Local Area

Melbourne is Australian 2^nd largest city and home to major sporting and cultural events.  Its lanes and city area's are full of amazing shops, restaurants and museums.  Melbourne is recognized as multi cultural, and therefore is renowned for its great food and coffee, we have restaurants from all over the world, plus the best of the best of great Aussie dishes.

Our enthusiastic local staff can assist with great tips of how to see the unexplored laneways of Melbourne, or that unique shop or out of the way places far from the well trodden track.

Our Melbourne hostel is located right next to:

Degraves Lane

Our Melbourne hostel is on the corner of Flinders Street and Degraves Lane.  Degraves Street is a laneway that runs between Finders Street and Flinders Lane, near Elizabeth Street. Close to an exit from Flinders Street Station, it is a popular place for people to stop for a coffee or snack before catching a train.

 Often described as one of the city's hotspots, Degraves Street is perfect for a lazy summer lunch, with its outdoor seating - recycled cinema seats - fresh and healthy foods, and the added bonus of value for money. The coffee at Degraves Espresso is also a feature.

Car-free, café-lined laneway with a streak of gently undulating umbrellas hiding patrons from the midday summer sun (or mid-winter drizzle).

Laneway Art

The City of Melbourne has a proud history of public art with its streets and laneways providing the backdrop for a wide range of heritage and contemporary artworks.

Queen Victoria Markets

At the northern, top end of the city (in Victoria Street, between Queen and Peel Sts) is Melbourne's famous Queen Victoria Market, a carry-over from the Victorian times. This is a working market with meat, fish, bakery and delicatessen sections as well as scores of fruit and vegetable vendor's stalls and general merchandise. There are more than 1000 stalls, most of them set up outdoors under corrugated iron roofs with steel gables. The market has a separate meat hall and a delicatessen area renowned for Greek, Italian and Polish food.

On Sundays there is a wine market. Cafes and restaurants pop up around the market.

The market is open Tuesday and Thursday from 6:00am until 2:00pm, on Friday from 6:00am until 6:00pm, on Saturdays from 6:00am until 3:00pm. On Sundays more general merchandise and bric a brac stalls pop up around the market. A huge variety of food stalls are available throughout the market.

Federation Square

Federation Square is the size of an entire city block and incorporates an array of attractions that are symbolic of all that is great about Melbourne, including fine art, hospitality, bold architecture and a vibrant calendar of events. It hosts the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia (home of the world's largest Australian art collection) and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, in addition to a broad range of restaurants, cafes and shops. The new amphitheatre, BMW Edge, is a stunning public space equipped with the latest in performance technology, positioning it as a unique architectural venue.

Gardens

Melbourne has one of the finest collection of parks and gardens of any city in the world and the good news is that the best gardens are within easy walking distance of the city. The Royal Botanic Gardens, in particular, are regarded as among the world's finest botanic gardens and are situated within a few hundred metres of Flinder Street Station at the southern perimeter of the CBD.

Gardens and parklands close to the CBD include:

Royal Botanic Gardens
Fitzroy Gardens
Treasury Gardens
King's Domain
Alexandra Gardens
Queen Victoria Gardens
Flagstaff Gardens
Royal Park

Shopping

IGA (convenience store selling toiletries, fruit, veges, meat and grocery items) 262 Flinders Street

Coles Express (more extensive convenience store) 231 Elizabeth Street  (fresh food to cook or hot take away packs)