Weekend Trip to Melbourne!

One of the best things about Adelaide is its location and proximity to other major Australian cities. With flights to Melbourne only one hour, two hours to Sydney and Brisbane, and three and a half hours to Perth, a weekend getaway is a short flight away. This past weekend, Melbourne was my destination of choice for a brief weekend escape, accompanied by my girlfriend, who was visiting from Canada.

Melbourne is quite a change from Adelaide– think of it as going from a small city like Calgary to a much larger city like Toronto. Gone are the small, robust streets, replaced by looping highways and sky-high office towers. Just walking on the streets, I was

Despite only being in Melbourne for one full day (arriving on a Friday night and leaving on a Sunday afternoon), I was captivated and taken away by the sights in this quaint city. Staying in a hotel right across from Southern Cross Railway Station, navigating the city was no problem. With Melbourne being famous for their exquisite, bustling laneways all throughout the city, there was no shortage of exciting discoveries throughout the weekend. What I liked most about Melbourne was that despite being a large city of over 4 million people, it had the same feeling of compactness and connectivity as Adelaide. In fact, we managed to walk from one end of the city center to the other without even realizing!

Most of the trip was spent around the iconic Yarra River, which provided breathtaking views of the Melbourne skyline from their countless restaurants and bars- very similar to the view in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. I particularly enjoyed the sprawling riverside entertainment complex known as Crown Plaza, which included a luxurious casino, numerous food courts, and an uncountable number of fine dining cuisines. One of the most spectacular features was the “gas brigades” stationed just outside the casino. These were a series of eight pillars that would shoot fireballs into the sky every hour following sunset (see photo above)! This was a spectacular display to watch and provided some much-appreciated warmth for some of Melbourne’s chillier nights. There was also no shortage of places to shop, with a healthy balance of boutiques and large designer brands spotted all throughout the city.

I look forward to exploring all the other Australian cities, but thus far, Melbourne has been my favourite destination and I wouldn’t hesitate to visit again!

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