Explore Melbourne's CBD for the Ultimate Traveler's High

Here's a single day itinerary to explore the city of Melbourne, Australia.

With clear blue skies floating deceptively low over a vast open outback, this Australian coastal city is an adventure waiting for the explorer in you.

I start this flashback series of posts starting with my first-ever visit to Melbourne, in 2012, reflecting on the day I decided to hop on a morning train into the heart of the city.

As you traverse this path with me, and we uncover the secrets of the city, take your time and take it slow. Allow Melbourne to open up to you, and let your appetite discover along the way.

In this post, we will make our way through Melbourne’s Central Business District, the CBD, or in American speak “Downtown Melbourne”. From Australia’s oldest railway station, through hidden alleyways, shopping malls and arcades, prepare to open your mind and senses to Asian street food infused with European café culture.

STAND UNDER THE CLOCKS OF FLINDERS STREET STATION

This bustling landmark, with its briskly foot traffic in and out of the building, is said to be the 2nd busiest station in the city and can be overwhelming to some. Take a moment to absorb the beauty of the building, the architecture, and the people, before you make your way outside to its grand entrance. Across from the station are the Fed Square and the St. Paul’s Cathedral.

BLEND INTO THE CITY AT CITY HATTERS

This “old-world” hat shop has styled Melbournians for over 100 years since its founding in 1910. It is located right under the clocks at the station's entrance, located a level down from the street in what once used to be the station master's office. In between hats, be sure to ask your hatter about their history with the city.

Here I am, in 2022, trying to blend in.

FIND PEACE AT THE ANGELIC ST. PAULS CATHEDRAL

Across from the station stands tall the towers of Melbourne’s most visited church. This diverse place of worship is the church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne. Stay a while to explore the history etched into its architecture and find your peace.

The original Architect of this Neo-gothic architecture was English gothic revivalist William Butterfield, and attracts 400,000 visitors per year.

UNLEASH YOUR INNER SELFIE AT HOSIER LANE

As you walk away from the cathedral, and walk past the souvenir shops along the pavement that will undoubtedly distract you, don’t miss the laneway sign to Melbourne’s most photographed alley - Hosier Lane. Turn left into the lane to be instantly transported to a secret world of expressionism.

Hosier Lane is just one of many areas in the CBD that is approved by the city council as a “graffiti tolerance zone”. I will write about Melbourne’s underground graffiti art movement in a dedicated post.

EXPERIENCE AN EXPLOSION OF FLAVORS AT CHINATOWN

Melbourne’s chinatown finds its roots in the Gold Rush of the 1850s, and it is the ”the longest continuous overseas Chinese settlement in the western world”. Find cuisine influenced by the diverse and vibrant population of Asian population who call Melbourne home. As you experience a Chinatown like none other, make sure you will leave room for artisan coffee.

INDULGE IN A CULTURE OF SPECIALTY COFFEE AT LITTLE ROUGE

Artisan coffee is so embedded in Melbourne’s culture that you can’t find your way without bumping into a Barista, the real ones who pull shots, not press buttons. If you are a coffee aficionado like me, this place is heaven. But of all the unique little cafés around the CBD, Little Rogue is my favorite coffee shop. Why? Because it is truly a hidden gem, and I found it by chance.

At the Little Rouge with my brother in 2018.

I was exploring the Drewery Lane Street Art when a blue door appeared out of nowhere. There was no sign outside. I walked in and found a compact, minimalistic coffee shop busy with people. They serve some of the best Japanese coffee creations. Behind the coffee counter, up a small set of stairs, is a backroom with tables supported by buckets, and a cozy spot by a brick fireplace. It’s a perfect hideout. Claustrophobics, beware!

VISIT THE GRAND READING ROOM AT STATE LIBRARY VICTORIA

You don’t need a ticket to enter. Spanning an entire block is this historic library, where Melbourne University students hangout, making it the busiest in Australia and the 3rd busiest in the world. Find a book to read or ask someone to play chess with you.

Here I am in 2019 playing chess with my niece in the Grand Reading Room at the SLV.

This is the ideal place to take a break, or maybe you will get caught up in a cause here because public peaceful protests are a common sighting outside this library.

I witnessed Australia's Eritrean community protest at the SLV in 2018.

“Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters descended on Melbourne's CBD on Sunday in one of the biggest demonstrations since the Gaza conflict”, reported the Herald Sun this month.

SATISFY YOUR SHOPAHOLIC CRAVINGS AT MELBOURNE CENTRAL

Integrated into the CBD street shopping scene is a five-story Melbourne Central mall with its iconic cone-shaped glass dome, built to enclose and preserve the historic brick tower in its center, the “Coop’s Shot Tower”.

Classified under the Victorian Heritage Register, this tower is one of only three 19th century shot towers remaining in Australia and said to be the most-instagrammed building in Melbourne. I took this photo in 2022.

Unlike the malls we find in America dominated by its chain stores limited in American-made products, Melbourne Central is home to a diverse collection of retailers showcasing an eclectic collection of global brands like Gorman and Dangerfield.

STOP BY THE ARCADE MALLS OF MELBOURNE

From modern-era to Victorian-era shopping, two of the must-see arcade shopping malls in the CBD have historical significance as they tell the story of how Melbourne arose from the industrial-era, developing into the cosmopolitan city that it is today.

That's me at The Royal Arcade in 2012.

Get bewitched at the Spell Box and ask them about the mythical Gog and Magog, 7-feet tall statues watching over us mortals on either side of the magnificent Gaunt’s Clock. The clock strikes a chime every hour even to this day at The Royal Arcade.

Book your table for high tea at the oldest tearoom in Australia and steep in its history, or sample Australia’s oldest family-owned chocolate maker's fine creations at Haigh’s Chocolates, at the nearby The Block Arcade.

PRIME YOUR SENSES FOR SOME MÖRK CHOCOLATE DRINKS

Easy to miss but worth the find is the Mörk Chocolate City, a hole-in-the-wall artisan chocolate shop located in an old lift shaft on a busy laneway. Its Swedish founders, Kiril and Josefin, brought their background of chocolate making to North Melbourne with the humble beginnings at the Queen Victoria Market.

”Mörk celebrated 11 years this year, with three stores in Melbourne, and cacao roastery and chocolate foundry and operations in UK and Japan”, as per their origin story reported in modbar.

With a cup of delicious drink in hand, let’s make our way back to Flinders Street Station. It is the perfect way for us weary explorers of the CBD to end our day.

This is the walking path we took to explore the CBD.

For those of you who are yet to make your way to the Land Down Under, I hope that this travelogue has inspired you to make Melbourne a must-visit place on your bucket-lists.

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