Most Underrated City In The World, Melbourne, Australia
Visiting Australia was a trip of a lifetime. It is definitely more than just Kangaroos and Koalas, as most Americans know it as. Melbourne's artistic culture made me fall in love with the city. Melbourne, Victoria is the fashion capital of Australia. The Victorian architecture combined with the urban buildings caught my eye. The city of immense character is now my favorite destination. A walk through Melbourne leads you to find the treasures of the beautiful lanes and arcades that add to the charm of the city. I was lucky enough to have the walking tour with five passionate Melbourne locals.
I like to call it, minimalist Melbourne. The style in Melbourne encompassed simplicity and elegance. I was lucky enough to go in my favorite season, fall. The fall/winter styles impressed me because men and women of all ages wore minimal pieces but still exemplified their own style with glam. Minimalism is the opposite of expressivsim, hence the clothing is typically colder and excludes emotion. Expressive work deals with prints and flowy dresses. But the typical Melbourne girl in my eyes had, a leather bomber jacket with boyfriend jeans or a trench coat. I loved it and was inspired by all the different stores and styles.
Melbourne Travel Guide
1. Southbank Promenade
Southbank Promenade is the epitome of nightlife for me. And by that I don't mean clubbing, I mean light and fire shows, beautiful river side views and dining and gourmet food. Southbank Promenade has beautiful locations, such as the Chill Ice Lounge, Langham Chocolate Bar, and close to the Eureka 88 Sky Deck, overlooking all of Melbourne City.
Near Southbank Promenade is one of the most famous casino's in the world, Crown Casino, containing tons of restaurants and my personal favorite, Nobu, a famous sushi house, as well as many high end retail luxury stores, night clubs and of course, a grand casino. Connecting Victoria University (the lit up pink building in the photo below) to Southbank is the world famous Melbourne Love Lock Bridge.
2. Flinders Street Station
Connecting all the famous Melbourne laneways and arcades, Flinders street station is most beautiful at night when it is lit up like the sands of the Gold Coast Beaches. It serves the entire metropolitan rail network and was one of my favorite spots because it easily connected me to all spots and was a picture perfect background. The best part of the this station is taking the free city circle tram and jumping off at points that interest you.
3. Collins Street & The Block Arcade
Melbourne, being the fashion capital of Australia, contains one of the best known streets in the world, Collins Street, aka the 5th Avenue of Australia. It is often known as Australia's premier street, has several fine Victorian era buildings and is home of the most prestigious boutiques and high-end retailers. Some of my favorite stores reside on this street as well, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Hermes.
The Block Arcade is an excellent example of high Victorian mannerist architecture. The Block Arcade is a heritage shopping arcade in the central business district of Melbourne. It connects Collins Street and the south end to Elizabeth Street. The arcade's most popular residents include the Hopetoun Tea Rooms, whose windows are filled with delicious cakes (a place I will have to go back and dine at), and Haigh's Chocolates, one of Australia's premier chocolatiers.
4. Brunch on Degraves Street
Another famous laneway in Melbourne, Degraves Street, is the perfect hub for coffee and dining. Melbourne's coffee culture is pristine. The freshly brewed coffee in Melbourne would give Starbucks a run for their money. I went for brunch at Lorca, home to the best poached eggs on the street (ranked by me). My absolute favorite part was the Nutella scroll, the scrumptious oven baked bread with the Nutella topping made waking up early that morning
5. Hosier Lane
Hosier Lane is by far one of my absolute favorite parts of Australia. The lane of famous street art is a pedestrian and vehicle friendly lane that celebrates sophisticated urban art with graffiti lined walls. It is a 2 minute walk from Flinders street station. Local and International artists use the walls as a temporary canvas for their works and it is up to the audience to interpret the stories behind the paintings.
6. Royal Arcade
The Royal Arcade is an undercover shopping link between Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall, Little Collins Street and Elizabeth Street. A walk through this arcade tempts you with gifts, jewelry, macaroon cafes, and chocolate shops. This prestigious arcade was blocked off when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West came to visit.
7. Emporium Shopping Center
The Emporium has hundreds of pristine stores catering to everyone's styles. My favorite stores in The Emporium are Top Shop, Funkis and Super Glue. My favorite Australian brands so far are Cameo, All about Eve, Nana Judy, and Kookai.
8. St. Kilda Pier
This beautiful picture speaks for itself. St. Kilda Pier is one of the most beautiful beach towns I have ever been to! By far the most beautiful in Melbourne. And this is in winter....
9. Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park
If you end up on the Southern Hemisphere, you have to visit the Moonlit Sanctuary Park, this is the most breathtaking place I have ever been too. I felt ultimate bliss while feeding the Kangaroo's and cuddling the Koalas! I will 100% be back there ready to hug Tommy and Arney (my future pet Kangaroos) again.
10. Chapel Street
Chapel Street was my favorite street in Melbourne. Not only did it have the classy boutique shops, but it had hi-end Australian fashion retailers and the best coffee shops in town. Stop by Amici's and order a smashed avocado, you won't regret it! Chapel Street was SF + BOS + NY all together and cleaner. I was lucky enough to be with a local, aka he showed me ins and outs of the fabulous area. Catch me on Chapel Street next summer!
11. Eureka Sky Deck 88
A spectacular view of the entire city. From FIinders Street Station to St. Kilda Pier, rain or shine you can always count of Eureka Sky Deck for a breathtaking experience.
11. Culture Kings
Although a mens store, I still found good buys at Culture Kings, beanies, shoes, accessories and more! Culture Kings is a a famous urban retailer for classy street wear. Culture Kings has featured celebrities such as Big Sean and Tyga. The atmosphere brings you in and keeps you there with their VIP barber shop!
12. Chadstone: The Fashion Capital
Chadstone: The Fashion Capital, is Australia's biggest shopping mall with over hundreds of stores and containing not only the high end classics such as Fendi and Chanel but also my new Australian favorites, Nana Judy,
Koko Black, Edge, Factorie, Typo and Bardot! You could spend all day at Chadstone and still need at least 3 more days!
Melbourne, voted the most cultured and livable city for the past 3 years, inspired me in too many ways. It combines the beach town feel from St Kilda Pier to an urban city feel from Flinders Street Station to main arcades, and Collins Street. You'll also find delicious authentic Afghan and Greek food in suburban cities such as Noble Park and Springvale. Melbourne's impeccable fashion sense, heavenly food, to die for coffee, boutique shopping, famous street art and most importantly lovely hospitable people are just some of the reasons why I will definitely be back and why it only took me 24 hours to fall in love the place. Melbourne was the most phenomenal city and I will definitely be back more than once! Comment below with questions or concerns :)