Why Melbourne is our best winter city

Come winter, Melbourne doesn’t hibernate – it elevates. Here’s how to make the most of this city’s cool-weather culture.

Melbourne wins winter

Look, many of our cities are good contenders for a winter escape. Hobart turns hot when the weather turns cold – with our southernmost city laying on the art, festivals and embracing hand-knitted beanies paired with weather-resistant jackets worthy of Everest’s Dead Zone.

Canberra’s enviable proximity to snowfields has an undeniable pull for quick, city-to-snow transitions. Meanwhile, “Winter?" says Darwin and Broome. Nah, we don’t do that. What about just hot and dry, instead of hot and wet? Also great, if your chills are multiplying.

And while Sydney has my heart, its needy dependence on sunshine and mild temperatures, is frankly, a bit embarrassing. Nobody knows what to do in Sydney when the mercury sinks below 16°C. Every year, it’s as if the arrival of winter is a complete and utter surprise.

Dine by candlelight at Spaghetti Club. (Credit: MAMAS Dining Group)

But Melbourne? Melbourne never lets a bit of weather get in the way of a good time. It’s a cultural thing as much as it’s stitched into the city’s built-environment and the population’s psyche. Conditions on Collins Street can mirror the Arctic tundra and Melburnians will just get on. Sure, life will angle toward the outdoors when the weather suits, but temperate days are a nice-to-have, not a requirement for living merrily.

Street art at Swan St in Richmond — Street art in Richmond awaits those willing to explore outside in the winter. (Credit: Visit Victoria/ Jesse Hisco)

So, we do declare, hands-down (but with Hobart hot on its heels – also the location of one of my most memorable trips), Melbourne wins winter. It’s the ideal mid-year minibreak because there’s so much to do. With everything from art exhibitions and events to cosy fireside pubs, ultra-cool listening bars, design-led hotels and adorable, wine-adjacent towns waiting just beyond the city limits, there is something to delight at every intersection of your interests. It’s a place to relish winter, not just hibernate through it. So if you’re looking for a mid-winter reset, don’t think twice about booking that sale flight to the Victorian capital.

Melbourne restaurants you need to visit in winter

Melbourne is a food-loving city. Maybe it even has more gourmands per capita than any other Aussie city. We’ll never know for sure (so relax, Adelaide, we see you, too). But we can be sure that there is no shortage of great restaurants, from hip new places to long-lived icons on the city’s dining scene. Add these to your itinerary.

Frenchie

Bucking all trends of French fare being high-and-mighty fine-dining, this laneway hit is all nouveau bistro style with rambunctious energy and a truly disruptive ‘everything $14’ classic menu. It takes walk-ins and is open for lunch and dinner until midnight – because the party doesn’t stop just because it’s a bit chilly.

France-Soir

From new a Frenchie to an old classic, France-Soir is a Melbourne institution that has been servicing the city with well-put-together dishes of steak tartare and bouef bourguignon for 40 years. It’s a settle-in-er, so take your time and linger over a post-dinner cognac.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

Spaghetti Club

Melbourne knows Italian and this easy-going trattoria in Richmond with a proud nonna-core culture proves the point. It’s all good pasta, home-style vibes and affable service with Sicilian roots.

Melbourne’s listening bars are the perfect winter activity

Vinyl culture is strong in Melbourne and the city has the record (quite literally) of having more record stores per capita than any other city in the world. Yes, the world. So it tracks that listening bars are a thing here.

Bar Selecta

This Hawthorne listening bar has taken directly from the Tokyo playbook with dim-lit moods and vinyl grooves. There are well-mixed cocktails, lots of sake, BYO vinyl Sundays and other themed nights.

Waxflower

A bit of everything, Waxflower is a very Melbourne café by day, transforming into a Euro-style wine bar cross Japanese listening bar in the evening. Slide in here for lunch to aperitivo and evening listening sessions.

Does Melbourne offer winter events? You bet!

Melbourne keeps the events rolling out through the calendar year, from regular exhibitions at galleries across the city to dedicated winter events. You’ll have to be strategic about what you see, as there’s too much on to cram it all into one short break.

Winter Night Market

Cold nights are all part of the fun in Melbourne and the beloved Queen Victoria Market leans in through the winter months by staying open late every Wednesday night. There’s festoon lights, fire pits, warming drinks and, of course, plenty of morsels and stalls to sample.

Melbourne winter masterpieces at the NGV

A woman visiting the NGV Cartier exhibit — The NGV is never short on incredible exhibits. (Credit: Sean Fennessy)

The NGV is not short on engrossing and exclusive exhibitions. This winter, the gallery is hosting a 300-piece Cartier exhibition from 12 June to 4 October. All those dazzling gemstones are sure to put the shine in a winter’s day.

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Lightscape

Illuminating the Royal Botanic Gardens until 2 August, Lightscape is an outdoor exhibition of luminous art installations. It’s an after-dark experience that fits perfectly with a cold, winter’s night.

Where to stay in Melbourne during winter?

Melbourne is boutique-forward when it comes to accommodation, but it also spreads out across the spectrum, whether you’re looking for five-star-fancy or the edgy elegance of the W, you’ll find it all close the city’s best entertainment – so you can rug up and walk out. Here, we’re calling out these two for proximity and style that suits a minibreak.

StandardX

You’ll find this achingly cool hotel in the unshakeably hip Fitzroy. It’s close to plenty on foot or with an easy tram ride to the city’s hot tickets. Rooms are very Melbourne-coded with artful style that’s approachable. There’s a rooftop with a fireplace, all-day eatery Bistro X and an ultra-slick lobby lounge.

Hannah St

Levelling up the design-led luxe, this premium hotel is everything Melbourne does so well. It slots beautifully into a weekender with boutique rooms, a lap pool with city views, and five hospitality venues that tightrope timelessness and contemporary trends elegantly. It’s even been called, ‘a love letter to the city’.

Want to know where else to go near Melbourne in winter?

Have time for a country or coastal jaunt? Melbourne knows how to stoke the fire for cosy stays that don’t take you too far off-course. For wellness, wines and wonderful food, exit to the Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley, Daylesford and Healesville – all less than two hours away. For coastal extensions, Portsea, Sorrento, Geelong and Port Arlington are accessed within one-and-a-half hours from the city. All very doable day trips, but better to settle in and add an extra day.

Video credit: Tourism Australia

From coast to mountains, hiking in Gippsland offers a stunning array of landscapes, with trails that take you deep into the region’s heritage.

I step out onto the sand and it cries out underfoot. Kweek! I take another step and there’s another little yelp. Screet! Picking up the pace, the sounds follow me like my shadow, all the way down to the water. It’s obvious how this spot got its name – Squeaky Beach – from the rounded grains of quartz that make the distinctive sounds under pressure.

For many, Wilsons Promontory National Park is the gateway to Gippsland, and the best way to explore it is by walking its network of hiking trails, from coastal gems such as Squeaky Beach through to the bushland, among the wildlife. But it’s still just a taste of what you’ll find on foot in the region.

Venture a bit further into Gippsland and you’ll discover the lakes, the rainforest, and the alpine peaks, each changing with the season and offering summer strolls or winter walks. Just like that squeaky sand, each step along these trails has something to tell you: perhaps a story about an ancient spirit or a pioneering search for fortune.

The best coastal hikes in Gippsland

sunset at Wilsons Promontory National Park — Wilsons Promontory National Park is a sprawling wilderness with many coastal bushland trails. (Image: Mark Watson)

Wilsons Promontory National Park (or ‘The Prom’, as you’ll end up calling it) is an easy three-hour drive from Melbourne, but you might ditch the car when you arrive, with much of the park’s 50,000 hectares accessible only by foot. From the inky water of Tidal River (dyed dark purple by abundant tea trees), I like the easy walks along the coast, among lichen-laden granite boulders, to golden beaches and bays.

a couple on Mount Oberon — Panoramic views from the summit of Mount Oberon. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

The trail to the panoramic views at the summit of Mount Oberon is a bit harder, up steep timber and granite steps, but it’s a popular 6.8-kilometre return. The more remote hikes are found through the open banksia and stringybark woodland of the park’s north, or along the multi-day Southern Circuit, which ranges from about 35 to 52 kilometres, with sunrises and sunsets, kangaroos and cockatoos, and maybe even whales.

a golden sand beach at Wilsons Promontory National Park — Walk ‘The Prom’s’ golden sand beaches. (Image: Tourism Australia/Time Out Australia)

You might also see whales on the George Bass Coastal Walk, even closer to Melbourne on the western edge of Gippsland. This dramatic seven-kilometre trail along the clifftops takes in sweeping views of the wild ocean, occasionally dipping down from grassy green hills to coastal gullies and a secluded beach. It also now links into the Bass Coast Rail Trail for an extra 14 kilometres.

Over at the eastern edge of Gippsland, in Croajingolong National Park, you can wander along the lakeshores beneath koalas and around goannas (I keep my distance since one chased me here!). For those who are even more adventurous, the park is also the starting point for the 100-kilometre Wilderness Coast Walk, usually done over seven days.

the Croajingolong National Park, Gippsland — Wander along the lakeshores in Croajingolong National Park. (Image: Tourism Australia)

The best bush hikes in Gippsland

the Baw Baw National Park — The alpine heath of Baw Baw National Park. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

Deep in the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine at Walhalla, mining guide Richard tells me how this small town in the mountains east of Melbourne boomed when prospectors found gold here in 1862. These days, you’ll find most of the town’s treasure – its heritage – above ground, with the Walhalla Tramline Walk a wonderful way to explore it.

Just seven kilometres long, the walk takes you through decades of Gold Rush history, following the original rail trail from lush bushland to the mining sites, and through the charming village of just 20 residents with its wooden cottages and old shopfronts adorned with turn-of-the-century advertising posters. Blazing a trail where trailblazers once opened up the region, this is also the starting point for the 650-kilometre Australian Alps Walking Track.

Nearby, Baw Baw National Park has walks through gnarled snow gums and alpine heaths that show off the colourful wildflowers in summer and the pristine carpet of white in winter. Several trails are perfect for snowshoes, including a 45-minute route from St Gwinear up to vast views across the Latrobe Valley.

Further up into the mountains, the Toorongo and Amphitheatre Falls Loop Walk is an easy 2.2-kilometre path that serenades you with the sound of flowing water as you pass mossy rocks and tree ferns en route to two sets of waterfalls cascading over boulders in the remote wilderness.

The best cultural hikes in Gippsland

the Mitchell River National Park, Gippsland — Hike the Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)

Across a pool in a natural sandstone amphitheatre, deep within a cave behind a waterfall, it’s said the Nargun has its lair. A fierce creature, half human and half stone, that abducts children and can’t be harmed by boomerangs or spears, the story of the Nargun has been told around the campfires of the local Gunaikurnai people for generations.

As a culturally significant place for women, hikers are asked not to go into the Den of Nargun, but a 3.4-kilometre loop walk leads you through a rainforest gully to the entrance where you can feel the powerful atmosphere here in Mitchell River National Park, along Victoria’s largest remaining wild and free-flowing waterway.

the bee-eaters at Mitchell River National Park — Bee-eaters at Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)

The Den of Nargun is part of the Bataluk Cultural Trail, a series of important traditional Gunaikurnai sites through central Gippsland. Another location is Victoria’s largest cave system, Buchan Caves Reserve, with trails to important archaeological sites of human artefacts up to 18,000 years old. The FJ Wilson Interpreted Walk includes the naturally sculpted white limestone steps of the 400-metre-long Federal Cave, while the Granite Pools Walk goes among tall timber and moss-covered gullies.

the ancient rainforest of Tarra-Bulga National Park — The ancient rainforest of Tarra-Bulga National Park. (Image: Josie Withers)

Also important to the Gunaikurnai people is Tarra-Bulga National Park, known for its ancient myrtle beeches and enormous mountain ash trees. Just 40 minutes return, the Tarra Valley Rainforest Walk offers a taste of this verdant landscape, while the Grand Strzelecki Track takes you deep into the lost world of forest giants on an epic 100-kilometre trail rich with tradition.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the WildernessRetreats in The Prom — Wilderness Retreats in The Prom. (Image: Christian Pearson)

Wilderness Retreats in Wilsons Promontory offers glamping-style tents with luxurious queen beds. Star Hotel is a reconstruction of a Gold Rush-era hotel from 1863 in the heart of heritage Walhalla. Caves House is a historic three-bedroom house with views over the Buchan River.

Eating there

the Carrajung Estate, Gippsland — Enjoy a post-hike lunch at Carrajung Estate. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

Kilcunda General Store serves great coffee and meals of local produce at the George Bass Coastal Walk. Alpine Trout Farm is located near Toorongo Falls in Noojee. Fish for your own lunch and barbecue it with the provided cookware.

Carrajung Estate is a short drive from Tarra-Bulga National Park. The winery’s restaurant offers a seasonal menu of regional ingredients and you can stay at The Lodge.

a seafood feast at Carrajung Estate, Gippsland — The table is set for a seafood feast at the estate.

Video credit: Tourism Australia

This is the best Aussie city to visit in winter – it’s even better than Hobart

Come winter, Melbourne doesn’t hibernate – it elevates. Here’s how to make the most of this city’s cool-weather culture.

Melbourne wins winter