Federation Square

Federation Square is a meeting place in the heart of the city. Opened in 2002 after several false starts with city squares. The others turned out to be lemons. Wrong location. Too small. This one they got right and boy is it a success. Its Victoria's second most popular tourist attraction. Behind the Phillip Island penguins.With over 8 million visitors. It provides lots of open space for a pleasant setting. A large screen is provided for public events. You should see the crowd at 4 am when the Australian soccer team plays in the world cup around the other side of the world. Opposite Flinders street station and beside two main tram lines Flinders street and Swanston street. It proves to be a strategically placed to be a meeting place. The Ian Potter Centre houses the Australian part of the National Gallery of Victoria. The StKilda road arts centre holds the International part of the National Gallery of Victoria. You will also find the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. As well as the BMW Edge Ampitheater. Over behind Federation Square you'll find the Riverland Bar facing the Yarra River and a bit further along you'll find Birrarung Marr Park which has a pleasant walk down to the tennis centre along the Yarra River. Federation Square.



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Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

Just a short distance away from the centre of Melbourne is the Royal Botanic Gardens. Catch a tram down Swanston Street which becomes ST.Kilda Road. A hop skip and a jump from Flinder Street station. Stop at the floral garden clock. Queen Victoria Gardens. Then make your way over the hill to the Botanic Gardens. Make sure you take your camera. The Botanic Gardens are over 160 years old. Walking around them is so peaceful. Its like another world. There is Guilfoyle's Volcano an old historic reservoir (1876) and a major part of the gardens water management system. Be sure not to miss the Nymphaea Lily Lake ( Lily closeup image here) its so serene and restful. Careful you may catch a glimpse of John Waterhouse's Nymphs. This is just the place for a romantic walk. There are an astonishing number and variety of plants on display. To give you a better idea of the gardens have a look at this excellent video.



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The Yarra River and South Bank Promenade

Take a walk along the Yarra River. Along the South Bank Promenade with its side walk cafes and restaurants. Also featuring a number of fashion boutiques. The South Bank Promenade is a lovely area for a leisurely stroll or on a summers night a romantic walk. The South Bank area has a large selection of quality restaurants.
The promenade is where Oprah Winfrey interviewed Prime Minister Julia Gillard.


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The Melbourne Tennis Centre and Melbourne Park

Melbourne is host to the Australian Open every January. The Australian Open is part of the Four Grand Slam Tennis events held around the world. The Tennis Center is within a quick walk of Flinders Street station along the river bank of the Yarra river. Set in the sporting precinct of Melbourne it is easily accessible by public transport. The Tennis Centre is also used for all types of concerts and is regularly used by international artists. The Melbourne Tennis Centre has a retractable roof, that can open in the day time or close to keep the elements out. Local boy John Farnham can be seen singing one of his popular songs The Age of Reason in this video clip at Melbourne Park. John is very popular with the ladies.


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Melbourne Trams

Melbourne is home to the largest tram way system in the world. Running from Bundoora in the North to East Brighton in the south and West Maribyrnong and Footscray in the west to Box Hill and Vermont South in the east. See map here. Tourist take great pleasure in taking a trip on our modern fleet of trams or venturing back in time for a trip on our W class trams which operate on our City Circle route. Here you can see a video of Melbourne Trams at night. It shows a selection of our trams including the W class city circle tram. As well as the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant. Which is the W class tram converted into a restaurant of which there are three running. So for that special occasion or a romantic occasion you can try the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant.  As you can see Melbourne nightlife has a vibrant night life, which is alive and kicking. The clicking sound you here in the video is another unique feature for Melbourne. It is to tell the blind people when they can cross the road. I find it is second nature to use as it has been a feature of Melbourne for a long time. More on Melbourne Trams here.

Visit Chloe in Young and Jackson's Hotel

Young and Jackson's Hotel features the famous painting by Jules Joseph Lefebvre. Chloe. Jules Joseph Lefebvre is the famous French artist whose painting inspired the Statue of Liberty. Young and Jacksons Hotel at the corner of Flinders Street and Swanston's Streets has been faithfully restored to immaculate condition and is well worth a visit in its own right. Chloe is featured in a room of her own up on the first floor, where you can sit and appreciate Lefebvre's artistic talents while tasting some of the local alcoholic beverages or enjoy a meal in one of the other well presented rooms. Young and Jackson's is in the heart of Melbourne across the road from Flinders Street Station and Federation Square. Which was recently visited by Oprah Winfrey. These are two other features of Melbourne you are likely to visit.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground MCG

The Premier sporting ground in Australia. Host to Aussie rules football and cricket. The home ground to the Collingwood Magpies (eye candy for the ladies). The 2010 Premiers. The MCG holds just over 100,000 people. The drawn Grand Final in 2010 had a crowd of 100,000. Collingwood winning the Grand Final replay video in HD (eye candy for the ladies).  Only a crowd of 97,00 to this match. Experience the Collingwood chant here. Some of the one day cricket matches and the Boxing Day test also draw crowds close to 100,000. The largest football crowd is 121,696 for the 1970 Collingwood versus Carlton Grand Final. The capacity in the new ground is limited to just over 100,000. More information here.


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