Multicultural Melbourne in a day
Melbourne has a rich multicultural heritage and celebrates the different traditions, cuisines, and cultures that have settled in the city. Experience multicultural Melbourne by visiting some of the venues listed below:
Morning:
Immigration Museum
Over the last 200 years, people seeking a better life or to escape conflict in their home have journeyed to settle in Australia. Melbourne’s Immigration Museum brings their stories to life through contemporary displays of memorabilia, moving images and interactive computer displays.
Old Customs House, 400 Flinders Street, Melbourne
Ph +61 3 9927 2700
Fax +61 3 9927 2728
Lunch:
Lonsdale Street – Greek precinct
Enjoy the tastes of tzatziki, dance the Zorba and delight in sweet cakes in the Greek precinct, the meeting place for Melbourne’s Greek community since the early 1900s. Lining Lonsdale and Russell streets in the centre of Melbourne, the Greek precinct offers visitors traditional coffee and cakes, gifts, restaurants, music, books, jewellery and bars as well as Greek travel agents, lawyers, banks, photographers and accountants. The Greek Orthodox offices and the RMIT Greek Archive Museum and Learning Centre offer a taste of a culture beyond the cuisine, whilst the annual Antipodes Festival is a must-see each March when thousands of visitors gather to pay tribute to Greece.
Afternoon:
Little Bourke Street – Chinatown
One of the true symbols of multicultural Melbourne, Chinatown has a long and colourful history dating back to the gold rushes of the 1850s. Today Chinatown presents a rich mosaic of Chinese culture, restaurants, museums, grocery stores and cinemas. Enjoy the flavours and colours of Asia, learn about the early gold mining days in Victoria at the Chinese Museum, join a Feng Shui tour or if you visit Chinatown on a Sunday, enjoy a leisurely Yum Cha lunch.
Evening:
Lygon Street, Carlton – Melbourne’s Little Italy
If you’re looking for an Italian experience, think Lygon Street. A few minutes walk from the CBD, Lygon Street marries the best of Italy with the best of Melbourne and the rest of the world. Checked tablecloths, specialty delicatessens, cake shops, gelati parlours and the lingering aromas of coffee and pizza, mingle with the sights and sounds of a host of international restaurants, theatres, cinemas, libraries, book stores, galleries, Melbourne University and historic landmarks. Every October, join in the celebration of great food, great entertainment and rides at Festa Primavera – Australia’s largest street festival.
