The Best Melbourne Itinerary for Newbies

I spent ten days in Melbourne, Australia, with a very loose idea of how to fill my days. Other than a few hardcore spots I knew I couldn’t miss, a lot of what I wound up doing was spur of the moment. As a first-time visitor, this is the general itinerary I followed each day and what I think would work great for anyone visiting.

Some of my days were filled with just being tired and going back to my hostel, so I did condense a few items into days I felt would be realistic. I also spent time at the Australian Grand Prix and the Moomba festival, which are not normal events throughout the year, so these were excluded.

This is a trip I did on my own but used apps like nomadtable to find other solo traveler group activities.

Melbourne has fabulous public transit! There’s even a free tram zone within the CBD (central business district). However, the transit system requires their public transport card called a myki (pronounced like Mikey). You can buy one of these at metro stations, some tram stops within the CBD, or convenience stores like 7-Eleven.

If you have an Android, you can buy a digital card with the PTV app. Apple users unfortunately have to buy a physical card. However, I’d recommend you still download the PTV app, as you can register your physical card, view your balance, and even top it off with your phone without needing to find a refill station when low!

You do need to tap on and off the metro, buses, and trams so you can be correctly charged for each trip. Make sure you don’t get caught without paying because there are big fines if you do! I’d tap even within the free zone, especially if your destination is outside the free zone.

You may have heard how proud not only Australians are of their coffee but specifically the Melburnians. Melbourne is known to have the best coffee in the world. I don’t want to crap all over their pride. It’s good coffee. I’ve had bad coffee, so I know a good cup from a bad cup, but at the end of the day, it’s still coffee.

No firework effects like if you were to eat a food that would make your taste buds sing. Of course this is purely my opinion, and I know there will be dissenters and others calling for my head over this.

Despite this, I do recommend Duke’s Coffee Roasters and Patricia’s Coffee Brewers. Patricia’s is particularly interesting because it’s in an alley without a real sign, and you get free sparkling water!

This landmark is right in the CBD, making it very easy to get to! It’s quite famous for its dome, which you can see really well from the fourth floor.

There’s also a free exhibition hall that was hosting “Rebel Heart: Love letters and other declarations” during my March 2026 visit. If you’d like a tour of the library, they host them for free each day! You do need to book them ahead of time.

Any city’s Chinatown is one of my favorite spots, but Australia has a deep history with Chinese immigrants, I believe, making the one in Melbourne extra special. The area is pretty well marked, with large gates and signs being in Mandarin.

I’d just walk up and down and pop into some shops. Maybe grab some dumplings for dinner!

This is one of Melbourne’s most interesting attractions! It’s so cool that I wrote a whole article dedicated to it that you should definitely check out. Long story short, it’s an old-fashioned 1900s steam train, and if you do the whole line, this is an all-day activity.

Back on the China train, honestly, Australia wouldn’t be the multicultural mecca it is today without its Chinese immigrants, who played a huge role in the development of the country. I learned about this museum by exploring Chinatown, and for only $17 AUD, it’s quite the bargain. Honestly, I’m surprised it doesn’t cost more.

You start up on the third floor, where you can learn about Chinese immigrants and their 200-year history of immigrating to the country, along with some of the struggles they had to endure. Work your way down to the second floor, which has more artifacts and history on daily life, Chinese inventions, and culture.

The first floor has the toilets if you need them and where the calligraphy class is held if you want to book one! Otherwise, keep going down past the ground floor and into the basement. I accidentally did this in reverse. There’s a very cool interactive display of how the people came to Australia on ships and then integrated into communities. From there, you’ll walk up along the path back to the ground floor, where you can see the display on dragons, and then into the gift shop if you’d like!

I mistakenly started at the dragons and did the basement exhibit in reverse. So don’t be me.

This museum was far cooler and more interesting than I expected!

Following your visit to the Museum of Chinese Australian History, I believe it’s only appropriate you get Chinese food for lunch! Of course there are tons of options to pick from, but I went to Lucky Guys inside the Kmart center (different from the US store). I had their pork neck rice noodle soup, medium spicy, and it was absolutely fabulous!

This landmark is in dedication to the people who lost their lives during World War I. Unfortunately, I missed the last entry at 4:30pm but was able to walk around the outside. It’s truly a remarkable structure.

Admission to this is free, and they offer paid tours.

I love a green haven inside a city! Realistically Melbourne isn’t a concrete jungle, like New York City, but that doesn’t mean you should skip these gardens!

Spent a good almost two hours here just wondering and getting lost. One of the most interesting things I saw was Guilfoyle’s Volcano, which was more like an elevated pond, but the design of the structure was super unique.

You’re able to walk the gardens on your own, but they do also offer free walking tours if you’d like to take one! Entrance to the garden is free, but they do hold events that can come with a cost. During my visit there was a “Live at the Garden” concert series and “Moonlight Cinema.”

This is the beach with the famous colorful boxes! They line a good chunk of the beach, but not the whole thing.

Get a spot on the beach, enjoy the sunshine, and take your photos! The famous box with the Aussie flag is the second in the lineup towards the beginning. I almost forgot about it and am so glad after my initial pictures I walked up the beach and didn’t just leave!

Even on a public holiday, the beach wasn’t too full. Do remember the boxes are privately owned, so it’s ok to take pictures with them, but if the owner is there, be extra respectful.

Little penguins, the smallest in the world, have been marching out of the ocean on Phillip Island for the past almost thousand years. This is a behavior they have developed entirely on their own, and this is the only place in the world you can see this phenomenon.

I booked my tour through Sightseeing Tours Australia, which I highly recommend! You can read all about it in my dedicated post!

I’m sure you’re aware that Australia started off as a penal colony. Well, as the colonies developed, new criminals emerged, and prisons were needed. This one is actually the oldest in Victoria, and only a small portion of the original structure is still standing.

Your standard ticket includes museum entry, an audio guide, and a self-guided walking tour. The audio guide is available to download on your phone, and I found it super interesting as I walked through the hall. They do offer special tours if that’s something you’d be interested in booking.

There are three floors, and I would recommend starting on the ground floor and working your way up. This is also how the audio guide will move you through the building.

A very cool piece of Victorian history!

I highly recommend looking for events at bars around you! Get in on a trivia, bingo, open mic night, etc.! I met a follower of mine that’s local to play trivia at Ramblers Ale Works out in Hawthorn. It was an absolutely great time! Sadly, we did not win.

They also have great beers on tap! A pint will run you about $15+ AUD.

As Australia is a relatively new nation, founded January 1, 1901, and a former British colony, it has a unique immigration history similar to other Commonwealth nations and the United States.

The country is very multicultural, and its immigrants have helped form it into the country it is today. You’ll learn how Australia started as a place to send British and other European convicts, the immigration from non-European countries during the gold rush, the treatment of the Aboriginal people, and immigration through to today.

Australia is still a highly sought-after country for people seeking higher education, job opportunities, fleeing conflict, trying to reunite with family, and so many other reasons. For many it means freedom and safety, and you’ll hear those stories here.

They don’t stop there and show how immigration continues to be a modern issue amongst parts of the population and politics.

This was an extremely interesting museum, coming from someone from another former British colony. At only $15 AUD, you definitely shouldn’t skip this. They also offer tours, but those seem to have to be booked in-person. Regular tickets can be booked online.

This is an incredible indoor and outdoor market! They sell everything from clothes to souveniors to fresh oysters and kangaroo meat.

The outside part of the market has most of your material vendors selling clothing, homemade jewelry, or commerical Australian souveniors. There are however, lots of artisan stalls with items such as soaps, homemade crafts, etc. If you’re into organic produce, there’s a whole section outside for that too. A few rows over there are some food carts if you’d like to take a look, but have no fear there’s more!

If you head inside there’s a food hall with restaurants, but also a meat and seafood hall where you can buy pretty much everything you could imagine! Many stalls also had freshly shucked oysters ready to be eaten with lemon or fresh sashimi. Of course it’s not over, in the next section you can find cured meats, antipasti, made to order food stalls, cheeses, etc.

This is a truly incredible market. I spent around an hour here and got tuna sashimi as a snack which was absolutely delightful. It’s also important to note, most days they close around 3pm so it’s better to go on the earlier side.

I do believe calling these gardens is a bit of a stretch, but there’s greenery and a fountain which are pretty. The biggest thing here is going to be the Royal Exhibition Building. Normally, you need to be going for some sort of an event, but they do offer tours if you’d like to go inside. Sadly, they were setting up for something so I just took a look around the grounds. It’s still a georgous building!

Like many museums you can find exhibitions on dinosaurs and gemstones, because who doesn’t like those? However, what I think makes this one unique is the focus on the actual city of Melbourne itself.

After the dinosaurs, which I honestly could have skipped, there’s a Forest Gallery. This is quite literally an inside forest and goes over how humans interact with “Country” or the earth around us. It’s very beautiful with indoor waterfalls, birds, and fish.

The next most interesting segment is on Melbourne’s First People. This exhibit takes you on a journey with a messenger and you get to see aboriginal artifacts. You’re then lead into more modern situations with the settlers and first people’s stories becoming shared. If you’re going to spend most of your time anywhere, I would make it this exhibit.

Upstairs there’s a section on settler and modern Melbourne, which I found incredibly interesting! Lots to see up there, including a massive Australian Coat of Arms display.

Too be frank, I barely had an hour and half to explore before the museum closed, which was not enough time (I spent too long at lunch). Give yourself at minimum two hours if not more to walk around. Due to this, I did miss the ocean exhibit and I never found the body and mind one. However, I believe the First Peoples and Melbourne history were the most important things to see in full, which I did.

Melbourne is an incredible city that you could spend weeks or months in and still not see everything. As a first time visitor, I’m pretty happy with everything I did! There are always cool events going on there so don’t be afraid to look up shows, concerts, festivals, small local things, etc. Some of my favorite memories are from playing trivia at the pub and finding activities by just walking around!

Don’t sleep on Melbourne, she might not be as flashy as Sydney, but her star shines brighter!