After our road trip along the Sapphire and Victoria coast, we stopped for two days in Melbourne. Sleeping in a bed was a nice change to the air mattress in the tent.
Melbourne City
Upon arrival, we started walking right away to make the most of our time. Our Airbnb was located close to the Shrine of Remembrance. From there we had a really nice view over the skyline. From there we walked through the Botanical Gardens towards the Yarra River. I got really excited when I saw the Rod Laver Arena on the other bank of the river. It’s the biggest stadium where the Australian Open is played.
Further on, we crossed the Princes’ Bridge and walked to Federation Square and St. Paul’s Cathedral. We enjoyed getting lost in the little alleys with street art. After that, we felt we really deserved a beer so we went to the Sherlock Pub. We spent the rest of the evening in the apartment planning our trip to the Great Ocean Road.
The next day, we started towards the city again. First, we walked around Chinatown and then we took the free tram that does a loop around the city centre which we really recommend.
St. Kilda
In the afternoon, we left downtown behind and took a tram to St. Kilda. Despite the cold wind, we really enjoyed the area and knew right away why Melbournians love this beach area. We started by walking down the historic pier and had a look at some penguins hiding among the rocks.
Then we had a stroll along the esplanade and tried to go into the famous Luna Park but it’s only open on weekends. We had dinner plans with a friend from Chile and spent the last half hour before meeting her just walking around the Acland street. Here it’s full of hip shops and trendy restaurants and bars.
Javi and her boyfriend took us to an amazing pizza place, the Lucky Coq. Not only did we have several vegan options for delicious pizzas, but one pizza only cost 4 AUD. Normally you pay at least three times as much. With full bellies, they gave us a lift home and we had an early night to leave the next day towards the Great Ocean Road.