We started the day with a tram ride and short walk to Yarra Park, home of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The park is noted both for its landscape and sporting heritage dating back to the 1850’s and features numerous sporting statues including those of the Australian cricketers Sir Donald Bradman and Shane Warne.
Tours of the cricket ground are conducted by knowledgeable volunteers and are available daily between 10.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. excluding match and event days. We’d pre-booked ourselves onto a 75 minute tour although walk-up reservations are usually also available. Standard adult tour €33 AUD (£17.65).
There were seven on our tour and our guide, a long time member of the MCG led us into the inner sanctum of the cricket ground detailing the club’s history as we were shown around.
The Melbourne Cricket Club was established in 1838 (just three years after Melbourne itself was first settled) and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in the world. The club played their first cricket matches at various locations around Melbourne from 1839, then in 1853 the club moved to Yarra Park and the first Melbourne Cricket Ground was built in 1854.
The MCG has seen many upgrades over its 168-year history and it is currently the largest sports stadium in Australia and the eleventh largest in the world. The maximum recorded attendance was a massive 100,024 with the ground not only hosting cricket matches but also Australian Football League (AFL) and Rugby League.
In 1956 the ground hosted the Olympic Games and in 2006 the Commonwealth Games. The stadium continues to be a concert venue with sell out audiences for Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift amongst other top performers.
Highlights of the tour included the famous MCC Long Room, the cricketers’ viewing room, the Ron Casey Media Centre and views of the stadium from the Ponsford Stand and City Terrace.
Normally tours also include a visit to the changing rooms but as Victoria were out on the pitch practising for a Sheffield Shield match on the day of our visit this was out of bounds. Instead we were invited into the Australian Sports Museum which is located on the same site and is dedicated to Australian sport. Its galleries focus on achievements, trophies and sporting equipment through the ages.
Whether you are an ardent cricket fan or not I believe that nearly everyone would enjoy this tour which took us around the stadium and onto the edge of the hallowed turf itself.
After rounding off our excellent tour of the MCG with cups of coffee in their stadium cafe, we set off through the Sports Park passing the Rod Laver stadium (home of the Australian Open Tennis tournament). From there, we crossed a bridge over the Yarra River before arriving at the Royal Botanic Gardens (free admittance).
Considered one of the finest examples of Victorian-era landscaping in the world, Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens are home to plants from around the globe as well as a strong show of unique Australian flora. Mini ecosystems, a herb garden and an indigenous rainforest are all set amid large lawns and ponds with native black swans.
Of note is the Shrine of Remembrance, a war memorial built in honour of the people of Victoria who served in the First World War. It now functions as a memorial to all Australians who have served in any war. The large monument is surrounded by the Shrine Reserve gardens and features sculptures, fountains, memorials and over 250 commemorative plaques and memorial trees.
Close to the shrine stands the historic La Trobe’s Cottage, the home of Victoria’s first governor Charles Joseph La Trobe and his family. The house was built in 1839 and shipped over from Britain. Decades after his return to England the cottage was relocated to its present position.
After enjoying our stroll through the botanical gardens we made our way over to the vibrant Southbank so that we could take in the views from the Melbourne Skydeck which is located on the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower. Several ticket packages are available with the Ultimate Skydeck Experience €65 (£34.79) pre-booked on-line or €72 (£38.50) at the door). Melbourne Skydeck.
We began our visit at the virtual reality Voyager Theatre where we were seated in comfortable chairs and with our VR headsets on were taken on an 11 minute immersive journey across 16 iconic Melbourne and Victoria experiences. I’ve experienced several VR experiences before but none compared to the sensory voyage we were taken on across the state. The journey took us to the MCG and other city landmarks we’d already visited along with places that we would be heading to in the coming days.
Next, we took the lift up to the 88th floor observation deck where we took in the panoramic city views from the floor to ceiling windows. We couldn’t have been luckier with the weather as the views were magnificent.
On arrival we’d been given a buzzer and when this sounded we knew it was our turn to experience The Edge.
This was what we’d especially been looking forward to as it’s a thrilling experience as you enter a transparent glass cube which then extends out of the building by three metres.
As we don’t have a fear of heights we didn’t find it scary but it was definitely great fun. Included in the price was a digital download photo as a souvenir of our visit.
It was then not too far across the river for us walk to the Immigration Museum located in Melbourne’s Old Customs House. Standard admission $15 AUD (£8.00). Its permanent exhibitions explore Victoria’s immigration history with personal stories of immigrants from various countries and a history of Australia’s immigration policies and processes.
What better way to round off the day than by taking a stroll around the shops. The leafy Collins and Bourke Streets are lined with shops and we popped into both the Myers and David Jones department stores to see what they had to offer.
From there we strolled through the heritage Royal Arcade. This was the first Arcade in Melbourne, opening in 1890 it is the longest standing in the whole of Australia. The arcade is still beautiful today with its luxurious shops and cafes, mosaic floors and intricate Victorian ironwork.
Close by stands the Block Arcade which first opened in 1892 and is equally beautiful. It’s home to boutiques, the Hopetoun Tearooms and Haigh’s Chocolates. The arcade takes its name from the practice of ‘doing the block’, dressing fashionably and promenading around the nearby streets.
All this window shopping was giving us an appetite so we headed back to the Southbank riverside promenade and tucked into Barramundi and chips at the ‘Fish and Chippery by the Atlantic’, the perfect way to end a wonderful day exploring Melbourne.
In fact, we didn’t want the evening to end quite so soon, so we strolled along to the docklands area near the Marvel stadium before hopping on a tram back to our hotel for the night.
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