Melbourne is the undisputed coffee, food, sport, shopping and tram capital of Australia. And the spiritual home of Phar Lap.

Its museums and galleries, extensive parks and gardens, and eclectic mix of architecture make it a wonderful place to explore, while theatres, music, arts festivals and sporting events make Melbourne a city to experience.

The true heart of Melbourne, its vibrant soul, however, lives behind the facades and between the buildings. Myriad laneways criss-cross the city, revealing (or hiding) cafes, bars and 3-hat restaurants, purveyors of innovative fashion and design, galleries and street art. These networks range from the established and genteel Block Arcade and Royal Arcade to the anarchic subculture of Hosier Lane, and Heffernan Lane where street signs impart philosophical insights ("having and not having arise together").
Turn a corner in Melbourne and you'll be surprised, tempted or intrigued. At the very least, you'll find an excellent cup of coffee.

Melbourne is the hub, but many more attractions are only a tram-ride away. Brunswick St, Fitzroy? That's the No. 112. For Acland St, St Kilda - try the No. 16. Bridge Rd, Richmond - hop on the No 48 or 75. Chapel St, Prahran - you're spoilt for choice - Nos 5, 6, 64, 72, 78 or 79 will all take you there.

If you want to explore a little further, a short drive will allow you to enjoy some of Australia's most spectacular coastlines, wildlife reserves, wineries, temperate rainforests, surf beaches and historic townships. More information is available on the Visit Victoria site

Local highlights for visiting librarians & friends:

Libraries
Bookshops
Museums and Galleries
Food and Entertainment
Shopping
Bars, Clubs, Pubs
General Tourist Information

Libraries

Supreme Court of Victoria Library
Melbourne's historic Supreme Court Library has been in its William Street location since 1884. The 1999 renovations both expanded the library and reclaimed some of the library's hidden historic features.
210 William Street, Melbourne
http://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au
[**Times for tours of the SCV Library and other Court libraries will be available soon]

State Library of Victoria.
The State Library is the biggest library in Victoria and at 150 years, is one of the oldest in Australia, having been opened when Melbourne was only 20 years old. Recent renovations have transformed the famous domed reading room into a sublime, light-filled space, and reclaimed or created new galleries and annexures.
328 Swanston Street, Melbourne
http://www.slv.vic.gov.au
Regular tours are available. Southern Currents conference tour planned.

Melbourne Athenaeum Library
Founded in 1839, the Melbourne Athenaeum is the oldest public institution in Victoria. It has been a dance hall, a cinema (screening the Australia's first film, The Story of the Kelly Gang) and a theatre, but it has always included a library. The subscription library is on the top floor.
188 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Melbourne City Library
A new edition to the Melbourne Library scene, this public library opened in May 2004 to great acclaim. Affiliated with the nearby Council of Adult Education, the City Library has wonderful fiction and non-fiction collections in English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian. The Melbourne City Library hosts public lectures and arts events, and naturally there is a nearby café - Journal.
253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
http://www.citylibrary.org.au/

Bookshops

Paperback Bookshop
The Paperback is tiny, but you don't seem to notice once you immerse yourself in the tempting books on offer. You can contentedly turn pages for hours. And when you eventually leave (with your inevitable purchase) stroll across the laneway to the iconic Pelligrini's for one of the very best coffees in Melbourne.
60 Bourke St, Melbourne
http://www.paperbackbooks.com.au/

Hill of Content Bookshop
Just a little down the hill from the Paperback Bookshop, the Hill of Content is on a grander scale. Far more commodious, it is better able to handle hardcover volumes, and there is a floor devoted to art and design monographs upstairs.
86 Bourke St, Melbourne

Kay Craddock - Antiquarian Bookseller
If you like the smell of leather, feel of vellum and the dull sheen of gold-embossing, visit Kay Craddock's selection of fine and rare books. It is located in a heritage building, adding to the whole antiquarian experience.
156 Collins Street, Melbourne
http://www.kaycraddock.com/

Soundbooks
This bookshop has the sort of range in audiobooks that other bookshops have in print. Established in 1982 this place not only has the range, it has the knowledge and expertise to match (and we all know how valuable that is!) The Continental Bookshop, offering LOTE literature and foreign language learning resources is just next door, too.
1292 Malvern Rd, Malvern [Tram No 72]
http://www.soundbooks.com.au/

PolyEster Books
Specialising in subculture, PolyEster might not be everyone's cup of tea. As well as film, music, design, and politics, it also offers an excellent range of comics and tee-shirts. PolyEster Music is a little further up the street.
330 Brunswick Street Fitzroy [Tram No 112]

Foreign Làngüagé Bookshop
Tucked downstairs in the basement, is one of Melbourne's foreign language booksellers - you'll find fiction and non-fiction, translations and in the original language, travel literature and guides, language learning resources, and French Scrabble!
259 Collins St, Melbourne (in the Centre Arcade)
http://www.languages.com.au/

McGills
McGills was established in 1860 and has been supplying business and technical books, including law texts, ever since. Go up the stairs to see if McGills have what you're looking for, or browse in their general bookstore downstairs which also includes a large collection of magazines and newspapers. If you're hankering for your home newspaper, McGills is the best place to find it. It's handily located in the centre of Melbourne, just opposite the GPO.
187 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
http://www.mcgills.com.au/

Metropolis Bookshop
Take the stairs, or the fine old elevator, up to the 3rd floor and turn right (there is a gallery space if you turn left) and you are in Metropolis, a haven for lovers of art and design books. NB. This bookshop is an exception that proves the Melbourne rule: if it's not down a laneway it's a few flights up.
Level 3, Curtin House, 252 Swanston Street, Melbourne
http://www.metropolisbookshop.com.au/

Minotaur
Science Fiction/fantasy specialist. Comics a plenty, as well…..Batman founded Melbourne, after all.
121 Elizabeth Street
http://www.minotaur.com.au

Readings
Readings is a Melbourne institution and has been selling books and music to those with an intellectual bent, and a bohemian disposition for years. It is a good place to find that rare recording, or erudite tome. (The Carlton store is more than managing to hold its own against the Borders franchise across the street).
309 Lygon St, Carlton [Tram No. 1, East Coburg]
112 Acland St,St Kilda [Tram Nos. 16, 96, St Kilda ]
http://www.readings.com.au

Technical bookshop
Wide range of books on specialty areas, including art and crafts, computing, military and science.
323 -331 LaTrobe St, Melbourne City
http://www.techbooks.com.au

Books For Cooks
A bookshop devoted to cook books - new and second hand. If cooking is your thing, welcome to heaven.
233-235 Gertrude St,Fitzroy [Tram No. 86, Bundoora, Stop ]

Art Galleries and Museums

Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
ACMI puts on a number of exhibitions a year, and will be presenting 150 Years of Australian Television in September 2006. In addition, ACMI has regular cinema screenings, and free permanent multimedia exhibits, such as Memory Grid. ACMI also has a lending collection, including feature films, shorts, student films, and documentaries, accessible through Victoria's public library network.
Federation Square, Flinders St, Melbourne
http://www.acmi.net.au/
Southern Currents Opening drinks will be hosted at ACMI

Immigration Museum
The public and personal history of Victoria's migrant population, from the 1800s to the present, can be found at the Immigration Museum. It includes resources such as shipping lists, multimedia exhibits telling personal stories, and changing exhibits. The Museum is aptly located at the Old Customs House
400 Flinders Street, Melbourne
http://immigration.museum.vic.gov.au/

NGV International (National Gallery of Victoria)
The National Gallery of Victoria (colloquially known as the NGV) recently divided its collections. While the Australian collection moved to Federation Square, the international collection stayed at the original gallery site on St Kilda Road. With much more exhibition space available, NGVI is now able to show off far more of its sizeable and valuable collection. Don't forget to put your hand against the water wall at the Gallery's entrance! The bookshop's pretty good too.
180 St Kilda Rd, St Kilda
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ngvinternational/

The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
The Federation Square annex of the NGV focuses on the Australian collection, with both permanent and changing exhibitions. The ground floor space is devoted to Aboriginal art. Regular tours and talks are held, and occasional film screenings.
Federation Square, Flinders Street
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ngvaustralia/

The Ian Potter Museum of Art - The University of Melbourne
The Ian Potter Museum of Art (not to be confused with the NGV at Fed Square) presents an extensive collection ranging from classical antiquity to contemporary art and engages in debate on art, history and contemporary culture through education programs, lectures and events. The gallery is a 10-20 minute stroll from the Conference venue, through the University grounds. And, of course, there is excellent coffee available nearby at Brunetti's!
University of Melbourne, Swanston Street (between Faraday and Elgin Streets)
http://www.art-museum.unimelb.edu.au/

Melbourne Museum
Melbourne's natural history and social sciences museum is worth a look just for the exhibition spaces. The Museum boasts a forest gallery, virtual exhibitions, and an Australiana gallery (including Phar Lap!). The Aboriginal Centre at the Museum includes Birrirung, a rich exhibition offering information and insights into Aboriginal experiences since the arrival of the British in Victoria in the 1830s.
Opposite the Melbourne Museum is the Royal Exhibition Building (1879), venue for the opening of the first Commonwealth Parliament of Australia in 1901. (Daily tours are available, bookings essential.)
Carlton Gardens, Nicholson St [tram No 86, 96]
http://melbourne.museum.vic.gov.au/

Gold Treasury Museum, at Old Treasury
The Old Treasury is one of Australia's finest public buildings. It is also evidence of Melbourne's gold-boom history, so it's only fit that the exhibition "built on gold" can be found here. The Gold Treasury Museum offers insights into Melbourne's history, art, architecture and culture, and throws in a few gold vaults too.
Old Treasury, Spring Street
http://www.oldtreasurymuseum.org.au/oldtreas/

Scienceworks Museum
Educational science based museum with Australia's only digital planetarium.
Booker st, Spotswood
http://scienceworks.museum.vic.gov.au/

Commercial galleries - Flinders Lane
http://www4.visitvictoria.com
Gertrude Street, Fitzroy [No 86 tram]

Food and Entertainment

Hardware Lane in the city is packed with restaurants and bars. This is quite a lively area during the day, and a large variety of cuisine is available at reasonable prices

De Graves St, also in the city, is a popular atmospheric café district, with a number of stylish and atmospheric cafes serving some of Melbourne's best coffee and café food

Lygon St in Carlton (just on the city fringe) is Melbourne's famous Italian cuisine district. There is an abundance of choice of restaurants here, mostly Italian but some other cuisine is available. A traditional place to go for visitors to Melbourne.

Acland St, St Kilda is a lively part of Melbourne (also on the city fringe) with a range of good bars, restaurants and shopping. It is famous for its cake shops, and is a popular tourist area. The St Kilda Pier café has recently been re opened and is a popular tourist spot. If you like live music, The Espy Hotel on the Esplanade is definitely worth a look.

Federation Square (opposite Flinders St Station). Apart from the amazing architecture, Fed Square has some great restaurants and bars. During the day the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) and the Sir Ian Potter gallery are well worth a look.

Brunswick St, Fitzroy has many great cafes, and modern European/Asian food. It is the centre of the all day breakfast (for reasons that relate to the lifestyle of the denizens of Fiztroy).

Shopping

Chapel St in Toorak is Melbourne's most well known fashion district, and has some of Melbourne's more exclusive shops, and is also a fairly lively entertainment district.

Brunswick St is more alternative, and good for books, more alternative clothing and also has some nice bars, cafes and restaurants.

Smith St is edgier than Brunswick St between Victoria Pde and Johnson Streets. Just after Johnston St, the factory outlets start - there are bargains to be had, but mind the elbows

Bridge Rd, Richmond. Fashion, boutique shops and outlet shopping.

Victoria Market (Saturday and Sunday) Victoria's premier market, Food stalls, specialty and clothing.
Cnr Elizabeth and Victoria streets
http://www.qvm.com.au

Bars, Pubs, Clubs

Young & Jackson's
Opposite Fed Square, go upstairs to see the famous nude, Chloe
1 Swanston St Melbourne VIC 3000
http://www.youngandjackson.com.au

Honky tonks
Popular Bar with DJ's and dance music..and six varieties of absynth
Duckboard Pl Melbourne VIC 3000
http://www.honkytonks.com.au

Syracuse
Sophisticated wine bar, possibly the best selection of wines in Melbourne, with food also available…and great Tapas!
23 Bank Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000

The Croft Institute
Part art installation, part bar, part laboratory. A Melbourne institution amongst the trendy art crowd.
21-25 Croft Alley Melbourne VIC 3000

A more comprehensive list of pubs and clubs….down a laneway, or up some stairs

General Tourist Information

Further information about Melbourne and Victoria can be found at:
www.mcvb.com.au
www.visitvictoria.com
www.australia.com.au
www.thatsmelbourne.com.au