Worth getting out of bed for...

Viewpoint

The vertiginous 92-storey Eureka Tower at Southbank, Melbourne’s tallest building, offers 360-degree views of the city (www.eurekaskydeck.com.au).

Arts and culture

The flourishing Southbank arts precinct houses the Melbourne Recital Centre (www.melbournerecital.com.au) and Melbourne Theatre Company (www.mtc.com.au). Down the road, Malthouse Theatre (www.malthousetheatre.com.au) presents contemporary drama. Across the way, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (www.accaonline.org.au) curates edgy exhibitions. The studios of modern dance company Chunky Move (www.chunkymove.com) are next door, with classes available if you fancy throwing some shapes. Art lovers should make tracks for the National Gallery of Victoria: International on St Kilda Road, for global works, and the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in Federation Square for homegrown talent (www.ngv.vic.gov.au). Opposite Fed Square, the Forum Theatre (www.forummelbourne.com.au) hosts bands. For more idiosyncratic and indigenous art, check out Flinders Lane, between Spring and Swanston Streets.

Something for nothing

Melbourne is renowned for its live music scene, and most nights you can catch a band for free at any one of the city’s pubs. Head up to bar-lined Brunswick Street in the boho enclave of Fitzroy and see what catches your eye. Further south, St Kilda’s Esplanade Hotel (www.espy.com.au) is a rock ’n’ roll institution.

Shopping

You can lose hours browsing the lovely designer boutiques on the laneways that criss-cross the CBD. Flinders Lane is a mine of couture excellence. Also try Little Collins Street – home to Assin and Marais (edgy but exquisite mens and womenswear), and Shag (great vintage pieces). Discerning gents should call on luxe men’s boutique Harrolds (www.harrolds.com.au) on Collins Street or Chiodo on Russell Street (www.chiodoonline.com). Make for RG Madden (www.rgmadden.com.au), on Little Bourke Street, for designer gifts, accessories and homewares, or Melbourne’s GPO (www.melbournesgpo.com), a glam renovated post office on the corner of Bourke and Elizabeth Streets, for impressive international and local labels, including Gorman. For quirkier one-off fashion, vintage and interiors finds, mosey north to Gertrude, Brunswick, Johnston and grungier Smith Streets in Fitzroy. In Albert Park, pop into Empire Vintage on Cardigan Place(www.empirevintage.com.au), where Lyn Gardener stocks gorgeous vintage wares. In Fitzroy, try Max Watts Industria on Gertrude Street for covetable retro furniture and one-off homewares.

Daytripper

Indulge in wine tasting in the Yarra Valley – an hour’s drive from the city and home to some of Australia’s best producers. If you’re interested in this land’s unique wildlife, don’t miss Healesville Sanctuary (www.zoo.org.au/Healesville Sanctuary). Just 90 minutes north-west of Melbourne, the mineral springs in Daylesford and Hepburn Springs (www.visitdaylesford.com.au) have enticed city visitors for over a century. Neighbouring Castlemaine (www.maldoncastlemaine.com) is renowned for its arts community.

Perfect picnic

Dubbed ‘the garden city’, Melbourne is flanked by lovely gardens and parks. Pick up supplies from the Queen Victoria Market (www.qvm.com.au) then stroll or take a tram to Carlton Gardens, Fitzroy Gardens or the Royal Botanical Gardens.

Walks

The Golden Mile Heritage Trail explores how the discovery of gold shaped the city. Walking tours depart from Fed Square – or buy a guide and go it alone. For insight into the city’s indigenous roots, wander around the Birrarung Wilam, an installation celebrating Aboriginal communities in the Birrarung Marr park. Or to uncover more of Melbourne, take a Lanes and Arcades tour (www.hiddensecretstours.com).

Children

The iconic Luna Park fun fair (www.lunapark.com.au) opened in 1912, and its enormous laughing-face façade has become one of Melbourne’s most recognisable symbols. Entry is free, but the rides are not. Bugs and dinosaurs are the stars at the Melbourne Museum (www.museumvictoria.com.au) in leafy Carlton Gardens. Children will also love Melbourne Zoo (www.zoo.org.au/MelbourneZoo) and the Melbourne Aquarium (www.melbourneaquarium.com.au).

Activities

Enjoy a sunset barbecue on the banks of the Yarra River. Take your prawns to Birrarung Marr park, where you’ll find cooking grills, a kid’s play area and fab views. Joggers should head to the Tan, a 3.9-kilometre track around the Royal Botanical Gardens. Rent an old-school bike from the Humble Vintage (www.thehumblevintage.com). Popular routes include following the Yarra Trail north-east or pedalling bayside towards St Kilda. Bicycle Victoria (www.bv.com.au) has all the info you’ll need.

And

There’s more aquatic action every night at sunset when Phillip Island’s little penguins parade to shore (www.penguins.org.au), a worthwhile 90-minute trip out of town.