Things to do in Melbourne today

Melbourne, start your engines. F1: The Exhibition has zoomed into town, marking its first-ever appearance in the Asia-Pacific region. After sell-out runs in Madrid, London and Amsterdam, the globally acclaimed show has made a pit stop at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, transforming it into an adrenaline-fuelled hub for motorsport fans. Part museum, part immersive experience, the exhibition will trace Formula 1’s past, present and future through six expansive galleries, with a seventh new section devoted to Australia’s own racing legends. Expect everything from championship-winning cars and rare memorabilia to video interviews and archive footage that captures the sport’s greatest rivalries and most spectacular victories. Visitors begin their journey in 'Once Upon a Time in Formula 1', charting seven-plus decades of drama before stepping inside 'Design Lab', a behind-the-scenes look at the factories of Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren. 'Drivers and Duels' pays tribute to legends like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, while 'Revolution by Design' explores how engineering innovation and human daring have continually pushed the limits. The exhibition’s emotional heart, 'Survival', displays the remains of Romain Grosjean’s scorched Haas car from his 2020 Bahrain crash, a stark reminder of the sport's danger. Visitors then arrive at 'The Pit Wall', a cinematic wrap-up that relives Formula 1’s most unforgettable moments. Melbourne’s edition adds...

Born just a year apart, Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo (the visionary behind Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market) couldn’t have come from more different worlds – but both knew how to tear up the fashion rulebook. Their designs dismantled ideas of beauty, gender and taste, and now Melbourne gets a world-first chance to see their radical vision side by side. Open now at the NGV, Westwood | Kawakubo is a showcase of more than 140 boundary-breaking designs. Many are drawn from the NGV’s own holdings – an extraordinary cache of 300-plus Kawakubo pieces and more than 100 by Westwood – making this one of the most important showcases of their work anywhere in the world.  The exhibition is arranged thematically, moving from punk’s anarchic spirit in the 1970s to the avant-garde silhouettes of today. Expect explorations of their shared obsessions with historical dress, radical cutting techniques and subversions of gender norms, alongside rare runway footage, archival photography and film. There are plenty of highlights: punk ensembles once worn by the Sex Pistols and Siouxsie Sioux; the tartan Anglomania gown famously modelled by Kate Moss; Sarah Jessica Parker’s wedding dress from Sex and the City: The Movie; Rihanna’s sculptural ‘petal dress’ from the Met Gala; and key Comme des Garçons collections like Body Meets Dress – Dress Meets Body (SS97) and Uncertain Future (SS25). A centrepiece gallery pits Westwood’s sweeping 18th-century ballgowns against Kawakubo’s...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Melbourne, and to help us ring in the festive season, the City of Melbourne has announced the return of its merry, month-long Christmas Festival. From November 28 to December 25, our city will come alive with family-friendly (and mostly free!) events that are sure to turn any Grinch into a believer.  The Christmas cheer begins with the lighting of our beloved 17.5 metre tree in Fed Square on November 28. Wander around to see tons of baubles and decorations adorning everything from Bourke Street Mall to Melbourne Town Hall.  The festive fun includes the supersized Crown Christmas River Show lighting up Southbank each night with laser lights and projections; the iconic Myer Christmas Windows at Bourke Street Mall (with a Lego-themed display); Santa and a crew of stand-up paddleboarders making their way down the Yarra; Christmas films and bubble shows at the Capitol; and choirs at City Square every Thursday evening. Our tip: check out the 12 Days of Christmas, a new trail through our laneways with an Aussie twist on a classic carol. Oh, and the best part? Most of the attractions are free, aside from the bubble show and Christmas Cinema. Find out more here.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox. Looking for more festive activities? These are the best places to Christmas lights in Melbourne.

We're just as sad as you are that cherry blossom season is over, but the good news is that it heralds the start of the cherry-picking season. And if you can't get enough of those sweet and juicy red morsels, then make your way to CherryHill Orchards this summer to pick and eat as many cherries as your heart desires. This year's cherry-picking season will kick off on November 10 at CherryHill's 40-hectare orchard in Coldstream. On November 24, CherryHill's original orchard in Wandin East will follow suit and open its gates to eager pickers.  Sessions last for two hours, and cherries are charged per kilogram – trust us when we say these are some of the largest, sweetest cherries going around. But as you're picking, feel free to eat as many as you like! The fun doesn't stop at picking cherries; the orchard will host on-site food trucks and stalls hawking food and cherry-flavoured products. On top of the famed cherry ice cream, you can also shop pantry goods like cherry vinaigrette, cherry syrup, cherry barbecue sauce and cherry glaze. You can also bring your own picnic, or pre-order a box of goodies to enjoy on the orchard grounds. And if you visit on a weekend or public holiday, you'll be treated to the sweet sounds of live tunes performed by a rotating line-up of local musos. The cherry-picking festival will run until late December at the Coldstream orchard, and until early January at the Wandin East orchard. For more information and to book your spot head to the CherryHill...

Ho, ho, ho! Meblbourne's beloved Christmas Wonderland event is back, bigger and more festive than ever. This family-friendly event is running from November 28 to December 24 at Caulfield Racecourse. The tinsel-filled extravaganza will delight the littlies, with a line-up of fun activities to enjoy, including a roller skating rink, carnival games, jumping castles, a craft village, gingerbread house decorating, storytelling and even a live Care Bears show. Kids will also be able to write a letter to Santa, and post it at the North Pole Post Office. There will be all kinds of characters to meet and grab photos with, including elves, Rudolph, the Grinch, Mrs Claus and even the big man in red himself (so you better make sure you've been on his nice list!). This immersive, walk-through experience runs for three hours and refreshements (both hot and cold food) will be available on-site. For more information and to purchase tickets, head to the website. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox. Looking for more ways to celebrate Christmas in Melbourne? Check out this festive guide. 

From Marilyn Monroe’s fringed black dress in Some Like It Hot to Elton John’s Louis XIV–inspired birthday suit (complete with the powdered wig and train), the diva has always known how to turn getting dressed into an art form. Enter Diva, the debut exhibition at the Australian Museum of Performing Arts (AMPA). This is a glittering celebration of the artists who’ve shaped pop culture, music and fashion through imagination, talent – and, of course, by being a total diva. Charting the 19th-century opera goddesses and silent film stars to today’s global megastars, the exhibition will showcase the rise of the diva by going behind the sequins to reveal the cultural power and artistry of some of the world’s most captivating performers.  Presented by Arts Centre Melbourne and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), this Australian exclusive brings together more than 250 objects, including 60 spectacular costumes, jewellery, photography and handwritten lyrics spanning opera, pop, punk and Hollywood. Expect a red-carpet roll call of icons: Maria Callas, Grace Jones, Cher, Prince, Madonna, Elton John, Tina Turner, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston, Billie Eilish and more. Australia’s own legends get their time on the red carpet, too — from Dame Nellie Melba and Peter Allen to Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton-John, Jessica Mauboy and Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers. Discover exquisite garments by Bob Mackie, Vivienne Westwood, Maison Margiela, Valentino and Christian Dior,...

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. 

The Immigration Museum on Flinders Street is all about leaning into what makes us happy. Enter Joy, a vibrant, playful exhibition that will run through until February 7, 2026. Joy features seven brand new commissioned installations from leading Victorian-based creatives, each expressing the artists’ own personal joy. You can expect an emotive adventure where colour and storytelling combine, and big happy moments that sit alongside more reflective ones. Experience the vibrant power of joy as you walk amongst room-sized interactive artworks, or contribute your own joy with the collaborative ‘share your joy’ wall. Venezuelan-born Australian artist Nadia Hernández has filled the Immigration Museum’s hallway with bold collage works, ‘future positive’ fashion designer Nixi Killick has created a ‘joy generator’ and queer artist Spencer Harrison has created a runway where you can strut your stuff. Jazz Money, a Wiradjuri poet and artist, has fused sculpture, audio and mural for a work reflecting the history of the museum site, while local artist Beci Orpin has taken over a room with a giant toy rabbit made to be hugged. Afghanistan-Australian visual artist and poet Elyas Alavi and Sher Ali have also created a large-scale mural illustrating a Persian myth.  Lastly, much-loved pop artist and designer Callum Preston has constructed a full-scale replica of a nineties video store, a joy he never thought he would miss until he realised it was gone. Entry to Joy is included in the...

Hands up if you were raised on The Sims? Us too. Or maybe you were a dedicated Neopets fan, or obsessed with World of Warcraft. Perhaps you're currently glued to your Switch playing Hollow Knight: Silksong. Whatever your connection to video games, it's safe to say most of us have picked up a controller at some point in our lives and been captivated by what appeared on the screen. Enter ACMI's incredible new exhibition, Game Worlds. Running until February 8, this blockbuster celebration of video games will transport you into the worlds of more than 30 iconic titles, including Final Fantasy XIV Online, Minecraft, Doom and Stardew Valley. Also featured are classics like Maze War and Zork, fan faves with cult followings like The Elder Scrolls Online, and new releases like Guardian Maia. Spanning games from the 1970s right through to this year, you'll be able to check out rare concept art, original design materials, early hands-on protoypes and so much more. There are 44 fully playable experiences (think Celeste speedruns on two huge screens), and four new microgames by emerging and established Aussie game developers have been specially commissioned for the exhibition.  There will also be after-dark sessions, developer talks, themed fan events and and plenty more. And as much as Game Worlds is about exploring how video games are designed, built and experienced, it's also an opportunity to spotlight the community and the friendships that are forged within these immersive digital...

Almost a decade ago, metal detectorists in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, went hunting for lost treasure. To their amazement, they would go on to discover the richest collection of Viking Age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland in a ploughed field. The Galloway Hoard has been hailed as a remarkable discovery, with more than 100 gold, silver, glass, crystal and earthenware objects being uncovered.  Now, everything from piles of silver arm rings to gold-mounted rock crystal jars are heading Down Under, and for the first time ever in Australia, you will be able to see the most important Viking Age discoveries of the 21st century up close at the Melbourne Museum. The Galloway Hoard dates to around AD 900, a period of intense cultural and political upheaval. The collection was buried in four parcels and includes more than 100 astonishing objects, from silver bullion and intricately worked jewellery to items that reveal trade routes stretching as far as Central Asia. Some of the pieces – including recently deciphered runic inscriptions – are still rewriting what we know and understand about the Viking Age today. Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard is a travelling exhibition, developed by National Museums Scotland, that showcases years of painstaking conservation and cutting-edge research. Intricate details, hidden inscriptions and newly uncovered mysteries are revealed for the first time outside the UK. To mark the opening weekend, Dr Martin Goldberg, principal...