Food, theatre, footy and more. SCN journalist Shirley Sinclair knows how to make the most of a quick escape to Melbourne.
You can’t help but be swept up in the excitement when one of the world’s greatest cities celebrates all the good things in life on a daily basis.
After an exhilarating short break in the Victorian capital, I feel like I’ve been starring in the Working Dog TV advertisements for Visit Melbourne, complete with Taxiride Get Set soundtrack.
Any major events?
How about being part of a nearly 89,000-strong crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for a blockbuster between two of the Australian Football League’s ultimate rivals.
The “nose-bleed”, second-back row seats are the best I can find online for the Carlton-Collingwood clash but it is all worth it.
The position offers a glorious overview of the on-field strategy and the sea of fans, as well as clear views to two big screens for action replays (though it is a mission to climb all those steps back up without spilling the beer or dropping the hot chips from the snack bar).
With the nation now gripped by AFL finals fever, there’s still time to show your true colours at packed stadiums, a boisterous sports bar or the CBD’s Federation Square. Try your luck on any remaining finals tickets through Ticketek.
Any great shows?
After airline delays, I barely have time to stow the suitcase in the room at Courtyard by Marriott Melbourne Flagstaff Gardens in West Melbourne before jumping in a taxi and heading for Princess Theatre, less than 3km away.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the most-honoured production in the history of Britain’s Olivier Awards and I have a goofy smile across my face for its full three-and-a-half hours – not just because it takes the spectacularly popular JK Rowling’s Harry Potter wizard franchise into the next generation of plotlines.
This production, direct from Broadway, uses every trick in the book and then some to entertain, mesmerise and confound.
Like watching an illusionist show in the 1800s, the audience is kept guessing in wonder at how the special effects are accomplished.
The pyrotechnics at the end of magic wands might have been expected. But huge Dementors flying overhead, characters appearing out of thin air, furniture disappearing under the swoosh of capes, “time warps” leaving the entire stage set warbling, and actors emerging from a front-of-stage “lake”?
Magic really does happen.
If a modern history lesson is more your pace, Hamilton is playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Exhibition Street, featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway music genres, woven around the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton.
Any places worth seeing?
The world-famous surfing Mecca, Bells Beach, has been top of my wishlist to revisit after a 25-year absence.
In the hire car, I tick off the Werribee Park Open Range Zoo and the Geelong turn-offs and follow the bright-yellow canola fields for about 77km on the M1, towards the coastal heathland, dramatic limestone cliffs and sandy beaches bordering the eastern edge of the Great Otway National Park.
The 48-hectare Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve takes in a two-kilometre stretch southwest of Torquay-Jan Juc, part of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road region.
Traditionally around Easter each year for more than half a century, the world’s best surfers have taken on the bigger autumn/winter swells from the Southern Ocean as they slow down and steepen over the reef-strewn shallows of Bells Beach at the Rip Curl Pro Surfing Competition.
At any hint of a wave throughout the year, surfers hit the water to provide hours of entertainment for spectators within the natural amphitheatre of the cliffs, coastal walk and timber decks.
Meanwhile, down the road around the calmer waters of Torquay, there’s definitely a buzz in the air of the coastal business area as every café, bakery, bar or restaurant is just begging visitors to pull up a chair, breathe in the fresh salty air, admire the view and join the party.
Anywhere to eat or drink?
As one of the world’s most diverse multicultural cities, Melbourne dines out on a smorgasbord of culinary influences.
There’s always a food/wine/craft beer festival or event on the horizon. Every suburb, city laneway, tourist strip and farmer’s market will fulfil your tastebuds’ every desire. And a plethora of rooftop bars öffers any number of colourful cocktails with your name on them.
The warm tones and spacious comfort of the Mail Exchange Hotel in Bourke Street are ideal for pre-dinner drinks or post-match wind-down, while the colourfully lit beergarden at The Newmarket in St Kilda is a hip and happening place (though the 30th birthday parties can be noisy) with an outstanding pumpkin gnocchi and arancini balls on an above-average pub menu.
Take a leisurely tram ride to discover new delights in areas such as Richmond, Fitzroy and Collingwood.
Or stick to tried-and-true foodie enclaves such as Carlton’s “Little Italy”: Lygon Street.
A Melburnian recommended Tiamo Italian and, even without a booking, the waiting time is only 15 minutes (the food envy growing with every meal the waiters bring out to the outdoor dining area).
Staff miraculously manage to find us a table for eight near the “theatre” of the kitchen inside the packed restaurant.
From classic Margherita pizza and garlic focaccia to fettucine carbonara with lightly cooked thin bacon strips and an unexpected surprise “slab” of tiramisu for the birthday girl of the group, the array of dishes does not disappoint.
Another suggestion from a recent visitor also must be tried: the pho rice-noodle soup at Pho Ba-Ga Mekong Vietnamese in Swanson Street.
While I usually opt for dumplings or Thai in Chinatown along Little Bourke Street, this traditional, no-fuss restaurant is packed at noon on a Saturday – mostly locals “in the know” about the filling, fresh ingredients in the affordable dishes.
The tasty beef special pho ($17.50) and vegetable spring rolls ($9.90) are plenty enough for two.
Later that day, we drown our sorrows at Baci in Crown Melbourne, where the attentive staff make sharing a Genovese pizza (bocconcini, pesto, mushroom, garlic, cherry tomatoes, olives, parmesan and basil – $29) and a few drinks a little more bearable after a heartbreaking loss at the footy.
Any free ideas?
Strolling along the Yarra River, Docklands and city streets will walk off any over-indulgent dessert or delectable three-course dinner.
Or better still, try the leafy surrounds of Melbourne’s oldest public park.
You may never have heard of the 7.17-hectare Flagstaff Gardens, since Fitzroy Gardens, the Kings Domain and Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria usually steal all the thunder of “the Garden City”.
But in the 1840s, early settlers came to the hill vantage point for a bird’s eye view of the harbour and to share the latest news. Signal flags up the flag pole (or flag staff) were used to send messages between the harbour and the town, including news in 1850 that Victoria was officially separated from NSW.
Bordered by William, La Trobe, King and Dudley streets, the park leads directly into the Queen Victoria Markets.
The Queen Vic Markets have become my time-honoured Sunday breakfast tradition on any trip to Melbourne. A breakfast ricotta and spinach gozleme from the Borek Shop and a “hot dog” from the nearby Bratwurst Shop & Co in the Dairy Produce Hall, washed down with a Market Espresso coffee (with maybe a cheeky almond croissant for later!) are great shopping fuel to browse the many varied stalls.
Any hotels to recommend?
Melbourne’s “west-side story” is all just a walk in the park from the newly opened Courtyard by Marriott Melbourne Flagstaff Gardens.
This 150-guestroom, 4-star hotel in Batman Street is close to some impressive “big guns” in the neighbourhood.
Docklands, Marvel Stadium and Spencer Outlet Centre shopping mall (not to mention our hire car drop-off location) are a stone’s throw away.
Oodles of train and tram public transport options around Spencer Street and Southern Cross Station can bring exploring Melbourne (and the rest of Victoria, for that matter) that much closer.
The March hotel launch signified the arrival of Courtyard by Marriott in Melbourne and the third for Australia.
The Courtyard brand, founded in the United States in 1983, was a trailblazer – considered the world’s first hotel to champion business travellers’ needs, identifying a gap in the market between premium hotels and affordable motel-style lodging.
Sophistication and comfort are key, now with carefully considered design elements catering to both business and leisure travellers – including an all-day dining restaurant, street-facing café/bar and large fitness centre offering round-the-clock access.
The seamless check-in is only surpassed by one final question from the efficient and friendly reception staff: “Would you like a complimentary glass of sparkling wine as a welcome drink?”
After packing as much as humanly possible into every day on this getaway, that’s not what impresses me the most, however.
Each night, on returning to my hotel “sanctuary” about midnight – sent on my way with a “good evening” from the duty manager at the 24-hour reception, I take the fast elevator 10 floors to the welcome comfort of the Premium Guest Room and the layers of weariness from the day just peel away.
The oh-so-comfy king bed with pillow selection and mattress pillowtop even has me Googling “Mattress topper from Shop Courtyard by Marriott” (yes, it is a thing!) as a possible permanent reminder of my little adventure.
The attention to detail is also much appreciated – the full-length mirror, great wardrobe space and lights in each door, makeup mirror, iron and ironing board, slow-closing toilet lid, shower bench seat, and Smart TV with Chromecast ability.
And whether having the weekday a la carte menu or weekend buffet, the choice of breakfast options is diverse and hearty in readiness for another big day of sightseeing.
It all adds up to a short-break holiday that’s the complete package.
Melbourne really is its own best advertisement.
- The writer was a guest of Courtyard by Marriott Melbourne Flagstaff Gardens for two nights but paid all other expenses.
A CITY FOR ALL SEASONS
