Things to do in Melbourne today

Ever wondered what it was like when dinosaurs roamed the earth? Now’s your chance to find out. Round up the kids these school holidays and head to DinoFest at Nortons Park in Wantirna South for a fully immersive, family-friendly experience where you can get up close to the big and exciting creatures.  Join a DinoFest Ranger for a 45-minute Dinosaur Encounter through the Mesozoic era, complete with all your childhood favourites including roaring Triceratops, towering Stegosauruses and of course, the most fearsome dinosaurs of all: the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex. Along the way, you’ll pick up fascinating dino facts like how the giant T. Rex was once the size of a dog. The kids can even get their hands dirty with a 'Dino Dig', themed arts and crafts, and ‘feel a fossil’ with real dinosaur bones. Once you’ve had the chance to meet more than 30 life-like, moving dinosaurs (including cute baby dinos), refuel at the coffee and food trucks before continuing on at one of the many activities on offer. Kids can unearth fossils at the Dino Dig, hold a real life-sized dinosaur bone at Feel a Fossil and then wrap up the day with some dino-themed arts and crafts. Dino Fest runs in 90-minute sessions daily during the school holidays from July 5–20. Tickets are $28 for adults and $26 for kids. Grab yours here. 

Looking for things to do now that the cool weather has set in? Rug up and head to the City of Casey, located just a 40-minute drive from the CBD, for its Winter Arts Festival from June 20 to July 20.  This celebration of creativity, community and colour is back for another year, with a jam-packed program of performances, installations, film screenings and workshops spotlighting local talent. Taking over multiple venues including Narre Warren’s creative hub Bunjil Place, the historic Old Cheese Factory and the expansive Wilson Botanic Garden, the program features a mix of free and ticketed events. Highlights include a crowd-pleasing production of the Broadway hit Mamma Mia!, performed by Windmill Theatre Company; an electric drag cabaret showcase from Queers of Concert; and live music covering everything from soul to pop by the talented South East Music students. Film buffs can catch a special screening of the heartwarming flick Memoir of a Snail, followed by an exclusive Q&A with the Oscar-winning filmmaker Adam Elliot – who just so happens to be a nearby Berwick local. There’s also Lost in Bunjil Place Plaza, a free art installation by Amanda Parer featuring giant, illuminated sculptures of endangered botanical species.  Families are well catered for, with a line-up of kid-friendly events and interactive theatre shows. These include The Owl’s Apprentice, a magical mix of shadow puppetry and physical theatre, and Imagine Live, a live-action musical adaptation of a beloved...

June 5 update: Surprise! Tickets to this event suddenly went on sale on the morning of June 5. Get in quick to nab yours via the website.  Choo choo! The Train of Lights is back on the tracks for 2025 and ready to captivate passengers with a magical winter journey through the Dandenong Ranges for a fourth year. Australia’s favourite steam train Puffing Billy will be your conductor for this trip that illuminates the natural beauty of the region with thousands of dazzling lights. When is Puffing Billy Train of Lights on for 2025? This enchanting winter journey is only on for just over two weeks from July 4 to July 20.  What to expect for Puffing Billy Train of Lights? The whole experience is a two-and-a-half hour round trip. Departing from Lakeside Station, you’ll be immersed in a spectacle of neon colours as acclaimed lighting specialists Resolution X (White Night, Melbourne Fashion Festival) brighten up the countryside with sparkles, rainbows and hypnotic patterns. The historic train will also be adorned with stunning visual effects, which will light up the trees, tracks and passing towns along the way.  Puffing Billy will chug along the historic narrow-gauge track to Gembrook Station where guests will disembark for a 55-minute stopover. Here, you can warm up by the crackling open firepits with hot chocolate and live acoustic music, and enjoy a sausage sizzle by the Rotary Club of Emerald and District. Make your night even more magical by pre-ordering a Puffing Billy...

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...

Winter is here but that doesn’t mean you and the family need to stay at home. Rug up and head west to Grazeland to find your fave foodie precinct utterly transformed into a winter wonderland that will impress both kids and the young at heart. Each weekend from July 4 to 20, the epic culinary playground will be decked out with dreamy white snow, neon lights and cosy vibes.  As the days get shorter and the temps drop to new lows, there’s never been a better excuse to venture out and have a cosy night by the river. Warm up with mulled wine by the fire pits and dig into a diverse array of international eats, including aromatic laksa, New Orleans-style chicken, chicken satay rice, Turkish gozleme, dumplings and epic mac and cheese plates. Craving dessert? Try a winter-friendly warm apple pie or street crepes to finish your meal on a sweet note. With roving performers, live bands and interactive DJs providing plenty of entertainment, have a dance by the magical snow machine or treat the kids to a face painting session and playtime in the fun zones.   When it’s time to sit back and relax, warm up those mitts with a spice-infused mulled wine. Don't miss the kick-off Block Party event on Friday night, July 4, where Frosty the Snowman will be making an appearance and live sets will set the street party mood (no bookings required). Christmas may be far away yet, but when there’s an opportunity to have a white Christmas in July – we’ll take it! Looking for more fun things to see and...

Snakes have curled their way around mythology for millennia. Present in countless creation stories from Egyptian, Greek and Indian to Norse and First Nations cultures (including the Rainbow Serpent), the loaded symbolism of this coiled creature clasping its tail between its fangs – the ouroboros – evokes eternity.  Sometimes the serpent holds the world together. Other times, it’s a constricting chaos agent. Either way, the fireside nature of myths, oft-shared in storytelling sessions spun under the stars, is inherently unending, melding anew with each retelling. Tackled by everyone from Roman poets Virgil and Ovid to Canadian indie rockers Arcade Fire and Katee Robert’s queered novel, Midnight Ruin, the myth of Eurydice and her Orpheus finds new life in the hands of folk singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell. Her eight Tony Award-winning smash-hit musical Hadestown began life as a sung-through community project before she turned it into a concept album, and then a Broadway smash with help from director Rachel Chavkin. In most Greek tales, Eurydice and her Orpheus are happily married, torn apart by a cruel twist of fate: a viper’s bite (sometimes while pursued by toxic dudebro Aristaeus), not even a malicious god in disguise. As she fades into the Underworld, ruled over by Hades and his niece/abducted wife Persephone (!!!), a desolate Orpheus, son of a musical muse, plays his lyre like her life depends on it. Descending into the abyss and crossing the River Styx, he makes a...

When revolutionaries stormed and captured the Bastille fortress – which was used to imprison political and religious dissidents – on July 14, 1789, it was considered the start of the French Revolution and the beginning of the end for the French monarchy. That fateful day became known as Bastille Day, and celebrations are held annually all across France. If you're keen to join in on the fun, swap your beanie for a beret and head over to Queen Victoria Market on July 12-13 for the Bastille Day French Festival – now in its tenth year. Sheds C and D will transport you to a wintery French town square complete with vendors peddling cheeses, crêpes, Champagne and pastries (it wouldn't be a Gallic celebration without the scent of croissants in the air). While you feast, live entertainment like can-can dancers, mime artists, talented accordionists will take over the main stage.  Ticketed talks, walking tours and interactive masterclasses will also run over the two days – and if you can't make it in person, you can still tune into some Bastille Day-themed online events. Best of all, think of it as an opportunity to practice your French language skills amongst French expats, Francophones and Francophiles – oui, oui! For more information, visit the Bastille Day French Festival website. Craving French food now? Consult our guide to the best French restaurants in Melbourne.

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...

It’s time to dig out your winter woollies and make the drive to Ballarat, because Sovereign Hill is hosting an illuminated extravaganza this July. That’s right, the annual Winter Wonderlights program is back for another year and this edition promises to bring a bumper schedule of nighttime activities. Until July 27 (including the school holidays), the much-loved outdoor Gold Rush museum will once again transform into a whimsical winter wonderland, with dazzling new light installations, warming fires, cosy food and drink options, family-friendly activities, live music and more. Walking through a 19th-century town is always a fascinating experience, but the addition of Christmas music, faux snowfalls and glowing projections on the shopfronts of the main street takes the Sovereign Hill experience to a whole new level. If exploring after-dark works up an appetite, then warm up with a delicious two-course hearty meal at the Charlie Napier Hotel. Enjoy a festive serving of roast turkey and glazed ham with all the trimmings, followed by dessert.  Your Winter Wonderlights ticket includes entry into regular Sovereign Hill activities during both the day and evening. Book your tickets online here to avoid missing out. Looking to get lit in Melbourne? Here is everything illuminated and glowing in our city this winter.