As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

Things to do in Melbourne (apart from PAX).

2»

Posts

  • EmbraceThePingEmbraceThePing ひきこもり Where the Crabbits and the Iz roam and the Jungle Queen rules the plainsRegistered User regular
    Wow Haven't updated for a while. Sorry to all those who posted.
    I'm totally screw up with a cold atm. Will try and update later today when the medication kicks in.

  • VanellopeVanellope Registered User regular
    edited February 2013
    The Haunted Bookshop is a great little book store in McKillop Street, which is more of an alleyway than a street. It's a bit on the creepy side of things. The best thing about it though is it runs ghost tours though the city every Saturday night. I do recommend.

    Vanellope on
  • TawasaTawasa Registered User new member
    For anime fans there is a maid cafe in melbourne called Doki Doki Station if you've ever wanted to see one this'll be your chance.

  • BekerBeker Child's Play Program Director SeattleRegistered User, Penny Arcade Staff regular
    MrCliff wrote: »
    I'm from Melb, and I think one thing that hasn't been mentioned which i would find compulsory for all visitors to Melbourne is The Puffing Billy steam train!
    http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/ Is the website, it's fantastic fun - a great day and amazing journey thorugh the good looking Victorian mountains.

    Yes, this. I would love to go on this as an awesome way to see the countryside.

    -Beker/Erick
    zx6ak2M.png
  • TsolisTsolis Registered User new member
    Hey guys I'm a "Melbournite" and don't bother going to South Melbourne market the years haven't been kind to her.

  • dyconivegdyconiveg Melbourne - AustraliaRegistered User new member
    I think a worthy mention is ACMI (Australian Centre of the Moving image). They have a good exhibitions there quite often and an interactive exhibit about various kinds of visual media (including video games).

    Sorry if this has been mentioned before.

  • NerdlancerNerdlancer Registered User regular
    As a native, i strongly suggest not going to Luna park, unless you have a thing for generic, nauseating, expensive fair rides.

    here is a very handy video guide of tourist hotspots:

    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pBlJ1tiySUA[/video]

  • impstarimpstar Registered User new member
    im imp or sam wateva you wish to call me
    my 19th birthday is on july the 19th so i will be attending pax aus for the 3 days
    how ever i have never been to Melbourne and i live in a small town in QLD
    i was wondering if any one knew a good place to go celebrate my bday after pax with my mates
    and any one eles who i meet at pax aus (i will be easy to spot ill be wearing a bday hat and a dominion gaming shirt {which i designed})
    please try and make the places that are listed not age restrictive coz some of my mates are 17 how ever i would still like to have a few drinks too :)

    thanks for any help you give Imp

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    impstar wrote: »
    im imp or sam wateva you wish to call me
    my 19th birthday is on july the 19th so i will be attending pax aus for the 3 days
    how ever i have never been to Melbourne and i live in a small town in QLD
    i was wondering if any one knew a good place to go celebrate my bday after pax with my mates
    and any one eles who i meet at pax aus (i will be easy to spot ill be wearing a bday hat and a dominion gaming shirt {which i designed})
    please try and make the places that are listed not age restrictive coz some of my mates are 17 how ever i would still like to have a few drinks too :)

    thanks for any help you give Imp

    There was already a thread for this, I merged yours into it.

  • AgtVolkoffAgtVolkoff Registered User new member
    I'm surprised no one has mentioned Galactic circus in Crown, great fun place with laser tag, bowling and well of course GAMES

  • rithrith Perth, AustraliaRegistered User regular
    AgtVolkoff wrote: »
    I'm surprised no one has mentioned Galactic circus in Crown, great fun place with laser tag, bowling and well of course GAMES

    Awesome place. Not just saying that because I topped my friends in laser tag.

  • pobblebonkpobblebonk Registered User regular
    I was hoping the IRL FPS games would be up and running after their last season ended in January, no news yet. Real life multiplayer zombie survival game. http://irlshooter.com/patient-0/

    One place I really enjoy visiting every time I'm in Melbourne is Dracula's. Dinner and Cabaret Show, everyone has a lot of fun. https://www.draculas.com.au/melbourne/the-venue/

  • I'm Still MeI'm Still Me Registered User new member
    I don't know if anyone is into live theatre (I certainly am), but there's usually a bunch of stuff on in Melbourne that is worth seeing. Whenever I visit to see family and friends I try to see a few shows, and this trip will be no exception.

    A few of the theatres in the city:

    The Marriner Group (who I used to usher for) run a few theatres, and I think that they'll have a few shows running at the time of PAX Aus. King Kong (just had its world premiere), possibly Legally Blonde the Musical (much better than it has any right to be), and Slava's Snow Show (not my thing - I saw it a couple of years back - but very popular).
    http://www.marrinergroup.com.au/

    The Melbourne Theatre Company usually runs good plays - I'll be seeing The Crucible while I'm down.
    https://www.mtc.com.au/

    Not sure what's on at the Arts Centre at the time, but they often have something worth seeing.
    http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/

    The Malthouse will have Tripod doing their show The Dragon, which may be of interest to PAX attendees. Give it a look.
    http://www.malthousetheatre.com.au/


    Those are the big ones, but there are plenty of other, smaller theatre companies who do great work close to the centre of town. There's also a halftix booth just by the Town Hall, on Swanston Street just up from Collins - they often have cheap tickets to shows on the day.

  • SuperRoachSuperRoach BallaratRegistered User regular
    The butterfly club is a lovely place you should check out with friends and wanted a more atmospheric setting. It's down a lane, and multi level, with no loud music playing, and very comfortable old lounges there.
    http://thebutterflyclub.com/

  • marz_1982marz_1982 Registered User regular
    edited July 2013
    Surprised no-one has mentioned yet, but if you have a day available, there is a free shuttle around several tourist attractions in Melbourne city.

    I've read that the Royal Botanical Gardens is very nice (and has a few things to see, such as the Shrine of Remembrance). It goes by the Queen Victoria markets and Docklands, several museums etc. Link has details - bus runs every 30 minutes, entire trip takes about 90 min, and you can hop on/off wherever you like.

    The Melbourne Shuttle

    marz_1982 on
  • DaCrawDaCraw Registered User regular
    +1 to the Shrine. Their museum is quite good, and they have a number of VCs on display. (Victoria Cross; the British/Commonwealth equivalent of the US Medal of Honor). The one in Canberra is probably more fleshed out, but the Melbourne one is well worth a visit.

    ---
    Avatar is from www.xkcd.com
  • chimpachimpa Connor Jacobs BrisbaneRegistered User regular
    @Nerdlancer -- thank you for that advice. I was wondering whether Luna Park should be on my to-do list, but now it's not. :) Day saved!

  • UmbraLucisUmbraLucis Registered User regular
    If you're after some interesting cocktails there's the Carlton Yacht Club bar . If you're up for places further out I'd also suggest Scienceworks, Healesville Sanctuary or a day trip out to Daylesford. If you're a chocolate lover there's plenty of choice around Melbourne - check out Max Brenner, Koko Black, Haighs or do a Chocoholic Tour!

    Domo's are like cookies. One's just never enough.
  • itchbayitchbay Self-Rescuing Princess Registered User regular
    Hat train trip sounds lovely! We are coming into Melbourne as soon as our "slightly delayed" flight from Canberra gets us there. Any others care to join us on either Tues or Wed?

    Not *that* kind of princess.
  • MrChadMrChad Game Designer/Researcher Melbourne, AustraliaRegistered User regular
    For those of you who are still in Melbourne on Monday, Hovergarden is having its annual indie games arcade night, Hovercade!

    I make weird games..
    2YbLjhT.png
    Hovercade | Hovergarden
  • itchbayitchbay Self-Rescuing Princess Registered User regular
    We are walking around downtown today. If anyone wants to meet up for drinks or coffee, give a holler.

    Not *that* kind of princess.
  • VerminVermin MelbourneRegistered User regular
    I guess I will just pop in with a nice TL;DR. If anyone's still looking for things to do for the next 2 days!

    Having done Scienceworks recently, I don't reccomend it if you're not in the mood for being talked down to. The place is very much designed for kids, though I still love it and have great memories of, unless you have a spawn with you it might not be so special.

    Healesville Sanctuary is really cool. I've only ever driven there so I don't know what the public transit situation is, but it's definitely worth a look if you want to get a close look at native Australian wildlife. Melbourne Zoos have three zoos, the one in the city (which is fine, but not as specialised as Healesville), Werribee Open Plain which is great if you're looking for a African-safari type thing, and Healesville which is geared toward natives. They do a lot of good work out there too, including breeding programs such as the Tasmanian Devil security population.

    Great Ocean Road is something a lot of tourists do, but not so many locals. (Believe me, I work in an area of tourism where we spend a lot of time explaining to people how to get to the Twelve Apostles). I don't really see the appeal personally; it's a five-or-so hour car trip one way there along the Great Ocean Road, and while you will see some stunning landscapes I don't get the impression there's much else. I would personally recommend Phillip Island in its stead; there are adorable penguins and a whole lot more to do on the way there. Though you sacrifice the scenic drive, it's also a lot closer to the CBD!

    I'm not much of a wine person, but I hear good things about the Yarra Valley. Granted, most my sources were hung over on wine at the time, though.

    In the CBD there's plenty too; ACMI in Fed Square seems most appropriate to reccomend, but there's plenty more around that area too, like the National Gallery of Victoria. Quick walk along the Yarra River through Birrarung Marr takes you over to the MCG, if you're into that sort of thing, too.

    For nerd-shopping, the CBD has Critical Hit and Minotaur, as well as more EB Games shops than you would think physically possible (I think they've been breeding with the Pie Face stores in some pies-and-games conspiracy). There's also a few specialist anime stores, art stores and a bunch of specialist computer type places. If you want a little more detail on those, just post. I could make some comment now about clothing being plentiful too, but I hate clothes shopping with a burning passion and usually buy most my stuff at suburban op-shops because it's so cheap I don't feel obliged to try stuff on before buying (logic!)

    Food... well, I'll put it simply. When I lived in a rural town 3 hours train trip from Melbourne, be and my then-schoolfriend now-housemate would make trips into the CBD for a day and spend all of it eating. Chocolate is plentiful, with a specialised Lindt cafe, Koko Black, Haigs, and Max Brenners. There's also China Town which is full of a range of asian-type places, some cheap and cheerful and some quite fancy. I had some awesome teppanyaki there! There's also tonnes of little cafes and things in places like Lygon St, just out of the CBD itself. LuxBite in South Yarra make amazing macarons (mandarin jaffa, mmm) and incredibly delicious cakes. I'm struggling to think of the names of any other excellent places to eat, but I'm sure there are plentiful Melbournian foodies attending (I should just say Melbournians, we all relish food) who you can latch onto while at PAX for gastronomical advice.

    as predictable as melbourne weather
  • LadymooseLadymoose Registered User regular
    Maybe I've missed it somewhere but I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Mornington Peninsula?
    I'm a Melbournite who has travelled & worked in alot of different regions of Victoria and I highly recommend the trip down (if you can brave the cold!)
    Its not exactly close to PAX but has plenty of attractions about an hours drive from Melbourne.

    Sunny Ridge Strawberry farm has amazing strawberries & delicious desserty dishes but only limited opening hours this time of year http://www.sunnyridge.com.au/
    The Peninsula hotsprings are lovely and there is a variety of different passes & packages at various prices http://www.peninsulahotsprings.com/
    If you want to experience bush & beach on horseback, Gunnamatta trail rides is probably the best tourist option for views, but its not cheap - they do however have a package with the hot springs which is decent value http://www.gunnamatta.com.au/ - be warned though, the winds at a beach ride are ICY COLD this time of year so make sure to wear a warm coat or see if you can borrow one of theirs.
    The Peninsula is also home to a great wine region and has some lovely beaches with great views, Arthurs Seat up a mountain has views over the whole bay - and if you are lucky you can come across random encounters with actual wildlife. http://www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org/Home.aspx

    I'm not too sure about tourist buses or public transport is the only main issue to get down there, but if you can its definitely worth the visit.

    Also, someone mentioned Sovereign Hill and its worth mentioning for those who like Cosplay, Sovereign Hill has Christmas in July stuff on, and they have some pretty impressive old-timey costumes and props going on http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/

  • punziepunzie Cookie Pimp Registered User regular
    I landed in Melbourne Monday morning. I spent a good portion of Monday just wandering the CBD, visited Minotaur, went up that big ol' tower with the observation deck (forgot the name, but I'm sure I have the pamphlet somewhere), are a pie with a face on it, went in a cute chocolate shop for a milkshake, etc. I love the architecture and public art and the while bit. Yesterday we drove back roads up to Healesville Sanctuary. The drive was nice, but Healesville was amazing. You can sign up for the "magic moments" where they take 5-6 ppl into a pen for an almost guaranteed up close and personal with the emu, koala, tree kangaroo, or echidna (i heard they couldn't coax the echidna out for one of the groups though) and you get a chance to pet all of them, except the koala. (I heard they couldn't coax the echidnas out of a log for one of the groups.) Most of the cages are pretty open, with a people path running through the pen, so you could potentially pet other animals if they'll come up to you. I spent a good amount of time trying to get a rock wallaby to come the extra foot over to me so I could pet him, but he just kept staring at me. Definitely worth the trip.

    HI3789R.png
Sign In or Register to comment.