Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital of the south-eastern state of Victoria and Australia’s second biggest city, lying at the mouth of Port Phillip Bay.

Melbourne is the cultural center of Australia, featuring Victorian-era architecture, vast shopping, museums, galleries, theaters, and big parks and gardens. Many of its 4 million citizens are multicultural and sports enthusiasts. Melbourne is a magnet for migrants from all over the globe, and it is routinely ranked as one of the world’s most livable cities.

Attending major sports events, using Melbourne as a base to explore adjacent places such as Grampians National Park, The Great Ocean Road, and visiting Phillip Island to see the penguin march are all reasons to visit Melbourne. Many people from the United Kingdom travel to Melbourne to view the shooting sites of the soap opera Neighbours.

Melbourne is a fantastic city for arts, culture, food, and entertainment. Visitors commonly remark on the city’s “good mood,” which can only be appreciated by experiencing it firsthand. There is a diverse range of activities and views that any tourist will enjoy. The majority are in the City Centre, near to public transportation. Melbourne is also a wonderful starting point for exploring all of Victoria’s other attractions. The majority of these may be done as day excursions from Melbourne.

The city’s climate is well-known for its changeability, which is commonly referred to as “four seasons in a day.” Its climate is often regarded as moderate, with warm summers and chilly winters. Temperatures in the city typically range between 26 and 30 degrees Celsius (79 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit) from December to February, however heatwaves of exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) are not uncommon. With relatively warm evenings down to roughly 16°C (61°F), humidity is seldom a problem. Melbourne receives roughly 600mm of rain each year, which is half the amount received by Sydney. The month of October is often the wettest.

Winter (June–August) is often chilly, with a combination of bright, sunny days and cold, rainy weather. Winter temperatures may vary from frigid nighttime lows of 2 °C (36 °F) to daytime highs of 19 °C (66 °F) at times. Only a number of times in the recent century has light snow been reported in and around Melbourne during the winter months, while the hills east of the city regularly experience a snow shower or two every winter. Consider visiting Melbourne in the fall and spring, when temperatures are generally nice without being oppressively hot, with daily highs in the 20s °C (70s °F).

With such wild and unpredictable weather, knowing what to wear while planning a day out in Melbourne may be tricky. Wearing layers of clothes that may be removed or worn as the day progresses is a typical advice.

Melbourne is in the state of Victoria, in the south-eastern section of continental Australia. It is constructed on the geological convergence of Quaternary lava flows to the west, Silurian mudstones to the east, and Holocene sand deposits to the southeast along Port Phillip. The southeastern suburbs are located along the Selwyn fault, which runs through Mount Martha and Cranbourne.

Melbourne stretches eastward along the Yarra River towards the Yarra Valley and the Dandenong Ranges. It stretches northward through the undulating woodland valleys of the Yarra’s tributaries—Moonee Ponds Creek (toward Tullamarine Airport), Merri Creek, Darebin Creek, and Plenty River—to the Craigieburn and Whittlesea outer suburban expansion corridors.

The city extends south-east through Dandenong to the growth corridor of Pakenham towards West Gippsland, and southward through the Dandenong Creek valley, the Mornington Peninsula, and the city of Frankston, taking in the peaks of Olivers Hill, Mount Martha, and Arthurs Seat, before extending along the shores of Port Phillip as a single conurbation to the exclusive suburbs of Portsea and Point Nepean. In the west, it stretches along the Maribyrnong River and its tributaries north into Sunbury and the foothills of the Macedon Ranges, and through the flat volcanic plain land towards Melton in the west, and Werribee in the south west of the CBD at the foothills of the You Yangs granite range. The Little River and the settlement of the same name form the boundary between Melbourne and Geelong.

Port Melbourne, Albert Park, St Kilda, Elwood, Brighton, Sandringham, Mentone, Frankston,Altona, Williamstown, and Werribee South are among of Melbourne’s prominent bayside beaches. The closest surf beaches are 85 kilometers (53 miles) south-east of Melbourne on the back-beaches of Rye, Sorrento, and Portsea.

Melbourne’s economy is very diverse, with specific strengths in banking, manufacturing, research, information technology, education, logistics, transportation, and tourism. Many of Australia’s largest corporations have their headquarters in Melbourne, including five of the ten largest (by revenue) and four of the six largest (by market capitalisation) (ANZ, BHP Billiton (the world’s largest mining company), the National Australia Bank, and Telstra), as well as representative bodies and think tanks such as the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. Wesfarmers firms Coles (including Liquorland), Bunnings, Target, K-Mart, and Officeworks also have headquarters in Melbourne’s suburbs. The city is home to Australia’s biggest and busiest seaport, which handles more than $75 billion in commerce annually and 39% of the country’s container traffic. Melbourne Airport, Australia’s second busiest airport, serves as an entrance point for both domestic and international tourists.

Melbourne is also a significant financial center. Melbourne is home to two of the major four banks, NAB and ANZ. With 40 percent of the total and 65 percent of sector super-funds, including the $109 billion-dollar Federal Government Future Fund, the city has carved out a place as Australia’s premier hub for superannuation (pension) funds. According to the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index (2008), the city was ranked 41st among the top 50 financial cities, behind only Sydney (12th) in Australia. Melbourne is the country’s second-largest industrial center. It is the Australian headquarters for a number of major firms, including Boeing, truck manufacturers Kenworth and Iveco, Cadbury, Bombardier Transportation, and Jayco, among many others. It also houses a diverse range of other enterprises, from petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals to fashion apparel, paper making, and food processing. Nintendo’s Australian headquarters are located in the south-eastern suburb of Scoresby. Ford Australia also has a research and development center in the city, as well as a worldwide design studio and technical center for General Motors and Toyota, respectively.

CSL, one of the world’s top five biotech corporations, and Sigma Pharmaceuticals both have offices in Melbourne. These are the two biggest publicly traded pharmaceutical businesses in Australia. Melbourne has a significant ICT sector, employing over 60,000 people (one-third of Australia’s ICT workforce), with a $19.8 billion turnover and $615 million in export sales. In addition, tourism contributes significantly to Melbourne’s economy, with over 7.6 million domestic tourists and 1.88 million foreign visitors in 2004. Melbourne surpassed Sydney in terms of the amount of money spent by domestic visitors in the city in 2008, accounting for around $15.8 billion yearly. Melbourne is gaining a larger portion of the local and international conference markets. The construction of a $1 billion 5000-seat international convention center, Hilton Hotel, and commercial precinct adjacent to the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre began in February 2006, with the goal of connecting development along the Yarra River with the Southbank precinct and multibillion-dollar Docklands redevelopment.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2013 global cost of living index, Melbourne is the fourth most expensive city in the world to live in. Federation Square, Queen Victoria Market, Crown Casino, Southbank, Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne Aquarium, Docklands, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne Observation Deck, Arts Centre Melbourne, and the Melbourne Cricket Ground among the most popular attractions.

POST

The majority of Melbourne’s stately General Post Office (250 Elizabeth St;: 13 13 18; Fax: 9203 3078; M–F 8:30AM–5:30PM, Sa 9AM–4PM, Su 10AM–4PM;) has since been converted into an expensive retail zone after a fire damaged the original structure in 2001. The main post office in Melbourne’s CBD is located on Elizabeth and Little Bourke Streets. Post-restaurante services are also available.

PHONE

Payphones may be found around the city, however many are being phased out as mobile phone ownership grows. These phones are coin-operated or utilize prepaid Phonecards, which can be purchased at most convenience shops or newsstands. These locations also sell international calling cards. A local call from a payphone will cost you $0.50. (untimed, although some phones limit your call to 15 minutes).

Mobile phone service in the CBD and surrounding areas is often good to exceptional. GSM 850/1900 is used by all mobile carriers in Melbourne, while UMTS 2100 is available from all providers except Telstra, which offers UMTS 850. To acquire a prepaid (PAYG) SIM card, you must provide some kind of identification. These cards are available at most convenience shops, newsagents, and supermarkets. This might be requested at the time of purchase and/or activation.

Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone are the three major businesses. Amaysim, which utilises the Optus network, is the greatest value and can be picked up from any 7 Eleven shop; but, to activate it, you will need a complete Australian address and access to email; also, new activations do not presently enable tethering. Lebara and Lycamobile are the finest options for making inexpensive international calls.

The area code for landline telephones in Melbourne is 03 (international dial +613). To make an international direct dial call, use the trunk line access code 0011, or simply place a + in front of the number if your phone supports it.

INTERNET

Internet cafés may be found all across the city, particularly in the backpacker hotspots of St Kilda and Flinders Street. Rates vary from $2.50–12 per hour, with the lowest being found at combined market/internet cafés in the Asian districts of town.