We talk a lot about Melbourne’s laneways.
While there’s not any one you’d name over another, they’re an enduring legacy of our city’s
founding fathers.
Also, there are some of the best examples of
Victorian building in the world here, like South
Melbourne Town Hall and Melbourne Trades Hall.
These public buildings are on the tops of hills
and you get glimpses of them as you drive or
[ride the] tram or walk around Melbourne.
And you can’t forget Melbourne Gateway. You
really know you’ve arrived when you drive down
the Tullamarine Freeway, past “the cheese
stick,” through the speed tube. Visitors should
get their digital camera ready for the drive into
the city. It really sets you up for all that Melbourne can be.
Any great new public works?
Melbourne Museum, Federation Square, Southern Cross Station, and the Australian Centre
for Contemporary Art by Wood Marsh are
the best examples. I like to think that each is
diametrically opposed to the others, and geographically they almost take up opposing sides
of the city. It’s as if they’re better for the
presence of the others; the total is more than
the sum of the parts.
Where would you take a visitor?
Restaurants like il Solito Posto, which has Cose
Ipanema (retail fashion) upstairs. For shopping
streets, or suburbs, I’ll upset a few here by
saying there’s really only Brunswick Street in
Fitzroy and Fitzroy Street in St. Kilda. Brunswick Street has Melbourne’s best bookstore
and eating institutions like Mario’s. Fitzroy
Street is a must, with Albert Park Lake and
the city skyline in the distance.
Any visitor should go out to Healesville Sanctuary to see some Australian wildlife (wonderfully
penned for your enjoyment!) and great contemporary architecture by people like Cassandra
Fahey (Platypusary) and Minifie Nixon (Australian Wildlife Health Centre). I don’t think there’s
anywhere else in the world where you can see
injured wildlife being operated on and nursed
back to health.
COVER STORY
Which of the city’s highlights have enduring
appeal for you?
A monument to fallen soldiers, the Shrine of Remembrance is a symbolic memorial
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