Best 35 Things To Do In Melbourne Alone

Melbourne is not only the most liveable city in the world but also one of the friendliest cities for solo travellers in the world. With so many places to visit, you can easily spend a week in the city alone without getting bored. I’m lucky to have been alone in Melbourne several times while exploring Australia solo, and over the years, I discovered more and more of this great Australian city. Here is what to do in Melbourne on your own as a female solo traveller visiting Australia.

If you haven’t booked your place in Melbourne yet, here is what I recommend for staying solo in Melbourne:

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The Best Free Things to Do in Melbourne

It’s hard to beat the multitude of things you can see and do in Melbourne, and many are for free. Here are my hand-picked top 10 free things to do in Melbourne alone

1. Explore the city on the hop-on-hop-off free tram

   The tram network is completely free within the Melbourne CBD and the Docklands. You can hop on and hop-off without purchasing a ticket as long as you travel within these areas. Using the free trams is a fun way of getting familiar with the city and seeing the main attractions, including the Botanical Gardens, the Zoo, The Melbourne Museum, and Queen Victoria Market. I love using the trams; they are best combined with a self-guided walk.

   Don’t miss out on a ride on the 35 Free Tram; this is the tourist route that stops off at the major point of interest in the city ring, and the great thing about it is that it has a recorded guide during the journey. So it’s informative for first-timers to Melbourne.

   The route starts from Federation Square, and it goes in a loop via Flinders Street. You can tour as much as you want, crisscrossing the CBD too. You can get a Melbourne free tram zone map from the visitor centre or click on the link to download it.

   

2. Go on a first orientation walk of Melbourne.

   If you are travelling alone in Melbourne, this is an excellent way to start your city’s explorations if you visit for the first time. While volunteers offer these orientation walks for free, you need to book yourself at the visitor’s centre in Federation Square to secure your place. This free walk is on every day, rain or shine, and it is a must-do thing.

3. Take a free guided walk of Fitzroy Gardens

   The free guided walk of Fitzroy Gardens is one of the most excellent Melbourne walks. They run them every Saturday morning at 10.00, offering an insight into the historic buildings and insight into nature and native wildlife. You can get there from the city by tram 75 or 48. And start your visit at the Fitzroy visitor centre.

4. Visit ACMI

   Located at Federation Square, ACMI showcases moving images in various forms through exhibitions, festivals, films, and creative and great educational workshops. Even if the arts isn’t one of your interests, you will be surprised; give it a go: this place is a must-see in Melbourne, offering brilliant ways to engage with the moving image.

5. Go on Melbourne self-guided walks.

   There are seven walks that you can do by yourself. And they are all fun and different. From historical venues, lush green parklands, spectacular bridges, and sculptures to the waterfront with a promenade walk along Southbank to arcades and street art lanes in the city’s heart, here is the full list of self-guided walks.
   
   

   

6. Relax at Federation Square

   This will be your starting point for many of the activities and explorations of Melbourne City. It’s a large square opposite Flinders Street Station, with free Wi-Fi, cafes and museums. It used to be Melbourne’s main visitor centre; it has been moved due to renovation. This is Melbourne’s main square for live-stream events, like the Australian Open and public festivals.

7. Visit the Melbourne Visitor Centre

   Grab the free and informative Melbourne What’s On so you have an update on all activities and Melbourne events when you are there. Note: the Visitor Centre has moved from Federation Square to its new location at 90-130 Swanston Street Corner, Little Collins and Swanston Street.

8. Go to the Arts Centre Melbourne

   The Arts Centre Melbourne is a must-do thing for all art lovers. Art exhibitions run regularly just a short walk from Federation Square, and the entrance is free.

9. Relax at the State Library of Victoria

   Another vital hub for solo travellers in Melbourne is the State Library. I always love spending time there, either visiting a new exhibition, browsing through books, sitting in the reading lounge areas or just using the great WI-FI. This is one relaxing thing to do in Melbourne

   

10. Visit Melbourne’s historic churches.

    Melbourne has many new churches, like St. Pauls’s Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. St. Michael Church (on Collins Street) also has a free organ recital on Thursdays at 1.00 pm.  This is something to do on your self-guided walks of the city.

All Fun Things to Do in Melbourne

Melbourne is famous for its thriving coffee and food scene, and without a doubt, there is no shortage of places to eat in Melbourne CBD. Here are my best tips for exploring Melbourne’s best food.

Melbourne Laneways and Arcades

Melbourne is famous for its Laneways and Arcades Shopping. They are the city’s real heart and soul, and one of the unique things to do is take a stroll through them. This is where the intimate insider life, pulse, and creativity happen. It’s where you find one-off shops, cosy tiny bars, unique coffee shops and vivid city street art. From over 180 lanes, only a small number of them have been transformed into beautiful city life.

Explore the best Laneways Restaurants in Melbourne

My favourite places are Blender Lane for street art and Hardware Lane for food. Here below is a list of the must-see lanes in Melbourne and great places for shopping:

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• Flinders Lane is the starting point of all food lanes tours. It has excellent eateries, shops and cafes between Swanston and William Streets.
  
• Hardware Lane is one of the top places among all food lanes. From Bourke Street to Little Bourke between Queen and Elizabeth Street, it offers some of the finest dining places, with live music, mainly Mediterranean food (Italian and Greek). Hardware lane continues from Londsdale Street to Little Londsdale Street.
  
  Little Lonsdale Street is worth peering sideways into other small streets of Warburton Lane, Ranksin Lane, and Niagara Lane. Another good laneway for food is Mc Killop Street (between Bourke and Little Collins Street).
  
  

Browse and Shop in Melbourne’s best Arcades

Melbourne’s best arcades are The Block Arcade and the Royal Arcade, but there are a few more.

• The Block Arcade is the finest example of 19th-century architecture with its mosaic-tile flooring and translucent curved glass ceiling. Here you can queue to enter the Hopetoun Tea, browse through Haigh’s Cholocate, and visit Gewürzhaus and fine spices from all over the world.
• From there, walk through to the Royal Arcade, the oldest arcade in Australia, offering a collection of boutiques and unique shops. From Russian dolls to candy and chocolate shops, strolling along this heritage arcade is a true feast of the senses.

Explore Melbourne Laneways Graffiti

Melbourne Lanes are also well-known for its graffiti art and stencil works. And the city boasts some of the best street art lanes in Australia.

• Hosier Lane and Rutledge Lane are probably the most iconic street art laneways because of the skilled artists who painted them, and these lanes are the most photographed by tourists and locals alike. While Hosier lane is one of the must-see street art lanes, there are many smaller lanes for great street Graffiti. My favourite lane is just a few minutes from Queen Victoria Markets: Blender Lane.

If you like art, you must take a walk and see all the famous street art in Melbourne.

Savour the best Melbourne Food Markets

Melbourne’s QV markets are the most popular venue for their yummy food, and its summer  Outdoor Cinemas is the best site to experience a film under the stars and a top thing to do in Melbourne at night. The QV Outdoor cinemas start beginning of December and are on every night from Thursday to Sunday.

I also suggest exploring the atmosphere at the South Melbourne Markets, which are lesser-known markets in Melbourne, and I find them unique with a great vibe, ample spaces and many cosy sites where to grab a coffee and a delicious lunch.

Enjoy Food Walking Tours

The best way to explore Melbourne’s top places for food is to join a guided tour. They are either focusing on coffee and sweets or with rooftop bars to ethnical cuisine and historical laneways and street art, quirky Melbourne cafes, and trendy restaurants. You can check out this page for more info about Melbourne-day-tours.

Get lost in China Town.

This is an excellent area, right in the heart of Melbourne city, if you want to eat good and inexpensive Asian Food, freshly prepared. Take a stroll along the many small China Town Lanes to discover local street art, hidden cafes and small shops. There are more lanes for food; try Tattersalls Lane between Russell and Swanston Streets or Market lane, full of exotic and unusual flavours of Dumpling bars and German and Japanese restaurants.

Adventure Activities in Melbourne

If you love to get active, these are the best ways to spend time outdoors and enjoy your time. Here is a list of fun outdoor activities in Melbourne throughout the year.

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Things to do in Melbourne at Night

Melbourne offers many more things, like seeing it from the perspective of the air. I love viewing cities from the air. It gives a different aspect of urban life, and I like exploring new ways of doing it. Here are my picks for Melbourne, from rooftops to hot air balloon rides

Visit the best rooftop bars in Melbourne

If you love to spend a night in Melbourne, you will not be disappointed, as Melbourne offers a rich choice of rooftop bars. There are quite a few rooftop bars in Melbourne offering magnificent views over the city, and many rooftop bars have live music or outdoor cinema. I recommend the Curtain House Rooftop Bar and Cinema on Swanston Street in the CBD. Another popular place among all rooftop bars in Melbourne is QT rooftop, on the 11th floor of Russell Street.

Her in Melbourne is a vertical-like venue unfolding music, art, food and drinks in Drewery Lane. For stunning night views of Melbourne Southbank, try Ocean 12, the place for a blend of great Asian fine dining, karaoke, and excellent drinks.

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Take a Ride on The Melbourne Star

If you are visiting the Melbourne Docklands, going to the Melbourn Star is a must-do. For 36 dollars, you can go for half an hour’s ride and take in the sky. You will not see all of Melbourne from there, though. It shows you the southwestern side of the city. And it is probably best to do it late afternoon, as you can enjoy a beautiful view of Melbourne at sunset.

Enjoy the sunset in Melbourne from the Eureka Tower

It is another excellent option to see Melbourne from the air with its beautiful buildings, the botanical gardens and the south-end suburbs. I have been to the Eureka Tower a couple of years ago and loved the view over Melbourne at sunset. You can easily spend hours there, taking photographs of the city. My tip is to get there at least 1 hour before sunset to make the lightest reflections.

Watch a Night Cinema

If you are alone in Melbourne and prefer a place in the city, the QV Cinema at the QV markets is the ideal place for 16 Dollars ticket, a fun night guaranteed in the city’s heart.

One of the favourite things to do among the locals is to watch a night cinema in summer. You can do it in the CBD and Melbourne’s suburbs in many locations. The most popular one is the Moonlight Cinema at the Melbourne Gardens, a magical place for open-air old and new movies.

If you love a particular place, then the American Express open-air cinema in St. Kilda is spot-on. If you want to spend a lovely Saturday night in Melbourne with fine dining, relaxing and watching top-notch movies on the beachfront, this is the place to be, alone or with a romantic partner.

What To Do In Melbourne In Summer

Summer is the best time to visit Melbourne, and if you plan to visit by yourself, there are many festivals and events to choose from over the summer months. Here is a list of things to do in summer.

Take a Hot-Air-Balloon Flight

If you want to experience something unique and adventurous, a hot-air balloon ride is a different way of experiencing the city. On my sunrise hot-air balloon ride in Melbourne, we couldn’t get close to the town because of the wind conditions. However, we saw many beautiful surroundings and marvelled at Melbourne’s silhouette, waking to a new day. It’s one of the best things to do in Melbourne in the summer.

Visit A Popular Summer Event in Melbourne

Here is a list of the best events not to miss out on if you are visiting Melbourne in the Summer:

• Australia Day

  A top traditional cultural event celebrated all over Australia and in the world too. From the official flag-raising ceremony to the parade, this event sees thousands of people coming together, proudly waving the Australian flag and celebrating one nationality. With the most vibrant culture and most diverse community globally, the Australia Parade brings around 60 ethnic groups. Check out how Australia Day is celebrated.
  
• The Midsumma Festival
  
  This is a vibrant, fun event in Melbourne organised by the LGBTI community. It starts on 16th January with the Carnival held at Alexandra Gardens, hosting over 120 stalls. Dances, performances, and visual arts will entertain people for three weeks on the streets of Melbourne. The milestone of the Midsumma is the Pride March. On 31st January, various groups walk from Fitzroy Sreet down to St. Kilda while singing, dancing and cheering their slogan in colourful bizarre costumes.

• The Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
  
  If you visit Melbourne in December, this event opens up to a month of festive Melbourne CBD events. Next to the Christmas Tree, 11 city buildings, including the State Library, Melbourne Goal and Southgate, will be lit in the best Christmas Lights. There will be majestic light projections with entertaining stories on the Town Hall Building.

Enjoy A Night Event in Summer

Besides the various Outdoor Cinemas and Rooftop Bars, there are quite a few more events in summer worth checking out. Here are two top-notch events:

• The New Year’s Eve fireworks
  
  The New Year’s Eve Fireworks are the pearl of all festive Melbourne events. If you plan to visit Melbourne at the year’s end, ensure you don’t miss out on this. There are usually various locations in Melbourne where to watch them, on Southbank.
  
• The White Night Melbourne

  It is probably Australia’s and Victoria’s most celebrated cultural event. Inspired by the international Nuit Blanche, it’s an all-night free cultural event. From visual art, music, and films to various innovative performances from local and international artists, showcasing their work in parklands, laneways, museums and cultural halls of Melbourne.

Must-see Sports Events in Melbourne

Melbourne is a paradise for sports and sports events. From basketball to rugby, cricket, Australia League, tennis and many more, here are a few events worth seeing if you visit Victoria and Melbourne in summer.

Visit the Best Melbourne Museums

Museums are always one of the best places to learn more about a particular city’s culture and history. Melbourne has many museums dedicated to culture, sports, music and medical achievements. I have visited many on my solo trips and listed a few below, and you can try visiting one or a few of these depending on what interests you most.

My favourite Museum is the National Gallery of Victoria, a.k.a. NGV. This is the oldest and most visited museum in Australia. Even on a short visit or a weekend getaway, you must enter to admire the fantastic stained glass ceiling, finished in 1968, and it’s the largest stained glass ceiling in the world.

Melbourne Museum

This is the largest museum in the Southern hemisphere and lives up to its expectations. The museum is a natural and cultural history museum and is quite a touristy place in Melbourne. Here you can discover the origin of life in Victoria over 600 million years, look at some prehistoric creatures, and also explore the seas in the Science and Life Gallery, 

Immigration Museum

As the name suggests, it is a museum primarily displaying Australia’s immigration history and thus explores Victoria and Australia’s multicultural identity. Along with documenting immigration history, the museum also hosts various travelling exhibitions. 

National Sports Museum

If you follow cricket or watch cricket matches, you must have heard of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Within the walls of this iconic cricket stadium, you can find the National Sports Museum, which celebrates Australian Sports and MCG’s history. The iconic place features the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame and the Australian Football Hall of Fame. If you are lucky enough, you might even watch a game of cricket live.
Some more museums you can tour are the Hellenic Museum, Grainger Museum, Medical History Museum and the Chinese Museum.

Things To Do Around Melbourne

You don’t need to drive long distances; there are many places to see around Melbourne in its beautiful countryside. Melbourne is hard to beat for the variety of attractions you can see and things you can do within a short and nice drive from the city.

Only one hour drive from Melbourne CBD, you can taste wines and beer and drive through picturesque hills. With over 50 wineries in the Yarra Valley region and the most available offer on-site restaurants with wine-and-food tastings and speciality food events throughout the year. It is a little paradise for food lovers. Close nearby, you can also visit Healesville, the largest wildlife sanctuary in Southern Australia, and I highly recommend visiting all native Australian animals.

Here is my selection of all-day trips you can do alone from Melbourne.

These are all the best things to do in Melbourne when travelling alone and alone. There are undoubtedly many more that you will discover on your visit. I suggest planning 3 to 5 days on your first visit. Below is a list of travel resources I use to plan all my solo trips to Australia.

Staying Solo In Melbourne

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How To Get To Melbourne

From the Airport

If you fly into Melbourne Tullamarine Airport from any other city in Australia, the best and cheapest way to get into the city is to take the Skybus from terminals 3 or 4, the domestic terminals. Sometimes, you may land in terminal 2 or 1, depending on which airline you fly. The Skybus ticket fare is 19.75 dollars one way or 36.50 for a return ticket.

You can purchase the digital machine ticket and pay with a credit card outside the arrivals at the shuttle bus stop. It takes you to Southern Cross station in the CBD, and you can get a metro train ticket to your final destination. If you travel to Melbourne’s surroundings, more Skybus services ride to Southbank, St. Kilda, Docklands and more places. You can find all the information on their website here.

Getting around Melbourne

If you plan to stay a few days in Melbourne, you are better off purchasing a 2-hour ticket for 4.50 dollars. But if you plan to stay longer, a good thing to do is get a Myki card if you plan to use public transport to get around in and around Melbourne. Check all fares here. You can also read more about the MyKi Card in my review of all thepublic transport cards for Australia.

Activities if you don’t want to be alone in Melbourne

If you don’t want to be alone all the time, in Melbourne, there are many guided activities or day trips you can do with a small group of fellow travellers on a guided tour of Melbourne. Click the button below to discover the best-guided activities in Melbourne.

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More Related Articles for Visiting Melbourne:

The Best Places to Travel Alone in Australia

All Destinations and Places to Visit in Austalia

The Rocky Travel Solo Guide to Australia

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