Melbourne Hotels and City Guide : Travel Tips

When to Visit - Arts and Events

Melbourne is a hive of social interaction. From summer carols by candlelight to the frantic football season in the winter, each season has its own series of events. Football has to be the most popular, well-supported pastime with several local leagues, competitions and national affiliations. Other sports are also important and are prominent fixtures on Melbourne's calendar: the Australian Open Tennis Tournament is held here as is the Australian Grand Prix and horse racing's Melbourne Cup. Non-sporting annual events include the Chinese New Year celebrations, a Summer Music Festival, the Moomba Family Festival and a three-week long gay and lesbian Midsumma Festival, which brings thousands of visitors from Australia and beyond.

Melbourne Dining

Melbourne is Australia's leading 'food city' and a great exponent of 'fusion' cooking, with a large selection of cuisine from all over the world. Each March there is a food and wine festival in which the major ethnic groups host gastronomic street parties. Two wonderful places for those with a penchant for Asian food are Chinatown in the city centre and Victoria Street in Richmond, locally known as 'Little Saigon'. Here are some of Australia's best restaurants, offering ethnic delights as authentic as those found in their country of origin. The other truly exceptional culinary experience can be found in the Italian cuisine of Lygon Street in the Carlton district. An enormous Italian population has successfully recreated a truly original home flavour.

Melbourne Tipping Advice

In general it is not customary to tip in Australia though this is slowly changing, particularly in larger cities. In some restaurants it is standard practice to leave a gratuity; the usual amount is between 10% and 15%. Discretionary tips to hotel staff, taxi drivers and other service personnel are also on the increase. It is certainly a friendly gesture to pay a little on top of the bill if the service has reached the required standard.