhibition is running in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which is well regarded for its collection of French Impressionist masterpieces.    A highlight is the display of 16 canvases in one gallery, painted over a 30-year period, by Claude Monet. These works depict many of Monet’s most beloved scenes of nature in Argenteuil, the Normandy coast, the Mediterranean coast and his famous garden in Giverny.  One of the best things about this exhibition is that you will also learn the stories of the artists, exhibitions and collectors that shaped this significant movement in art history. Originally brought to the NGV back in 2021, this exhibition had to close just after it opened due to (yep, you guessed it), the...

Get your wands at the ready, because Melbourne is set to play host to the Australian premiere of Harry Potter: The Exhibition. This behind-the-scenes extravaganza will leave Potterheads spellbound, and features interactive recreations of famous film scenes, props and costumes from the Broadway production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a multimedia experience featuring the Whomping Willow, dementors, the Marauder's Map and the chance to conjure a Patronus charm. Budding witches and wizards will be sorted into Hogwarts houses and earn points as they explore the exhibition – it could be through a potions class, predicting the future à la Professor Trelawney in Divination or defeating a boggart in Defence Against the Dark Arts. There will also be opportunities to practice spell casting and Quidditch skills, plus win golden snitch medallions to become a model student. Each experience comes with plenty of photo ops and, of course, magical interactive moments. There's even a recreation of the Great Hall for visitors to enjoy in all its splendour, complete with floating candles.  This official Harry Potter exhibition is part of a global tour, previously selling out in cities like Boston and Madrid. You can find out more about this enchanting experience via the website.  Looking for more family-friendly things to do? Here's our guide to the best activities for kids in Melbourne. 

Admired worldwide for its elegant silhouette and intricate details, the kimono has been an integral, yet constantly evolving, pillar of Japanese fashion for hundreds of years. The iconic straight-cut wrap with matching belt (obi) first appeared in the Heian period (784-1185) alongside the shifting of the island nation’s seat of government to Kyoto. Originally worn by working class people, they were practical and simple, but soon became ubiquitous, adopted by nobility, warriors and everyday folks alike.When Japan opened its borders to the world in the mid-19th century, stunning examples made their way out across the globe. In turn, fashion designers began putting their spin on the national dress. They’re not frozen in time at home, either, with contemporary Japanese designers throwing out the rule book and adapting the look to take it in exciting new directions, as well as honouring tradition in unique ways.  If your budget can’t quite stretch as far as a trip to Japan right now, then the next best thing is winding your way towards St Kilda Road’s NGV International instead. Dazzling exhibition Kimono, on display until October 5, showcases the extraordinary range of the once-humble outfit.  There are 70 beautiful examples on show, including seven newly acquired silk and ramie kimono, once belonging to samurai and merchant families, that date back to the Edo period (1603-1867). You’ll be able to learn about the layers of meaning stitched into recurring motifs like the eternal...

You might think water parks and winter don't mix (especially down here in Victoria). But Geelong's Adventure Park isn't letting a little cold weather stop it from providing Victorians with a good time – in fact, it's provided a little inspiration.  Adventure Park's Winter Glow event is bringing lights, fire, ice and snow to the amusement park this winter. The festival (which is running until August 9) features fire twirling, ice sculptures and 3.3 million lights that will twinkle all around the park along a two-kilometre trail. While real snow might be a rare sight in Geelong, there will be a huge snow play zone (the largest outside of the ski resorts) where kids can make snowmen and snow angels  –warm gloves, gumboots and jackets are recommended!  Eight theme park rides are included in entry, including the Tea Cups, Air Balloons, Crazy Coaster, Wave Swinger, Grand Carousel, Red Baron, Little Buggy Speedway and Ferris Wheel (what a way to see the park all lit up). Face painting and marshmallow toasting will be on offer for the kids, while adults can enjoy a spiked hot chocolate, mulled wine or spiced cider. And lots of delicious novelty food items available to dine on, too. Winter Glow is on at Adventure Park until August 9. Find out more here. Keen for more winter fun? Here are the best things to do in July.

It’s lights, camera, action for the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) this August, when a red carpet will be rolled out for a massive eighteen days of cinematic revelry. The festival celebrates Australian and international filmmaking with a program of more than 275 films. With so much to see, we've cut through the curtain to unveil everything you need to know.   What is the Melbourne International Film Festival? Now in its 73rd year, MIFF is one of the oldest film festivals in the world, alongside Cannes and Berlin. The annual festival is held over three weeks each year throughout Melbourne and surrounds. Founded in 1952, the festival presents a curated global program of screen experiences and the world's largest showcase of Australian filmmaking.  When is the Melbourne International Film Festival? Running between August 7 and 24, MIFF will include 18 days of bold in-cinema programming with star-studded events, world premiere screenings, headline features and filmmaker talks.  What sort of things can we expect from the program? Drumroll, please! The full MIFF line-up has just dropped, and let's just say it's getting a standing ovation (Cannes style, of course) from us. The 2025 program will feature more than 275 screen works – including both international and local picks – alongside a curated schedule of talks, panels and special events.  Kicking things off with a bang on August 7 is the Opening Night Gala Feature Film: If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, by...