Melbourne has been voted the world's most liveable city, and there are plenty of great things to do with only loose change in your pocket.
At most of the places listed in these pages (with a few notable exceptions) you will only find locals.
You will rarely find mainstream tourists because there is no easy access for buses, or because the places involved are not promoted to tourists.
Perhaps more surprisingly, you will rarely see backpackers at these places. Our market research indicates the great majority of backpackers that visit Melbourne expose themselves to an increasingly narrow range of 'authorised' experiences.
In any week in Melbourne there is usually a
festival or two, you can browse through the various
markets and pick up a bargain, and enjoy some free (or inexpensive)
entertainment. If you are interested in the arts, there always
free concerts and exhibitions. Or you can
shop till you drop.
On the other hand you may prefer to watch the passing parade in one of Melbourne's famous
streets, relax in one of the beautiful
parks and gardens, play or watch some
sport or just do some
special Melbourne things or spend some time in
Melbourne's hidden gems.
Melbourne has always been a great place to bring up a family and most
weekends there plenty of free and cheap
family events.
But one of the glories of Melbourne is the
food. You can eat royally for under $20 - in fact some of the best food in Melbourne is also some of the cheapest.
Each week in our free newsletter we
have suggestions of numbers of things to do. After five years of weekly
newsletters we are nowhere near to running out of suggestions which
gives some indication of the variety available in Melbourne. Melbourne is a living, changing city. Prices change, some things improve, others decline, some institutions die, others emerge. And that's great - life would be pretty boring otherwise.
ENJOY LIFE, ENJOY MELBOURNE.
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 The Sidney Myer Free Orchestral Concerts in the
Music Bowl are one of the
highlights of the Melbourne Summer. The businessman and philanthropist
Sidney Myer left a trust to
benefit the people of Melbourne and Australia. Not only did this trust make
possible the building of the public Music Bowl, it continues to continues to
contribute to the quality of life of Melburnians through works and events such
as the annual free concerts.
Gates open at 4pm and the concert starts at 7pm. White Hat recommends you get
there early because, if the weather is fine it can fill quite quickly. This is
the ideal place to have a champagne picnic with friend under the stars while
listening to classical music. You are allowed to bring reasonable amounts of
food and alcohol but no breakable glasses, sharp objects, or seating which
obstruct the view of others. Before you decide to turn it into a fully-fledged
camping expedition we suggest you check the
conditions of
entry.
The 2010 concerts are on February 17th, 20th, 24th & 27th. Full details at
Music Bowl (please note,
not all concerts listed on that page are free you may find that commercial music
such as rock and pop concerts charge commercial prices of $100 per ticket or
more)
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- Go to the State Library - The
State Library is like a large
free theme park for the thinking person. There you will find numbers
of major displays, the Stawell Gallery which has art associated with
the growth of Melbourne, the Keith Murdoch Gallery with changing displays around various
topics, a significant chess section where you can sit down for a
game, activity areas for children and , of course, books.
- Visit Federation Square -
Fed Square, as the locals call
it, contains the magnificent
Ian Potter Gallery of Australian Art, entry to which is free. The
Australian Centre for the Moving
Image also usually has numbers of free displays and film
screenings, and
the Atrium and
The Edge
spaces are often playing host to a display, market or performance.
- Ride the City Circle Tram - This service is free and runs
every day. In fact, all tram services in the central city are free. More details at The White Hat Guide
to Getting About in Melbourne.
- Borrow some books, CDs and videos from City Library -
joining is free and open to anyone living in Melbourne or its
suburbs.
- Take a free tour of Parliament House - details at
The White Hat Guide
to Parliament House.
- Visit the Melbourne Museum - The
Melbourne Museum is a large
museum with with exhibitions related to all manner of things - not
just 'old stuff'. Adult entry is under $10 and children are free.
You can get there on the
Free
City Circle Tram.
- Visit a gallery - Melbourne has numbers of fine galleries
such as you can find at
The
White Hat Guide to Galleries in Melbourne, and entrance to many
of them is free or cheap.
- Take a leisurely wander through the Flagstaff Gardens in the
midst of the city buildings. During summer you may find free
concerts or free art classes taking place. During winter you can sit
and ponder the rich vein of history this place represents in the
development of Melbourne. More information at
The White Hat Guide to
the Flagstaff Gardens.
- Take a free tour of Melbourne Town Hall - details at
The White Hat Guide to
Melbourne Town Hall.
- Ride the free tourist bus - see a different set of sights
from the City Circle Tram and hop on and off anywhere. More details
at The White Hat
Guide to Getting About in Melbourne.
- Go to a free concert. Most weeks Melbourne has a number
of free or cheap concerts. You can find a current list at
The White Hat Guide to Free
& Cheap Concerts in Melbourne. White Hat's favourite free
concerts are the annual Sidney Myer classical concerts under the
stars at the
Sidney
Myer Music Bowl.
- Visit a major suburban market - The queen of them all is
the
Queen Victoria
Market in the city, but don't ignore the
South Melbourne Market,
Prahran Market,
Preston Market or
Dandenong Market.
These places places are full of colour, motion, humanity and
bargains. Chances are you will feed yourself or buy some clothes for
under $10.
- Take a free tour of the Fitzroy Gardens or Royal Park.
Details at
The White
Hat Guide to the Fitzroy Gardens and
The White Hat Guide to
Royal Park.
- Wander through a private garden - Most weekends in
Melbourne you will find that some family has thrown open to the
public their lovingly tended private garden for some good cause or
other. You can find a listing of current private garden openings at
The White Hat Guide to
Private Gardens in Melbourne. We cannot guarantee that the price
will be under $20 so check the individual listings.
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 Take
a leisurely stroll and maybe even a picnic at Melbourne's famous
Royal Botanic Gardens. If you would like further
background on these gardens in the grand European tradition
there are free tours starting from the information centre at
11am and 2pm. on every day except Monday. You can find more
information at
The
White Hat Guide to the Royal Botanic Gardens. |