Melbourne, a water playground

All eyes were on Melbourne this week as they hosted the annual Melbourne Cup, Australia’s most prestigious thoroughbred horse race.  We want to highlight for you two of the areas we stay when we visit Melbourne.

Whether it is to catch a show that is not coming to Perth, for a shopping trip for our home, or prior to a cruise departing from Princess Pier, St Kilda or Docklands are our preferred locations.  There is no coincidence both are very stylish areas and offer views overlooking the water.

St Kilda, one of Melbourne’s most cosmopolitan suburbs  is a beachside location on the city fringe overlooking Port Phillip Bay. 

St Kilda’s Acland Street is a bustling, vibrant street lined with an eclectic selection of eateries, restaurants and bars. Speaking of eating, if something sweet is what you desire, then you are in the right place. Acland Street is also home to more cakes than you can poke a stick at with five eastern European cake shops within a few doors of each other offering a huge selection of cakes and pastries too hard to resist. But don’t worry, you can always let out your belt buckle and try and walk off your sugary delight as you head bayside to one of the oldest existing amusement parks in the world to see Mr Moon at Melbourne’s Luna Park.

Here you can ride the rollercoaster or the fully restored Carousel built in the 1900’s. You can also visit the Art Deco Palais Theatre, Esplanade Markets, St Kilda Sea Baths or St Kilda Pier. Another thing I love doing in St Kilda is taking a tram ride, and the Route 96 tram was named as one of the planet’s Top 10 Trolley car rides of the world in the National Geographic “Journeys of a Lifetime” book.

Our recommended choice to take in all the attractions and have an incredible view is to stay at Novotel St Kilda.

Docklands is inner city, a harbourside location within close proximity of the City centre and cultural sporting attractions.

Docklands is an equally interesting location to stay, also blessed with a variety of restaurants serving some of the best foods set amongst the best views. Our favourites were Cargos and Medici. Docklands has a variety of things to see, including the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel. There is also many sculptures and art forms in Docklands. One, the Walk of Stars is four bronze statues of celebrity artists Dame Nellie Melba, Kylie Minoque, Graham Kennedy and John Farnham.

There is also a large installation called Silence, and the Crouching sculpture, eight red, life sized men crouching in a circle. Docklands is also home to Etihad Stadium, which hosts AFL, Rugby, Cricket and shows from some of the biggest names in the world. It is the only stadium in the southern hemisphere with a retractable roof. Docklands is one of the city landmarks and major attractions on route of the City Circle Tram, a free and convenient way to see the sights while experiencing a ride on one of the city’s much loved heritage trams.

Our recommended choice with a City Circle stop outside, is Grand Mercure Apartments, Docklands.

Have you stayed in either of these areas? Are there other attractions that make these areas stand out for you?

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This is not a sponsored post, we choose to stay at Accor brand hotels by choice and by having Le Accor membership we earn points that accumulate giving us further savings and added benefits.

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