The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
Australia (Perth & Melbourne) Itinerary Overview (2013). p.s. Read about our trip to Great Ocean Road! ▲ Transport Information | Perth ✈ Melbourne | ▲ Domestic Flight + Airport Shuttle Domestic Flight One could drive a long way from Perth to Melbourne, but if you don’t have …
Price? ~S$115/A$99 per night Accommodation Type: Airbnb Room, Ensuite Toilet (airbnb.com.sg/rooms/990963) When? 4 nights in October 2013 Our experience? We missed our flight to reach Melbourne at night, so we caught another midnight flight and reached the place very early in the morning. And even though, we had to trouble Wendy (the host) to …
Updated 5 July 2016
Finally Fitzroy! People don’t normally go to Fitzroy on their first Melbourne visit (Here are 11 places for first timers to explore in Melbourne (Part1), (Part 2)). However, I wanted to go to the Haji Lane of Melbourne, except Fitzroy was much bigger than expected.
Fitzroy was planned as Melbourne’s first suburb and after undergoing urban gentrification since the 1950s, it is now a historic preservation precinct. More than that, Fitzroy has retained a creative edge with its art galleries, studios and specialist bookshops, making it a hipster heaven.
We first took the free City Circle Tram and went to tour the Parliament. From there, we walked less than 1 km, about 10 minutes to reach Gertrude Street. Be sure to walk down Gertrude and Brunswick Streets and explore.
Along Gertrude Street, you’ll find bars, restaurants, boutiques, vintage wares, costume hire, cool barber shops and old-school pubs.
For those who love cooking or are simply foodies, there’s a bookshop just for you at 233 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy — ‘Books for Cooks’ (photo below). Otherwise you can also find other bookshops in Fitzroy.
They have prettily curated shops around Fitzroy, from plants to clothing to jewelry. However, not every shop owner was happy with us taking photos of their shops (like the shop in the photo below). Hence try to ask before snapping away!
Fitzroy is a delightful place to hang around, with shops carrying different attractive and quirky offerings. The area is larger than Singapore’s Haji Lane, however the shops are not as packed together. That is, the interesting shops are not next to each other. Hence, it didn’t feel like we saw many shops although we covered a greater distance.
We didn’t plan or research on the place, thinking we could just walk and explore. However, the area is not so straightforward and hence we might have missed out on some corners and shops tucked away. For example, we didn’t see the art street art and galleries as mentioned at www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/Melbourne/Destinations/Fitzroy.
If you are going on a weekend, be sure to get to an unassuming side street, the Rose Street Artists Market. Here you can find artisan bags, artworks, jewellery, screen-printed t-shirts, hand-bound books and designer lamps from Melbourne’s emerging artists and designers during the weekend you like.
Final Verdict: There might be bouts of boredom from walking from one shop to another. At the end of the day, didn’t feel we saw much. But it’s still an intriguing place to walk around and be inspired! Think it will be better to come on a weekend for the creativity buzz.
There are a few cafes in Fitzroy to enjoy a cuppa of coffee.
Martha Ray’s is highly recommended by the locals, with good ratings in food review websites–on both their coffee and food. Too bad our stomach didn’t have space for food. I don’t drink coffee, so can’t comment about it. Hubby said it’s good coffee, but not that good for you to specially make a trip down to Fitzroy, especially when you are not into creative scene.
The wait for the coffee was a bit long even though the cafe wasn’t crowded. But at least their ambience was good, a small cosy cafe for you to rest your legs and chill.
Address: 85 Brunswick St Fitzroy Victoria 3065
Opening Hours:
Mon – Fri 7:30 am – 3:30 pm
Sat 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
Sun 9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Melbourne City Attractions for First Timers (Part 1)
Melbourne City Attractions for First Timers (Part 2)
Australia Trip 2013 (Overview)
Travels During October 2013
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Updated 5 July 2016 Here are some of the places we went to eat and drink in Melbourne! Just before I begin, I like to mention Melbourne’s independent coffee culture. It’s so entrenched that Starbucks was forced to close 16 outlets in Melbourne. This city is practically the coffee …
Updated 29 June 2016 In Melbourne City Attractions for First Timers (Part 1), there are five attractions you can visit while taking the free City Circle Tram. There are many more places worth going that I will mention over here. You can take the Melbourne Visitor Shuttle …
Updated 29 June 2016
Melbourne is a stylish capital with beautiful architecture and a distinct cosmopolitan. The city has a rich combination of arts, culture, good restaurants and shopping. I don’t know how many times I have heard about how Melbourne City is one of the most livable cities in the world. With their famed family-friendly working hours, cosmopolitan mix of people, and their oh-so-wonderful art vibes and museums, I can only dream of how nice it would be to stay a couple of years here. So what are some of the top Melbourne city attractions you should visit?
One of the best ways to explore the city is to take the City Circle Tram. It operates in both directions of a circular route passing major tourist attractions in Melbourne CBD. It’s FREE and you get commentary on the places of interest along its route. *Nice!*
You can make the first stop at Flinders Street Station, a major landmark at Melbourne. It is Melbourne’s most recognizable landmark and its still operating as the busiest suburban railway station in the south. There’s a Melburnian idiom, “I’ll meet you under the clocks”, referring to the row of clocks above the main entrance. The clocks actually indicate the departure times of each train line.
From Flinder’s station, you can cross the street to St Paul’s Cathedral and admire the architecture. 2016 marks the 125th year since the Consecration of St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne.
While we were there, there was a service going on, and hence unable to go around snapping photos. You can join their worship services held daily at various timings. Regardless whether there’s service or not, it’s respectful to keep your voices down in places of worship. :)
Beautiful stained glass of the cathedral
Cathedral Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday: 8am – 6pm
Saturday: 9am – 4pm
Sunday: 7:30am – 7:30pm
Public Holidays: 11am – 3pm
After that, you can take the tram to the eastern end of Flinders St and visit the Treasury Gardens with the Old Treasury Building. The building’s origins lie in the 1850s Victorian gold rush, which brought great wealth to Melbourne. It was constructed between 1858 and 1862.
It’s open from Sunday to Friday 10am-4pm (closed Saturdays), free entry. Since it closes early, we were making a rush for it, just so we could catch a glimpse of Melbourne’s gold rush history. After a visit, I think you can skip this place if you have a tight travel schedule. Nothing worth mentioning.
After Old Treasury Building, backtrack to the corner of Flinders and Spring Street and turn north into Spring Street to visit the Parliament House. Since it’s a Parliament House, there’s strict security. The guards will check your bags and prohibit sharp objects, etc. And you have to leave your bags at the reception. You also have to walk through a scanner.
When the Parliament is sitting, visitors are welcome to come in and see Parliament in action. You can check the Calendar for the sitting dates on their website. However, there might be a higher security check and more restricted areas to tour around. But not to worry, the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly (the Houses) both have public galleries, which are open whenever the House is sitting.
We didn’t know about it, and we arrived while the Parliament sitting was ongoing. They didn’t allow us in until it was over, so we waited around outside for a while.
Be sure to go for the Public tours at 9.30 am, 10.30 am, 11.30 am, 1.00 pm (Express Tour), 1.30 pm, 2.30 pm , 3.30 pm and 4.00 pm (Express Tour), from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).
It’s so much more meaningful when there’s someone to describe the place, who the people in the portraits are, what’s the seat for, etc. And probably the tour guide will start sharing a bit of the current hot political issues. You will appreciate this place more.
Hang around the Chinatown Precinct and Bourke Street area. It was the discovery of gold in 1851 which attracted Chinese immigration to Victoria in search of the “New Gold Mountain”. The small but burgeoning Chinese community in Little Bourke Street provided for all the needs of the diggers – accommodation en route to the goldfields, food, medicine, etc.
Now, you can still find a number of cafes and restaurants where you may want to stop for tea. There are many drugstores here. Great place to buy those things your mum asked you to buy, such as fish oil.
From Chinatown, you can either walk or tram to La Trobe Street for State Library of Victoria. I love libraries. I love studying in libraries. And this library was the best ever yet. The moment I stepped into the domed reading room, I was enthralled. It was the nicest library I ever stepped in. It would be so nice to study in here.
The Library takes up a full city block, and their galleries, reading rooms and display spaces are located across a number of buildings. We lost our way in there and probably missed some exhibits. To help you navigate better around the library, here’s a printable Library map (pdf, 144 KB).
Library Mon–Thurs 10am–9pm, Fri–Sun 10am–6pm
Galleries daily 10am–5pm
Update: From 5 March 2018, as part of our Vision 2020 redevelopment project, artworks in Cowen Gallery and the Blue Rotunda will be removed and the Red Rotunda will temporarily close
Melbourne City Attractions for First Timers (Part 2)
4 Places to Eat and Drink Coffee in Melbourne City
Shop and Drink Coffee at Hipster Fitzroy
Singapore ✈ Perth ✈ Melbourne Accommodation Review Perth Perth City: Baileys Motel Margaret River: Riverview Tourist Park Joondalup: Airbnb at John’s Victoria State: Great Ocean Road, Melbourne, and more Princetown: Pebble Point Warrnambool: Airbnb at Mercellez’s Halls Gap, Grampians: Grampians Eco YHA Melbourne City: Airbnb at Wendy’s Itinerary Overview Perth Transportation Airport transfer …