South Melbourne Travel Guide

A nice, modern, large and clean venue with 2 large bars, and several dining areas.

The interior paintwork is quite trendy (one corner of the dining area is bright red, 2 others are lime green) but the place still retains its nice pub atmosphere as well.

The Geebung was the first gig venue of the new line-up of my husband's Rock band, with a brand new singer and direction.
The band is called "Almost Angels" and you can see pics of their show in one of the travelogues below.

Dress Code: neat casual dress, at least. Of course you can dress up a lot more if you wish.

Queen Victoria Market is a quintessential Melbourne experience that's not to be missed if you're visiting Victoria's capital. Queen Victoria Market, a.k.a. "The Vic", is a local institution.

This is what makes it one of the city's most interesting tourist attractions. Like an afternoon at the footy, an early morning trip to the market offers an insight into Melbourne's unique traditions and characters.

Queen Victoria Market is the largest open-air market in the southern hemisphere, covering seven hectares, and more than half of this space is devoted to fresh produce and the gore-fest that is the meathall,

Offerings include the pedestrian, the exotic, the obscure, and the downright bizarre. You'll feel compelled to somehow involve yourself in the madness.

What to buy: If you want to sample the interesting bits and pieces that catch your eye as you wander around, consider taking a guided market tour.
Certainly, there are some interesting stalls. For the most part, the inedible wares area is a bargain hunter's paradise.

What to pay: Less than retail. Many great bargins and lots of local crafts.

Part of the local culture of Melbourne is all the different ethnic group/international festivals held throughout the year, especially international music.
This one is from Jan 16, 2005, at Federation Square - about 8 hours of various music and dancing by the Brazilian community of Melbourne.

On the surface it seems like a good attraction...a nice island, easy to reach in a day trip from Melbourne. BUT the only way to see the fairy penguins is if you pay to get into the area at night and take a tour, en masse with hundreds of other tourists, busloads, etc. It's very commercial and I feel sad for the penguins who must waddle up the beach each night in the glare of spotlights and camera flashes. It's not a natural setting at all
BUT it's up to you.
Phillip Island definitely IS worth seeing - but for me it's for other wildlife like Koalas and seals. The seals can be seen on a rocky island off the coast of the Island from the Seal Rocks Sea Life centre (where we also saw hundreds of breeding seagulls on the clifftop). If you're lucky, you may even see a seal at closer range, swimming in the heavy seas near the rocks below the centre.

Unique Suggestions: You'll just have to be prepared for a large crowd.

Fun Alternatives: Instead you could see Fairy Penguins at Victor Harbour in South Australia (1 hr south of Adelaide). It's much less commercial and you can take a ranger tour to see them. They're much more undisturbed here.