Welcome to Melbourne aLive

With a vibrant pulse, Melbourne sits on the northern banks of the Yarra River. The Central Business District is laid out in a well-planned rectangular grid pattern, with busy city streets linked by a multitude of laneways and alleys. The main streets are wide, originally planned to allow horse drawn carriages to do u-turns, now leaving plenty of room for the trams running through the centre. Every second East/West street is a smaller one-way street or lane, which hides an abundance of exciting restaurants, bars, shops, attractions.

Melbourne is home to some the finest & most perfectly situated collection of sporting venues in the world - all within a stone's throw of the CBD.

EXPERIENCES, ATTRACTIONS & TOURS - Melbourne is jam-packed with exciting and interesting Attractions, Experiences and Tours.

Click on Experiences, Attractions & Tours for a selection of our favourites such as Winery Tours, Shopping Tours, My Buller Day Trip, Great Ocean Road Tours, Phillip Island Tours, City Sights Tours and much more.

HOTELS & APARTMENTS Whether you're after a city break or you need a breath of fresh air, Victoria has some fantastic city hotels, country playgrounds, beach getaways & mountain hideaways.

DINING IN MELBOURNE- With almost 1/3 of Melbournians born overseas there is little wonder we are called a cultural melting pot offering a huge variety of restaurants from around the globe.

Taste test Melbourne by touring around Melbourne's precincts. From the Greek charm of Lonsdale Street or Carlton's Little Italy, to Chinatown around Little Bourke Street. But don't forget the modern Australian restaurants at Docklands or the eclectic tastes in St Kilda, Brunswick St & Chapel Street….
And don't forget the Sth Melbourne Market Dim Sims.

To truly discover Melbourne is to embark on an adventure for the tastebuds let's eat! Restaurants

MELBOURNE'S BARS & NIGHTLIFE - Whether your scene is a relaxed ‘local' or a wild dance floor you'll find Melbourne offers a diverse assortment of entertainment from converted warehouses, to traditional pubs and cool cocktail lounges in hidden laneways.You can choose from more than 1000 bars & clubs in Melbourne. Here a few of our favourites. Bars

SHOPPING - Retail Therapy - Melbourne has long been recognised as Australia's shopping and fashion capital.

Every city has variety of small boutiques and major department stores selling local designers and international brands. But what makes Melbourne's Shopping scene exceptional is CHARACTER!

You'll find shops and boutiques in hidden laneways and lovely arcades, huge shopping malls, tree-lined streets, suburban streetscapes & alleys as well as an eclectic range of markets.

Every time you turn around you'll discover another shopping precinct, chock full of bargains and funky treasures awaiting your credit card.

Join a Shopping Tour & discover our local favourites to help you to negotiate the shopping paradise that is Melbourne; spoil yourself and check out our favourite experiences. Shopping

SPORT For Venue & Sporting Tours info check out Sports Melburnians are passionate about sport. In fact if you want to be included in social or business conversation on Monday morning or Friday afternoon (and any time in between) you need to be able to talk the sport talk.

Melbourne is home to some the finest & most perfectly situated collection of sporting venues in the world. Major facilities include the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Telstra Dome, Rod Laver Arena, Vodafone Arena, Olympic Park, Flemington Race Course, Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre (MSAC) and Albert Park Grand Prix Track.

A visit to the Melbourne Observation Deck will give you the perfect 360 degrees birds-eye view of all ofthese facilities or join a Sports Lovers Tour, taking you behind the scenes of these venues on a city tour with a difference.

Melbourne's world-class facilities attract an extensive range of national and international sporting events, including the Australian Open Tennis Championships, Australian F1 Grand Prix, Australian Football League games, Melbourne Cup (horse racing), Boxing Day Test Match & various One Day Cricket Internationals, and of course the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Victoria can add to this list the Rip Curl Surf Championships at Bells Beach, V8 Supercars, Super Bikes, and Moto GP at Phillip Island.

Sporting Melbourne is not just about spectating – participation is a fundamental part of Melbourne lifestyle. You can play on the same tennis courts as Agassi & Federer or drive around the same F1Grand Prix circuits as Michael Schumacher or Valentino Rossi. Witness the culture of the midday jog as office workers race around the Botanic Gardens - “The Tan” track (the original horse track was covered with tan bark) or cyclists and roller-bladers cruising along the Yarra River or St Kilda Foreshore. Experience Melbourne from the water as you windsurf, canoe or sail on Port Phillip Bay or just grab a bat and ball for a game of beach cricket.

According to London-based consulting and research company, ArkSports Limited, Melbourne is the best location in the world to hold a sports event! The 2006 ArkSports study aimed to determine which city in the world is the 'Ultimate Sports City' in terms of hosting international major events. Twenty cities made the initial cut based on their history of hosting sports events and were then ranked according to ArkSports by a range of criteria, including the number of annual sports events held, major events held or won up until 2010, facilities, transport, accommodation, government support, weather, legacy, public sports interest and quality of life.

Melbourne topped the rankings in several sections, including major events held or won, facilities and government support, and came second in the majority of others including number of annual events held, weather and legacy.

Whether for you it's the horses, the jockeys and trainers, the fashion and glamour, or just a great day out on the punt - it certainly keeps Victorians entertained. Horse racing is the sport of kings and Victoria loves a day at the races.

For the ultimate Melbourne experience, you must go to a game of Aussie Rules ‘footy' at the MCG or Telstra Dome. The game is fast paced and resembles elements rugby & soccer. Crowds are loud & passionate but well-behaved. Don't forget that a beer & Four'n'Twenty pie is all part of the experience.

Join Melbourne Sports Tours with a local host to explain the rules, bumps & brawl in sensational seats.

Melbourne hosts 9 of the 16 AFL teams and our media will leave you in no doubt of our favourite game. Nevertheless Rugby League (Melbourne Storm) & Football / Soccer (Melbourne Victory) as well as basketball, netball also have a keen following.

The summer of 2010/2011 sees the return of cricket's oldest rivalry to our shores.

Following the victory of the England (includes Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Zimbabwe, South African) team on home soil in the 2009 series, the Poms will be hoping history does not repeat itself in the form of the 5-0 series thrashing last time they were over.

With nearly a full week between the 3rd Test in Perth, and the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, the World's Greatest Sporting City will open it's arms to thousands of visitors arriving to experience the most iconic day of cricket on the calendar.

MELBOURNE OVERVIEW