Arts & Culture

There are many venues in Melbourne where one can gain a rich cultural experience. For theatre and musicals, there are a handful premiere destinations and perhaps the best of these is The Arts Centre. It is located on St. Kilda Road, the heart of the entertainment and leisure area. The Arts Centre is home to the best performing arts companies of Australia. Even the edifices that house the Arts Centre are cultural marvels on their own and are constantly visited by tourists. The complex is composed of the Theatres Building, Hamer Hall, and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. The Arts Centre is within walking distance from many of the major city hotels and every Sunday, you can visit the Sunday Market, where all sorts of arts and crafts are available.

Museum lovers will revel in what Melbourne has to offer. There are many museums in the city where one can see and experience various things. If you want to learn more about the aboriginal culture, then you should visit the Melbourne Museum. Racing enthusiasts have to head on over to Champions – Australian Racing Museum & Hall of Fame. Did you know that there is a strong Chinese community in Melbourne? To learn more about their heritage, you should visit the Chinese Museum and check out the Big Dragon among the other attractions. Another cultural destination would be the Jewish Museum, which houses exhibits celebrating the Jewish heritage. If you cannot resist the glitter of jewellery and gemstones, then you should not miss the National Opal Collection, where you will find some of the best displays of opals and other jewellery.

The art scene in Melbourne is as prolific as in any other city – perhaps even more. There are countless art galleries to be discovered and visited in the city. Some of these galleries are public galleries and they house some of the most important works – both colonial and modern. In the private art galleries, visitors can feast their eyes on the works of contemporary artists and craftspeople.

One venue that any art enthusiast should not miss is the Heide Museum of Modern Art, which is actually dubbed the birthplace of Australian Modernism. Works of great artists such as Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, and Albert Tucker can all be found inside the walls of this museum.

Another significant activity that you should engage in is in learning about the aborigines. The local Boonerwrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) people are the original inhabitants of most of the land that Melbourne occupies today. There are some programs which you can join, such as the Aboriginal Heritage Walk.

There is no doubt about it – you will never run out of cultural options in Melbourne.