Discover Melbourne's top attractions, from Skydeck's stunning city views to immersive art at The Lume. Photo / 123rf
However you define family, Melbourne is a great getaway just across the Tasman for you and your crew. The options in Victoria’s capital are dizzying, however, so consider these insider tips, writes Patricia Maunder.
Experience a 360-degree, 88th-floor panorama of the city, Port Phillip Bay and distant mini-mountains at the Southern Hemisphere’s highest observation platform, Melbourne Skydeck. It’s especially magical as sunset colours and city lights mingle, perhaps with a beverage from Bar 88.
Optional extras include Edge, a glass cube designed for small groups that glides out and lingers 300m above ground. Or try Virtual Reality Voyager Theatre’s 11-minute journey. Wearing VR headset and headphones, in a half-pod seat that tilts and vibrates, be whisked through high-resolution filmed highlights of Victoria.
melbourneskydeck.com.au
Get a different perspective of the city from the Yarra River. Among many boating options, the most exhilarating is Kayak Melbourne’s guided tours including the three-hour Sundowner that takes you from day to night. Paddle past audaciously designed skyscrapers, under low Victorian-era bridges, and pause for a riverside fireball display’s sensory excitement.
There is also a dinner break, enjoyed on the water in stable two-seater kayaks. This urban adventure is so cruisy that even beginners, including kids 12 and up, take to it like ducks to water.
kayakmelbourne.com.au
The Lume transforms the traditional gallery experience: instead of milling around silent, white rooms, become immersed in art on a vast scale at this 3000sq m, four-storey space. Wander, sit or lie down as dynamic, high-resolution digital projections light up every surface, accompanied by an inspiring soundtrack.
After the current Australian Aboriginal art showcase ends, Leonardo da Vinci: 500 Years of Genius opens in March. Wonder at paintings including The Last Supper and Mona Lisa, and this polymath’s life and inventions. As always, the cafe within this space will be themed around the experience.
thelumemelbourne.com
Afternoon tea is hot in Melbourne, including at enduring favourites The Windsor and The Tea Rooms 1892. New offerings include Pullman Melbourne on the Park’s Boujee Bush Botanicals High Tea, which celebrates native Australian ingredients and is half-price for children 6-12. In the hotel’s tranquil restaurant, enjoy sparkling wine and the Fitzroy Gardens view before your three-tiered stand of petit treats arrives.
Highlights include the brioche bun of lemon-myrtle marinated prawn and pepperberry emulsion topped with delicate pink finger-lime pearls, and a tart with native raspberry and rosella hibiscus. There’s tea too, and scones that also have a distinctive Australian flavour.
pullmanonthepark.com.au
One of the world’s most significant botanic gardens is also among the most beautiful. Established in 1846, the 38ha Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne’s heart offers everything from fern gully to children’s garden to the Ornamental Lake. Recently revamped, The Terrace cafe offers lakeside views, including of visitors gliding across the water in Cambridge-style punts thanks to dapperly dressed “punters”.
Other activities include the Aboriginal Heritage Walk and seasonal outdoor Shakespeare, children’s theatre and cinema. Also consider Cranbourne Gardens, the extensive city-fringe sister site dedicated to Australia’s extraordinary flora.
rbg.vic.gov.au
Journey back in time aboard Puffing Billy, through ancient temperate rainforest on Melbourne’s outskirts. Easily accessed by car or metropolitan train, Australia’s oldest heritage steam railway is a perennial favourite with locals and visitors alike, who love sitting with legs dangling out the carriages’ open sides (it’s safe and optional!).
Puffing Billy chugs among tall eucalyptus trees and ferns, and across wooden bridges including a long, curving trestle bridge that gives passengers picture-perfect views of this iconic train. Choose from three regular routes, plus special services including winter’s wildly popular Train of Lights nighttime experience.
puffingbilly.com.au
Walk in the rain without getting wet in seaside St Kilda. An immersive, interactive installation by the Random International art group, Rain Room is presented in a 100sq m black space. In an enthralling confluence of nature, technology and art, dramatically lit water falls continuously like heavy rain, except where people are present.
Wander around, wave your arms or even gently dance in this otherworldly downpour, then exit as dry as when you arrived (unless you tried sprinting).
jackalopehotels.com
Enjoy the convenience of both an apartment and CBD hotel at Meriton Suites, which opened last spring. From in-room kitchen and laundry to abundant dining, shopping, entertainment and transport on your doorstep, it’s a handy holiday base. There are 300 rooms to suit all sorts of families, including suites with up to three bedrooms.
This accommodation doesn’t only tick the convenience boxes. Expect stylish, comfortable interior design, generous space and epic vistas through floor-to-ceiling windows (which open for a breath of fresh air). Just beyond reception, find the gym, spa, sauna and a pool at the perfect temperature in a soothing space of natural and artfully designed light.
meritonsuites.com.au
Air NZ, Qantas and Jetstar all fly non-stop from Auckland to Melbourne Airport.
visitmelbourne.com