If anyone asks, “After living in Australia for more than two years, what’s your favourite place?” I can answer “Melbourne” without a second thought. That’s why I went there twice and spent nearly a year there altogether.
My love for Melbourne is simply beyond words (so I guess that’s the end of this post… Hey!); it surges like endless waves and is as immeasurable as the sea. Calling it my second home overseas is no exaggeration—it’s the city where I’ve lived the longest apart from Taipei!
[ My love for Melbourne has reached capacity—it’s about to overflow! ]
When I first decided to go on a working holiday in Australia,the first decision I faced before setting off was, “Where are you going?” After all, you need to choose a city before you can book a flight!After several days of research, online recommendations were all over the place, with Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth locked in a three-way battle. Sydney was constantly said to be an extremely difficult place to find work, so despite its fame, harsh reality made it the also-ran (yes, I just revived a hilariously dated term), leaving it off this Uber billboard ranking. Most backpackers enthusiastically recommended Perth because Western Australia had lower prices, fewer Chinese residents by comparison, and jobs that were easier to find. But in my eyes, apart from work, Perth didn’t seem to offer much in the way of leisure or entertainment. Compared with the others, it was basically just a modern city with… modernity. (Am I going to be drowned in a pig cage for being that blunt?)
[ Baojie, what do you think? ]
Under these circumstances, conflicted though I was, one city still had to fight its way out of this tale of three cities. So I asked myself: “If I went all-in after only a month or two in Australia, then had to pack my bags and return to Taiwan, which city would I most regret missing—the one place I’d want to remember having lived in during my time in Australia?” Melbourne. Australia’s second-largest city, with European-style architecture, modern buildings mixed in, and riverside parks on the side, won without even needing to compete in my heart (cue Teacher A-mi’s entrance music). My own experience later proved that it was, indeed, a brilliant decision!
In Melbourne, surrounded by European-style architecture and trams, it’s perfectly normal to mistakenly think you’re in Europe
Britain colonised Australia for nearly two hundred years, and Melbourne even served as the capital of the British Commonwealth of Australia for 16 years (to learn more about this glorious chapter of Australian history, see). The Bible says every journey leaves a trace, and Britain certainly seems to have believed that wherever it lived, it should leave an architectural trace. Melbourne was consequently left with a wealth of classical Victorian architecture. Honestly, just hearing the words “classical” and “Victorian” is enough to fill my vision with romantic pink bubbles. And apparently,Melbourne has more Victorian buildings than anywhere in the world except Britain—more European than Europe itself. Melbourne is the closest Europe to Taiwan, so don’t miss it when you pass through! (Our phone lines are full, and only ten sets remain!)
[ Not that Victoria ]
Flinders Street StationThis European-style Victorian stationwas Australia’s first railway station and is Melbourne’s largest. When arranging to meet someone, people say, “Meet under the clocks,” and this is where you obediently show up. It’s an iconic landmark with roughly the status of Taipei Main Station—only prettier.
► Location: Corner of Swanston St. and Flinders St., opposite Federation Square
[ Look for the classic Melbourne landmark logo ]
Another very British-looking street that I adore is tucked away in the busiest part of the city:Royal Arcade. Look up and you’ll see ornate decorations; look down and you’ll see beautifully designed tiles. Beneath your feet isAustralia’s oldest shopping arcade. Yet nearly 150 years later, the enormous changes outside seem to have left its interior untouched. Today, the shops lining both sides mostly sell desserts, coffee, clothing, collectables, and other culturally refined goods. Just strolling through makes you instantly feel more elegant. Although the air here smells expensive, some shops are actually classy without being costly, so it’s well worth a browse.
► Location: 282 Collins St.
[ This place is perfect for a dress code of butterfly sleeves and a puffed skirt. If you pull it off, hurry up and send me a photo! ]
As you walk down the street, you’ll hear a ding-ding-ding. That sound comes from thetramstravelling along the streets, first introduced in 1880 and still preserved and widely operated today. They are the most convenient way to get around central Melbourne. Although most have been replaced by newer air-conditioned models,the free City Circle Tram, designed mainly for tourists, has deliberately retained the adorable appearance of the old trams. To me, it’s the perfect finishing touch to this elegant cityscape!
[ Call me the yellow-green-red City Circle Tram. There’s this yellow-and-green version, plus the classic red-and-green one ]
The State Library, the old post office, St Peter’s Church, and many more Victorian buildings that cannot appear here due to limited space (if I keep going, this section alone will become another article)—in short, when you come to Melbourne, slow down and admire its streets as you walk, where old and new intertwine in a style that is slightly ornate yet composed.
► (Left) Melbourne General Post Office, GPO | Location: 338–352 Bourke St.
► (Centre) The century-old St Paul’s Cathedral | Location: Opposite Federation Square
► (Right) The most beautiful ANZ bank branch | Location: Corner of Elizabeth St. and Collins St.
► (Top left) Royal Exhibition Building, Australia’s first World Heritage site | Location: 9 Nicholson St., Carlton, behind Melbourne Museum
► (Top right) The State Library of Victoria, Australia’s oldest | Location: 328 Swanston St.
► (Bottom left) Parliament House, Victoria | Location: Corner of Elizabeth St. and Collins St.
► (Bottom right) A random street corner
[ Still not romantic enough? How about a handsome horse-drawn carriage? (I mean the horse) ]
In Melbourne, if you haven’t had a cup of coffee or caught the aroma of coffee drifting out of an alley… your nose must be blocked
Unfortunately, I didn’t drink coffee when I lived in Melbourne. Otherwise, I might have developed a serious caffeine addiction.
Yet Starbucks, king of Taiwan’s buy-one-get-one-free promotions, is a rare species in Melbourne. Back then, the only Starbucks I knew was at Southern Cross Station, and most of the customers I saw whenever I passed were Chinese. So where were the local Melburnians? “When there are coffee shops with far more character, why choose a chain?” a Melbourne friend told me.For Melburnians, a coffee shop is more like an expression of personal style。
Although I (deliberately saving myself a reason to return) never took the opportunity to properly explore Melbourne’s cafés, the streets alone were lined with outdoor seating and regularly perfumed by coffee. In independent café after independent café, groups of friends chatted and caught up over a cup, while solo customers sipped coffee and read books or newspapers. Even without sitting down for a drink, I fell in love with that TEA BREAK/COFFEE BREAK atmosphere.
► Centre Place coffee lane | Location: Between Flinders Ln. and Collins St.
In Melbourne, every street has a theme—and it’s more fun than a theme park
Melbourne’s cultural diversity comes from immigrants from many different places, including Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, and France in Europe, as well as Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, India, China, Vietnam, the Middle East, and elsewhere in Asia. (Don’t admire me too soon—WIKI told me all of that). Missing home, these different immigrant communitiesbrought their hometown cuisines and parts of their cultures with them。
. That means Melbourne offers authentic Italian food, Vietnamese pho that tastes even better than the pho in Vietnam, and Asian supermarkets selling familiar brands of soy sauce and instant noodles. These places are also easy to find because they tend to cluster together, creating streets full of Italian restaurants, streets full of Vietnamese pho shops, more Chinese streets than you can count, and so on. Beyond streets devoted to imported cultures, there are coffee streets, outlet streets, and more.It’s as if every street has its own theme—so go and find a theme song for every day or every weekend!
► For traditional Italian Pizza, Pasta, and Gelato, head to Little Italy. Dining under the arcades is especially atmospheric at night | Location: Lygon St.
► Missing Chinese food? Head to the enormous Box Hill Chinatown | Location: Box Hill
► Queen Victoria Market, an enormous market selling every ingredient imaginable | Location: Corner of Victoria St. and Elizabeth St.
► There’s even an entire outlet street for discounted branded goods | Location: Smith St.
In Melbourne, street performers can make you think you’ve wandered into an outdoor theatre
On the main shopping streets of the bustling CBD, you might see a street performer posing as one of the Eighteen Bronze Men, only to move suddenly and scare you. You might hear a violin playing by a station, discover an undercover master drawing on the pavement beside the river, or stumble across a completely unexpected performance.At any moment on Melbourne’s streets, you can casually encounter performers bringing art, culture, and joy to the city. Before you realise it, you’ve seen all kinds of art—and the entire city has quietly transformed into an outdoor theatre!
[ No location tip, because the entire city is a venue for street performances ]
In Melbourne, street art turns the city into one enormous canvas
If street performers transform Melbourne into an outdoor theatre, its graffiti artists naturally turn it into an open-air gallery too!Several neatly planned yet endlessly creative graffiti lanes serve as battlegrounds where artists compete to see who rules the roost. If someone thinks they can paint better than the previous artist, they simply challenge them by spraying over the original work. As a result, you can see different pieces almost every time you visit, spark some inspiration, and have a bit of fun.
► Tucked down a lane off Bourke St., the main shopping street in the city centre, where turning away from commercial towers suddenly reveals the striking contrast of street art | Location: Union Lane
In Melbourne, there seems to be a festival or event of some size every week
Thinking back on my year in Melbourne, I attended the Australian Open to cheer on Taiwan’s national players and marvel at world-class competitors; watched Formula 1 two years in a row; and went to the Comedy Festival, the Birdman Rally, Anzac Day, the international motor show, and the St Kilda Festival. I even saw Maroon 5 in concert. In recent years, Melbourne has also introduced the White Night Festival, a light show claimed to be even more spectacular than Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. Compared with Brisbane, the city where I lived for the second-longest period in Australia,I’m amazed at how Melbourne manages to come up with so many events—and organise them all on such a grand scale. It makes the city feel even more energetic.。
[ The Australian Open, held every January, is one of the world’s four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Besides becoming a tennis fan for a few days, you can see the extraordinary attention devoted to everything surrounding a world-class event ]
[ After the Australian Open comes the world-class Formula 1 race in March. Albert Park is turned into a racetrack, and the venue is packed with racing cars, displays, and stalls ]
► (Top left) Comedy Festival, held at Melbourne Town Hall every March and April
► (Top right) Moomba Festival, held beside the Yarra River during the Labour Day holiday every March, featuring a carnival, the Birdman Rally, a parade, fireworks, and more
► (Bottom left) Maroon 5 concert—whether you catch one is up to fate, but singers perform in Melbourne all the time, so don’t miss anyone you love
► (Bottom right) The Moomba Festival carnival area, with numerous temporary rides and activity stalls
► (Top left) ANZAC DAY takes place across Australia every April to commemorate veterans who fought in wars. It is a national public holiday, with parades held that day
► (Top right) One of the ANZAC DAY parade contingents
► (Bottom left) Like our World Trade Centre, this venue hosts many different exhibitions. This one is the Australian International Motor Show
► (Bottom right) St Kilda Festival, one of the summer festivals held in January and February. It runs for nine days and features music, films, football, beach volleyball, and other seaside activities
In Melbourne, the beach is only half an hour from the city—come for the sunset and colourful huts, then stay for the bonus wild penguins
Apart from Sydney, with its special talent for whisking you quickly to the beach, Melbourne is another city where you can do just that.A half-hour tram ride takes you to St Kilda Beach, and this seaside neighbourhood is quite something. It has fun, creative shops, designer boutiques, and an amusement park. Most special of all, arrive at the seaside boardwalk around dusk and—with no admission fee or restrictions—you can simply stroll over and watch wild penguins waddling home. Venture a little farther, this timetaking a half-hour train from the city centre, and you’ll reach another iconic Melbourne sight: the rainbow-coloured beach huts. These colourful buildings are actually seaside changing rooms and storage sheds. Pose for photos with them, splash through the waves, and effortlessly slip into a laid-back holiday mood.
[ St Kilda is one Melbourne neighbourhood I highly recommend. Take tram 16 or 96 and get off at St. Klida Beach (and never use flash when photographing the penguins) ]
[ The adorable colourful beach huts are at Brighton Beach, but get off at Middle Brighton Beach (as misleading as Shilin MRT Station!) ]
In Melbourne, all kinds of One Day Tours are only one or two hours away
Central Melbourne has so many attractions and streets worth exploring, and even the surrounding suburbs refuse to give you a chance to get bored. Ride the Puffing Billy steam train through the Dandenong Ranges, where everyone insists on sticking their heads and arms out of the windows; watch an endless procession of penguins coming ashore on Phillip Island; drink until you’re dizzy at Yarra Valley wineries; chase doomed dreams of striking it rich in a gold-mining town; or visit Geelong, Victoria’s second-largest city, and hunt for the 106 wooden bollard sculptures hidden throughout it. Every one of these can be done as a day trip. If you have more time, spend at least two days and one night exploring the famous Great Ocean Road. Are you starting to worry you’ll never fit everything in?
► (Top left) Puffing Billy steam train in the Dandenong Ranges, with stops along the way where you can get off and explore the forest scenery
► (Top right) The seaside diving platform in Geelong
► (Bottom left) Sovereign Hill gold-mining town
► (Bottom right) Search for Geelong’s 106 wooden bollard sculptures and use the opportunity to explore parts of the city you would not normally visit
Of course,Melbourne also has the riverside scenery, museums, and art galleries found in every major Australian city. Whether you want to watch the sunset and see the river by day and night, or shelter from the rain inside a museum or art gallery and soak up some culture, everything is conveniently located in the city centre. The problem isn’t getting there—it’s whether you’ll go!
► (Left) Melbourne Museum, with its extensive collections (though you’ll have to overcome the challenge of reading the English descriptions) | Location: 11 Nicholson St., Carlton
► (Right) ACMI, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image at Federation Square, which regularly hosts film and animation exhibitions | Location: Federation Square, Flinders St.
[ The banks of the Yarra River, lined with parks, riverside restaurants, and a casino ]
Even after visiting other cities, Melbourne isn’t the most beautiful place on my personal Australian ranking, nor does it have the most extraordinary scenery. After all, it is Australia’s second-largest city and covered in buildings. Yet what keeps Melbourne in my thoughts and makes it so unforgettable is its distinctive cultural character and vibrant streets. It is modern and classical, artistic and sporty, yet also carries a touch of laid-back ease.Its diversity amazes me, and I love how rich and colourful it is. This is a place made for living in and savouring slowly, because there is simply so much to do in Melbourne. As I always say, “It’s a city that will never let you get bored—the only thing you need to fear is running out of time.”
So… is there any reason not to visit Melbourne?
—— An extremely condensed version of this article appeared in the Upaper MRT newspaper on 2015/4/17 (click the image to enlarge) ——
