Home > Our Publications > Travel Australia and New Zealand > Go Australia & New Zealand > September 2001

MELBOURNE is the gateway to Victoria, a diverse and wonderfully compact state. Everything to do and see can be found within a few hours of the city, and makes the region perfect for touring and self-drive holidays.
Just a short drive from Melbourne can be found wine-growing valleys, a coastal parade ground for penguins and a reconstructed gold-mining town at Sovereign Hill.
Victoria is home to more than 200 wineries, many of which have their own restaurant and some having accommodation, all within easy reach of Melbourne.
The main areas to visit are the Yarra Valley, Macedon Peninsula, Rutherglen and the Mornington Peninsula.
East Of Melbourne, Phillip Island offers natural beauty and remarkable wildlife - the island's little penguins are one of Australia's most popular tourist attractions. Further east of Phillip Island lies the beautiful unspoilt wilderness of Wilsons Promontory, and the Gippsland region, home of Australia's largest inland waterway system.
No visit to Victoria is complete without a trip on the spectacular coastal highway known as the Great Ocean Road. From Torquay to Apollo Bay the road hugs the rugged coastline, overlooking some of the best surfing beaches in the world and travels the infamous Shipwreck Coast to Port Fairy, passing the amazing rock formations known as the Twelve Apostles.
Melbourne itself is a truly cosmopolitan city, and is known as the cultural, sporting and cuisine capital of Australia. The city offers a vast selection of galleries, theatres, exhibitions, concerts and international arts and music festivals.
Home to one of the greatest collections of stadiums in the world Melbourne plays host to many of the world's great sporting events, these include the Australian Tennis Open, Formula One Grand Prix, the Melbourne Cup horse race, plus the action-packed football rules grand final, at the MCG.
Melbourne offers style and sophistication, its tree-lined streets lend themselves to shoppers, and downtown is home to many world-famous stores and countless lanes, arcades and malls offering just about anything you could want.
For a different perspective on Melbourne, visit the Rialto Towers Observation Deck for fantastic 360 degree views of the city, check out the Melbourne Aquarium or the amazing Crown Entertainment Complex.
The new Melbourne Museum, which opened in October 2000, uses the latest technology to give you a memorable insight into the country's flora, fauna, culture and way of life.
It also features an exciting celebration of the heritage and vitality of Australia's Aboriginal heritage in the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Centre.
The choice of restaurants is huge and diverse, and includes Little Bourke Street known as Chinatown, Melbourne's Little Italy - Carlton's Lygon Street, while the Southbank, overlooking the Yarra River, has been described as Melbourne's equivalent of the Left Bank with perhaps the best collection of restaurants, wine bars and coffee shops in town.
For a unique dining experience board the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant, an elegantly restored 1927 tram; enjoy a private view of Melbourne while sampling the very best cuisine and Australian wines.
Melbourne offers a wide range of accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets, it is particularly well known for the excellent range of boutique accommodation - small, intimate hotels, each with its own style.
Explore this wonderful city and region for yourself.