Melbourne is dubbed marvellous for a reason. Healthy hedonism masquerades as high art: Melbournians are equally passionate about football and ballet, fashion and restaurants. They are ravenous for music and hot for theatre. It's a smorgasbord of a city that you'll want to sink your teeth into.A leafy bay side community on the 'upside-down', brown Yarra River, Melbourne is, in turns, cosmopolitan, suburban, cultivated, conservative and a haven for the avant-garde. Visitors come for its shopping, restaurants, nightlife and sporting calendar, and most agree that it's one of the world's most liveable cities.
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Melbourne, Australia
Tourist information, useful links & accommodation
B&B, Hotels and Hostels in Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne is considered to be Australia's garden city, and Victoria as the Garden State. There is an abundance of parks and gardens close to the CBD with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways, and tree lined avenues. The phrase Victoria - Garden State was used on Victorian car number plates up to 1993, and many regional towns have well tended botanic gardens, parks and tree lined avenues.
With the northern states taking the brunt of tourism down under, Melbourne is a best-kept secret year round. The shoulder seasons are the gems. While Melbourne's spring is a sight to behold, with multitudes of gardens in bloom and the festive Spring Racing Carnival heralding summer, any local will tell you that mid-autumn sees Melbourne at its most resplendent. A sturdy coat never goes astray at this time, but a little cold is worth bearing for the strolls through the amber and ochre parks.
Melbourne is a popular gay destination and it features a prominent gay infrastructure often gay-owned and/or managed. A list of other popular gay and lesbian destinations world round has been included here