Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Welcome to
Melbourne & Victoria
Melbourne is food-obsessed, marvellously multicultural and a
showpiece for Australian culture. Beyond the city limits,
Victoria offers soulful history, stirring wilderness and culinary
excellence.
Great Outdoors
Victorians are spoilt for wilderness choice. To the southwest, the Great Ocean Road snakes
along one of the world's most spectacular coastlines, while the further east you go the
wilder the coast gets, from wildlife-rich Wilsons Promontory to Gippsland's aptly named
Wilderness Coast. Also east, wild rivers and epic forests of Errinundra and Snowy River
yield to picturesque mountains of the High Country, where year-round activities make it an
adventure destination of the highest order. Northwest, almost in the outback, desertlike na-
tional parks occupy vast swathes of the state. Opportunities to explore are endless, whether
on two legs or skis, two wheels or four.
Great Indoors
In the 19th century, gold-rich Melbourne and small towns in Victoria were stamped with
architectural wonders. These days many of those grand buildings survive as luxury hotels,
theatres bursting with talent or colourful state-of-the-art galleries. Melbourne in particular
is an art lover's smorgasbord (with signature art-strewn laneways so intimate as to feel like
they're indoors), but regional Victoria holds its own when it comes to reasons to pray for a
rainy day.
Food & Wine
Melbourne loves its food. A growing passion for street food has been grafted onto a long-
standing multicultural culinary scene that has few peers. Throw in a highly developed cafe
culture, an enduring passion for experimentation, and all manner of designer dens where
serious eating is the order of the day, and you've one of Australia's true culinary capitals.
