Max your summer in Melbourne

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. It will be apparating into Melbourne on April 4, with tickets on sale now. 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. 

Attention, sweet tooths: the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie, Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Mornington Peninsula Chocolaterie are bringing back the annual Rocky Road Festival this May. It’s predicted that more than a whopping 100,000 handmade blocks will be churned out across the 31 days, using a base recipe that’s every rocky road lover’s match made in heaven: fluffy housemade marshmallow and smoother-than-satin couverture chocolate. You'll be able to sample something new, get your hands on a made-to-order one-kilogram block or try a kooky creation at one of the interactive tasting sessions.  How does a rocky road hot chocolate or ice cream sundae sound? There will also be a special limited-edition dessert menu inspired by the classic Aussie treat. The European chocolatiers plan to rock your palate with 31 distinct festival flavours, including Dubai chocolate, Biscoff honeycomb, caramel Toblerone, mango chipotle, peanut butter pretzel and many more. Those with the unfortunate dual diagnosis of an intolerance and a sweet tooth are in luck. Vegan and gluten-free creations will be available for tasting across the three chocolateries so nobody needs to miss out. Could it get any sweeter?  Click through to the website here for more information. Those who can’t venture out to the Yarra Valley, Surf Coast and Mornington Peninsula can get their fill of the festival’s chocolates straight to their door thanks to a delivery service.   Looking for more things to do? Check out our...

May the 4th is a special date for any Star Wars fan, but this year it'll be one to remember. A brand-new Lego Star Wars exhibition is making its world premiere, and it won't be in a galaxy far, far away but right here in Melbourne.  Lego Star Wars: the Exhibition at Melbourne Museum comes from revered Lego genius Ryan 'Brickman' McNaught, who's back with his latest mind-boggling project of massive Star Wars brick creations – some standing at a whopping four metres tall.  There'll be Lego replicas of many of the iconic characters, fan favourite scenes, spacecraft and more, from both the classic films and newer releases. Plus, the exhibition will include interactive brick-based activities inclusive of all ages.  While there's still some time to wait for the exhibition opening, building has already begun, and it's expected it'll take more than 25,000 hours to finish and use a wild 8 million Lego bricks. One of the most monumental creations is a three-metre-tall red X-wing spacecraft, made of an astonishing 64,759 bricks, taking 382 hours to build.  "Fans will be blown away by the scale of the experience," Brickman says. "Building these iconic scenes and characters in Lego Star Wars form is an extremely complex task – taking the humble Lego brick and using it by the millions to translate into Star Wars builds and models at an epic scale the world has never seen before.  "My team and I are super excited to launch this mind-blowing experience right here in Melbourne. My inner...

If you love playing dress-up and have wondered what life was like back in the golden era of the Victorian Goldfields region, then dust off your tweed jacket and drive up for the Ballarat Heritage Festival. The nine-day festival takes place from May 16 to 25 and features a program jam-packed with historic experiences, with a thrilling addition of aviation joy rides this year, as well as the classic steam train shuttles, delicious food and drink experiences plus much more.  We hope you've been oiling your facial hair because the annual beard and moustache competition is one of the festival's major events. Got a perfectly styled moustache, or a luscious beard? Head to Hop Temple on May 24 for your chance at the hairy crown, and for craft beer and delicious food as you await the results. Over both weekends of the festival, a selection of some of the region's finest makers will gather for the Craft Lab to share their heritage trades, traditional practices, lost skills and cultural rituals. You'll get an opportunity to try first-hand the practices of crafts like weaving, knife making, silverwork and more, and you can listen in on talk and panel discussions with passionate makers. New to the festival this year is the exciting addition of Entertainment of the Air, a celebration of air travel, with special events and performances at the local airport and aviation museum. Plus, airplane enthusiasts have the chance to go on joyride flights on vintage airliners. And it wouldn't be a...

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. It will be apparating into Melbourne on April 4, with tickets on sale now. 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. 

Attention, sweet tooths: the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie, Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Mornington Peninsula Chocolaterie are bringing back the annual Rocky Road Festival this May. It’s predicted that more than a whopping 100,000 handmade blocks will be churned out across the 31 days, using a base recipe that’s every rocky road lover’s match made in heaven: fluffy housemade marshmallow and smoother-than-satin couverture chocolate. You'll be able to sample something new, get your hands on a made-to-order one-kilogram block or try a kooky creation at one of the interactive tasting sessions.  How does a rocky road hot chocolate or ice cream sundae sound? There will also be a special limited-edition dessert menu inspired by the classic Aussie treat. The European chocolatiers plan to rock your palate with 31 distinct festival flavours, including Dubai chocolate, Biscoff honeycomb, caramel Toblerone, mango chipotle, peanut butter pretzel and many more. Those with the unfortunate dual diagnosis of an intolerance and a sweet tooth are in luck. Vegan and gluten-free creations will be available for tasting across the three chocolateries so nobody needs to miss out. Could it get any sweeter?  Click through to the website here for more information. Those who can’t venture out to the Yarra Valley, Surf Coast and Mornington Peninsula can get their fill of the festival’s chocolates straight to their door thanks to a delivery service.   Looking for more things to do? Check out our...

May the 4th is a special date for any Star Wars fan, but this year it'll be one to remember. A brand-new Lego Star Wars exhibition is making its world premiere, and it won't be in a galaxy far, far away but right here in Melbourne.  Lego Star Wars: the Exhibition at Melbourne Museum comes from revered Lego genius Ryan 'Brickman' McNaught, who's back with his latest mind-boggling project of massive Star Wars brick creations – some standing at a whopping four metres tall.  There'll be Lego replicas of many of the iconic characters, fan favourite scenes, spacecraft and more, from both the classic films and newer releases. Plus, the exhibition will include interactive brick-based activities inclusive of all ages.  While there's still some time to wait for the exhibition opening, building has already begun, and it's expected it'll take more than 25,000 hours to finish and use a wild 8 million Lego bricks. One of the most monumental creations is a three-metre-tall red X-wing spacecraft, made of an astonishing 64,759 bricks, taking 382 hours to build.  "Fans will be blown away by the scale of the experience," Brickman says. "Building these iconic scenes and characters in Lego Star Wars form is an extremely complex task – taking the humble Lego brick and using it by the millions to translate into Star Wars builds and models at an epic scale the world has never seen before.  "My team and I are super excited to launch this mind-blowing experience right here in Melbourne. My inner...

If you love playing dress-up and have wondered what life was like back in the golden era of the Victorian Goldfields region, then dust off your tweed jacket and drive up for the Ballarat Heritage Festival. The nine-day festival takes place from May 16 to 25 and features a program jam-packed with historic experiences, with a thrilling addition of aviation joy rides this year, as well as the classic steam train shuttles, delicious food and drink experiences plus much more.  We hope you've been oiling your facial hair because the annual beard and moustache competition is one of the festival's major events. Got a perfectly styled moustache, or a luscious beard? Head to Hop Temple on May 24 for your chance at the hairy crown, and for craft beer and delicious food as you await the results. Over both weekends of the festival, a selection of some of the region's finest makers will gather for the Craft Lab to share their heritage trades, traditional practices, lost skills and cultural rituals. You'll get an opportunity to try first-hand the practices of crafts like weaving, knife making, silverwork and more, and you can listen in on talk and panel discussions with passionate makers. New to the festival this year is the exciting addition of Entertainment of the Air, a celebration of air travel, with special events and performances at the local airport and aviation museum. Plus, airplane enthusiasts have the chance to go on joyride flights on vintage airliners. And it wouldn't be a...

Whether you’re yet to grace restaurateur Chris Lucas’ opulent Society with a visit or you’re a die-hard dinnertime loyalist, it’s well worth a look in for a weekend lunch. From Friday to Sunday in the afternoons, the swish restaurant is hosting the Society Social, an extravagant multi-course affair featuring a generous array of savoury dishes and a roving dessert trolley to dazzle you at the end.  The offering was inspired by Lucas’ recent adventures in Paris and New York, cities where palatial dining rooms reign supreme and lunch is a social occasion in and of itself. Expect a fine dining experience but with a casual, unstuffy air and minus the enormous price tag (it costs just $77 per person for your choice of two courses or $99 if you opt for a third). You’ll start with artisanal housemade bread and butter and a rainbow of market-fresh crudité hand-picked daily from local farms. Opt for a crisp disc of radish dunked into taramasalata or a tree-like cauliflower bud smothered with smoked eggplant or crème fraiche. Repeat and relish the lavish assortment of textures and flavours before easing into your meal with one of Society’s signature drinks – or a bottle of Champers to make it a long and lazy one.  If you’ve got your eye on another varietal, just ask for the beverage director Loic Avril and his team of sommeliers, one of which will assist you in selecting the perfect drop from the impressive 10,000-bottle cellar. A selection of Society’s cult favourite snacks follow,...