Skip to main content

The Sportiest City In Australia :Melbourne


Most of the sports city of Australia is a vibrant and diverse. Mark Chipperfield offers a guide to the best things to do in Melbourne during the Ashes test.

Birthplace of Australian soccer, the host 1956 Olympic Games at home and the Australian Open and Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne can be rightly claims to be the sportiest cities in the country where the sport is the only true religion .

Melbourne Cup may in fact be the horse race that "stops a nation", but the same can be said for the traditional Boxing Day Test at the "G" (Melbourne Cricket Ground) - or the AFL Grand Final, when 100,000 fans packing the stands.

Despite the obsession with sports, Melbourne is not a one-dimensional society. Even Sydney - the most severe critics - now admit that Melbourne has a high quality restaurant and bar scene. It also sets the pace in terms of fashion, theater, design and architecture - and can be fun. Remember that a housewife from Moonee Ponds little superstar?

After decades of playing second fiddle to Sydney, Melbourne Grande "is recovering its luster, with a pile of the city skyline, a new entertainment district and a bustling Docklands.

There is something very, un-Australian for the city trams in Viennese style, neo-classical parks, broad avenues and grand city. Also, the waitresses dress up a bit 'of Paris, bibs, which is not much Paul Hogan.

Of course, you will not find surf beaches. Or the Sydney Opera House. But anyway just the texture of the place is sufficient, if you explore the bohemian Fitzroy, sipping a cup of coffee at Federation Square or drink some sea air in St Kilda.

Guided tours are a quick way of getting a grip on this large, complex and bustling city. Kick off with The Lanes and Arcade tour (00 61 3 9663 3358;
www.hiddensecretstours.com), a three-hour guided walk around its charming laneways, visiting some 30 specialty stores. Tours cost $115 (£66). Apart from the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the city’s other great landmark is Queen Victoria Market on Elizabeth Street. The Foodie’s Dream Tour (00 61 3 9320 5822; www.qvm.com.au) offers a fascinating insight into these wonderful old markets. Tours cost $35 (£20).

For a taste of Australia’s convict past visit the Old Melbourne Goal (00 61 3 (8663 7228; www.oldmelbournegaol.com.au) in Russell Street. The hairy bushranger Ned Kelly was hanged here in 1880 – you can see the trapdoor where he once stood.

Despite its sporty reputation, Melbourne is packed with art galleries and museums. One of the most heart-rending is the Immigration Museum (00 61 3 9927 2700) on Flinders Street, which traces the city’s history through the lives of individual migrants. Open daily. Entry: $8 (£4.60). For something altogether more frivolous drop into the National Sports Museum (00 61 3 9657 8888; www.mcg.org.au) in Yarra Park, where you can meet a hologram of Shane Warne and see Ian Thorpe’s swimming trunks.

The city’s newest attraction, the Eureka Skydeck 88 (00 61 3 9693 8888, www.eurekaskydeck.com.au) is the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere and offers a glimpse into Melbourne’s shimmering future. Entry is $16.50/$9 (£9.50/5.20) adult/child.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Kate Moss Named Best Dressed Woman In The Early U.S. Vogue

What Kate Moss wears, the world is usually, and 36, the state of the supermodel shows no sign of little futuristic as Vogue has named the most elegant woman of the decade. The Croydon-born model who graced over 300 magazine covers since she started at the age of 14, never set foot is a stylish left. With a love for high-end vintage pieces and clip design, any team without effort to bring his unique brand of glam rock chick. U.S. Vogue style director, Alexandra Kotur, said: "Nobody has had more influence in the last ten years on how women dress from Kate Moss." A series of highly successful cooperation to his credit, including lines of clothing for high street giant Topshop, design, execution of a collection of Longchamp handbags, perfumes, and six of his name, everyone wants to buy a slice of Moss.

Emma Watson Works His Dark Magic In New York To Harry Potter Premiere

Another day, another first, and if you are Emma Watson: another dress. She has continued her 20-year "tour of sophistication," and that attended the premiere in New York for the penultimate installment of Harry Potter wear Calvin Klein. Marking a sharp contrast with the frou-frou, the creation of black lace by Rafael Lopez as she wore the first week in London, Watson chose the splendor of a minimalist position, black satin dress designed by Francisco Costa, creative director for womenswear at Calvin Klein. Composed of a halter neck and a launcher, open back, dress marks a choice revealing red carpet for the young actress. Watson, who plays Hermione Granger in the film franchise to the phenomenal success, wearing a gold complex clip in her hair, gold, flower-shaped studs and a gold bracelet unusual, which wound its way up forearm. Discreet, strappy sandals in black and copper by Calvin Klein closed its elegant look. In promotional tour for Harry Potter and the Deathly Ha...

Sehwag And Tendulkar Climb Rankings In ICC ODI

Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar won one seat each, while India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained stable in fourth place in the ranking of players for the ICC ODI batsmen, led by South Africa opens Hashim Amla. Sehwag Despite the improvement from eighth to seventh, just behind opened running Tendulkar of India. Among the Indian players, Harbhajan Singh has won four places to 15 th place, while Praveen Kumar moved to a higher level classification 11. Amla `s exploits in the ODI series against Pakistan ended only helped open South Africa increased in the first place. Amla, who topped the run in the series against Pakistan with 291 runs including one century and two centuries and a half, scored 40 points to leap ahead of his teammate AB de Villiers. In the ranking of ODI bowlers New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori continues to lead the South African Morne Morkel stimulator offers 13 places to be in the 12 th position, his best career result to date classification. Morkel bags...