Melbourne is movement, shape, color, height, space and freedom. It is the smell of coffee and the aromas of food from hundreds of restaurants, bars and eateries. This is the Yarra embankment and skyscrapers. A city of museums, galleries and theaters that lives up to its status as Australia’s Capital of Culture. People came here less than two hundred years ago to build what they could not get in Europe – and built one of the most comfortable and beautiful cities in the world.
Melbourne is multicultural, multicultural and diverse. Students and businessmen, bankers and artists – this city will accept you, whoever you are. Even homeless people move here from other cities. In Melbourne you will find 19th century Victorian architecture and Art Deco interiors, old mansions, modern parks and beaches of Port Phillip Bay, eucalyptus and cockatoos as city trees and birds, authentic cuisine from around the world and old pubs. This southernmost metropolis on the planet is able to turn your idea of cities around.
The main attractions of Melbourne are concentrated in and around the CBD, but other areas have their own iconic spots as well. Different parts of Melbourne are quite different from each other in architecture, contingent, institutions and general atmosphere – a great excuse to get somewhere from the center.
It is logical to start your acquaintance with the city from Federation Square – a cult place with photographs of Australia in travel magazines. Federation Square is not like the usual open spaces, part of it is occupied by indoor buildings of unusual geometric shapes. This is the heart and soul of Melbourne, there are always a lot of people here, they meet, relax, drink coffee, hold festivals, exhibitions and concerts.
The covered area of Federation Square houses the Ian Potter Center: NGV Australia art gallery and the Australian Center for the Moving Image (ACMI). The Ian Potter Center: NGV Australia houses the Australian National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) collection. In total, the Ian Potter Center has about 25 thousand exhibits – paintings, sculptures, prints, photographs. A significant part of them is devoted to the period of colonization and the art of the Australian aborigines.
Another interesting exhibit awaits you at the Australian Center for the Moving Image (ACMI) – the national museum of film, video games, digital culture and art. It is the second most visited museum in Australia and the most visited moving picture museum in the world.
More recently, Fed Square (as locals call it) hosted the Melbourne Visitor Center. But on August 20, 2018, he will move to Melbourne Town Hall (90-130 Swanston St). Be sure to go there for free city maps, find out about interesting tourist routes, festivals and upcoming cultural events, book an interesting tour or ask about free excursions.
Near Fed Square, there are many beautiful historical backdrops. These include the city’s oldest Flinders Street Railway Station, with the city’s traditional meeting point under the clock, Melbourne’s largest Anglican cathedral, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Forum Theater with its Moorish minarets, night sky ceilings and Roman statues.