My favorite places to visit despite the Melbourne weather

Where is Terrafirma Lyn, FREEZING in Melbourne!!

I’m in Melbourne for a month, acclimatizing to the Melbourne weather. After leaving sunny Queensland with a temperature high of 27 degrees and a low of 17 degrees at night, Melbourne is a rude shock, temperature 9 degrees on arrival and down to 4-5 degrees during the night brrrrr!!!!!!

Bleak, cold,wet and freezing in Melbourne.Places to visit despite the weather

Brrrrrr!!! BLEAK COLD and FREEZING, MELBOURNE in JULY

If, for whatever misfortune you plan to visit Melbourne in July/August:

• DO bring your winter woollies;
• Warm thermals;
• Wear layers, so you can add or take of as the weather changes
• You NEED a very warm waterproof coat/jacket
• An umbrella for the inevitable rain
• Hat and scarf
• Waterproof shoes/boot
• A smile and a sense of humour, to ward off the bleak gray days

A coat with a hood is good. If you are traveling out and about around 4.30pm of an evening, this is when a beastly cold wind starts to freeze your ears off. A hood is a godsend!

Can the Melbourne weather get any worse? Yes it can! It is well-known that you can have three seasons in one day in Melbourne, without any trouble at all.

Assuming you did come to enjoy yourself, armed with the above protective layers, you can still do so. There is a lot to see and do in Melbourne.

My favorite  places to visit,despite the Melbourne Weather. Melbourne city and beyond.

Melbourne Museum – TITANIC: the Artefact Exhibition

I enjoyed my visit to the Melbourne Museum. In addition to the wonderful TITANIC. the Artefact Exhibition , the Melbourne Gallery caught my attention. Here you will find a tribute to Australia’s most famous racehorse “Phar Lap” with the history,  as well as a statue of this magnificent animal. The interactive exhibitions at the Melbourne Museum enjoyed by children and adults alike, and the dinosaurs skeletons were very impressive. All in all, a great place to visit in Melbourne and good value for money.

Places to visit Melbourne the old forum theatre

The Forum Theatre

I first saw this building from the train, and the architecture caught my attention immediately. The Forum theatre situated on the corner of  Flinders and Russell Streets in the CBD area. I could see it in the distance, so worked my way towards it. Unfortunately it was closed. I discovered it to be the Forum Theatre (formerly known as the “State Theatre”). Peeking in through the glass doors the interior looked really interesting as I could see roman statues.

The Forum Theatre  opened in February 1929, and at that time had the largest seating capacity of any theatre  in Australia, with seating for 3371 people.  Originally designed as an “Atmospheric Theatre” movie palace, with the interior design featuring Greco-Roman statues and a blue ceiling decorated with stars, reminiscent of a starry night.

The buildings exterior features, which captured my imagination from the train, is described as being  ‘Moorish Revival’. It has many minarets and a striking domed clock tower.  It must have been an amazing movie palace of its time.

It has seen many changes over the years and it now hosts performances and concerts by many famous artists.The annual Melbourne International Film Festival is held here.  It would be well worth a visit just to see what the interior is like today.

The Forum Theatre listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

View Southgate & pedestrian bridge across the Yarra River Melbourne

Southgate on the Yarra

I enjoyed lunching at the Southgate complex on the banks of the Yarra River, very nice restaurants to choose from, then a stroll through the boutiques and galleries for some retail therapy, and finally a walk across the pedestrian bridge to Flinders Street Station . I love this magnificent old railway station.

National Gallery Victoria (NGV)

The National Gallery Victoria has a wonderful Exhibition ‘Melbourne Winter Masterpieces- European Masters- Stadel Museum 19th-2oth Century’ (I think you have to say that in one breath)! If you take an audio tour it makes it very interesting and tell you so much more about the artists. There are masterpieces by German artist and well as artworks by the greatest French, Belgian, Dutch and Swiss masters of the time. They have a good cafeteria here, hot coffee tastes so good on a cold winters day. There are also other galleries you can view whilst your there.  The NGV is in the Arts Precinct Stop 1 on the Tourist Shuttle or City Circle Tram. Cost to view the Exhibition range from $11-$23.

Places to visit in Melbourne.View the European Masters Exhibition at the NGV

Melbourne Zoo

You are never to old for a visit the Zoo. My grandchildren had a pupil free day from school, the weather looked promising for a nice day so we headed for the Melbourne Zoo, another great place to visit in Melbourne. Coming soon to this blog.

Outside Melbourne

A trip along the Great Ocean Road is a must. Magnificent ocean vistas, ancient wind and water created sculptors, the twelve apostles and more, nature at its best. Make time to do this trip! A top place to visit outside Melbourne on a one day trip.

A visit to the Wine and Cheese region of North East Victoria, can be a lot of fun!

More on these later!

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