In short
Melbourne is lived by neighbourhood and by laneway. The CBD is gridded and threaded with laneways — Hosier, Degraves, AC/DC Lane — where the cafés, street art and tiny bars concentrate. Fitzroy and Collingwood, to the north, are the creative quarters. St Kilda, to the south, is seaside and popular. Carlton is Italian and academic. Brunswick is Fitzroy's affordable extension.
This is Australia's coffee capital, and that is not a slogan: the flat white and independent roaster culture was born here.
Arriving and getting around
There is no train from Tullamarine airport. The SkyBus reaches Southern Cross in twenty to thirty minutes depending on traffic; it is the standard mode, and a taxi costs considerably more.
In the city, the tram network is the largest in the world. The CBD Free Tram Zone is free, with no tap on; outside it you need a myki card, which cannot be bought on board a tram.
Suburban trains leave from Flinders Street and Southern Cross.
What it really costs
Melbourne is expensive for housing, on a par with Sydney, but less so for eating out and going out.
Bring your own restaurants — where you bring your own bottle for a modest corkage fee — are a local institution and halve the bill for a dinner.
When to come
March–April and October–November. The southern summer, December to February, is hot and dry, with spikes beyond forty degrees. Winter is cool and wet, rarely cold.
The weather changes several times a day — that is a documented local reality, not a joke: leaving with a single layer is a mistake.
What nobody tells you
CBD traffic imposes the hook turn: to turn right you move to the left lane and wait for the light. It is unique in the world and disorienting in a car.
The Great Ocean Road takes two days, not one. A day return from Melbourne means over eight hours of driving for an hour on site.
On Melbourne Cup, AFL final and Grand Prix days the city is full and accommodation prices double. The dates are public.