Melbourne shopping...Melbourne shopping, in a city of style and sophistication, with an inviting cosmopolitan atmosphere revolving around wining and dining, is a real treat. From locally designed originals to the best of international brands you'll be spoilt for choice in Melbourne's shopping precincts. Yes, think Melbourne, think shopping, the rest of Australia does. For decades Melbourne city has been known as the country’s shopping capital, and the question isn’t what you can buy but what you can’t buy! From the large department stores like David Jones (DJ’s) and Myer, throughout shopping centres such as the Galleria, Australia on Collins and Melbourne Central, to the network of lanes and arcades, every turn reveals a new shopping space with its own personality.
So if you want it, this City's got it, all within a short walk or a tram stop or two.Most Melbourne shops open seven days a week and many stay open on Fridays until 9 pm. As a general rule Melbourne shopping hours for the City shops are Saturday to Wednesday: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Thursday: 10:00 am to 7:00 pm and Friday: 10:00 am to 9.00 pm. The City offers an alphabet of fine fashion names, from Armani and Allanah Hill to Zegna and Zambesi. Got a hobby or special interest? Whatever your thing might be, you will find it amongst Melbourne's biggest range of specialty shops, right in the heart of the City. The laneways and side streets are full of intriguing Melbourne shopping, selling everything from coins to spells and antique books to model trains. In this regard Melbourne shopping reminds me of London in the sixties, when Carnaby Street and the likes were all the fashion,
In Melbourne you’ll also discover mouth-watering food halls in department stores and wonderful Melbourne shopping centres, as well as the biggest food hall of them all at the Queen Victoria Market, where the only fish that are fresher are still swimming in the sea. Some of the bigger Melbourne shopping and fashion venues that you really must visit include:
QUEEN VICTORIA MARKETS 513 Elizabeth Street, on the corner of Victoria Street, Melbourne: Phone 03 9320 5822.. Here you’ll find over 1,000 stalls selling just about everything. Melbourne shopping Mecca. This historic landmark and tourist attraction is the largest open-air markets in the southern hemisphere. Officially opened 20th March 1878 market buildings sell meat products, the open air sheds sell fruit and vegetables, clothing, shoes, baggage, toys, pets, travel goods, jewellery and souvenirs all at bargain prices. Again, a bit like the street markets of London, complete “wiv barra boys”. Queen Victoria markets operates Tuesdays and Thursdays from 06:00 am to 2:00 pm, Fridays from 06:00 am to 6:00 pm, Saturday from 06:00 am to 3:00 pm and Sunday from 09:00 am to 4:00 pm. and don’t forget to haggle. 
SUNDAY’S MARKET at the ARTS CENTRECorner St Kilda and Southgate Roads, Southbank. Phone 03 9281 8581. More than just another flea market, The Sunday Market showcases over 150 stalls of Victoria's finest artisans' work. Stallholders are selected after passing a strident examination for the quality and diversity of their work. Melbourne shopping is a Mecca for artists of every genre painters, sculptors, visual artists, musicians, and thespians and many of them offer their wares at The Sunday Market. Do something daring, go Melbourne shopping, buy something original and become the envy of all your friends. Who knows, one day that something original might fund your retirement... Every lady still drawing breath will fall in love with Melbourne shopping and it doesn’t matter where you come from as most of the staff speak more than one language. You’ll discover unique jewellers who make their creations from rare diamonds; look on as the craftsman turns and polishes opal and other precious and semi-precious stones. Yes, if you can honestly lay claim to the title of shopaholic you really must tour Melbourne shopping's Markets. Discover wonderful genuine leatherwear, alluring skins taken from the kangaroo, crocodile, barramundi, emu and flamboyant sea snakes. Artwork may be found everywhere on canvas, ceramics, glass, metals, textiles, earthenware, stoneware, terracotta and clay pots. Rainforest timbers with richly coloured grains are shaped and sculptured as you watch. Stylish Melbourne shopping boutiques and market stalls offer garments reflecting the colours, culture and lifestyle of Melbourne. Buy yourself, or someone special, an inexpensive t-shirt or treat yourself to a one-off, hand sewn creation by a local couturier. All Melbourne shopping stalls are under cover and the markets trade every Sunday of the year.
On the corner Swanston and Flinders Streets, Melbourne: Phone 03 9639 2800. Federation Square is a central and unifying public space, a landmark and a cultural magnet bringing together exquisite gardens, innovative architecture and engineering. Filling an entire city block, Federation Square's creative mix of attractions embody all that is wonderful about Melbourne shopping: fine art, fine hospitality, fine flora, bold design and vibrant events. Close by is the Ian Potter Centre incorporating the National Gallery of Victoria, ACMI, the Australian Thoroughbred Racing Museum, SBS, Melbourne Visitor Centre, cafes and restaurants. ROYAL ARCADE: 355 Bourke Street, Melbourne. Built in 1869, this is the city's oldest shopping arcade and despite alterations, it retains an airy, graceful elegance notably lacking in more modern shopping centers. Walk about 10 metres into the arcade, turn around, and look up to see the statues of Gog and Magog, the biblical monsters that toll the hour on either side of Gaunt's Clock. At the far end is a wrought-iron portico from the same period, one of the few remaining examples of the verandas that used to grace the city center.
THE BLOCK ARCADE:280-286 Collins Street, between Collins Street and Elizabeth Street, Melbourne: Phone 03 9654 5244. This is Melbourne’s principal shopping arcade, built in 1891. The grandest arcade of them all, featuring huge ceiling murals and intricate mosaic floors. Walking up and down this section of Collins Street in the late afternoon or on Saturday morning was a favourite pastime between 1870 and 1918 and The Block is famous for its arcades, modelled on those of Paris, London and Milan. SOUTHGATE LEISURE PRECINCT. On the corner of Maffra Street and City Road, Melbourne: Phone: 03 9699 4311. Opened in 1992, Southgate is a reflection of Australia's cultural diversity, with a distinct Melbourne flavour. Southgate has so much to offer overseas visitors, city workers and day-trippers alike. Restaurants, bars and cafés, 39 unique stores, a riverside food court, exciting entertainment programs and secure undercover parking make it a prime spot for scenic walking. Southgate is especially vibrant with throngs of people including many street performers.
Little Bourke Street between Swanston Street and Spring Street, Melbourne: Phone 03 9658 9658. Situated on Little Bourke Street and the neighbouring lanes between Spring and Swanston Streets, Melbourne’s Chinatown houses all the things you’d expect to find in all the “Chinatowns” in every major city in the world. Restaurants, cafes and Asian grocery stores dominate the precinct. Chinatown is a bustling “city within a city” with people, sounds and smells that invite and entice. Chinese medicine, music, restaurants, gold and jewellery, unique and exotic gifts, cinema, events and festivals, the museum and karaoke are all major features of Chinatown.
CROWN CASINO & CROWN ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX.8 Whiteham Street, Melbourne: Phone 03 9292 8888. Our brief tour of Melbourne’s shopping delights wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex. One of the largest gaming facilities in Southern Hemisphere with 350 gaming tables and 2,500 slot machines, Crown Casino is a genuine Las Vegas-style gambling palace, with restaurants, upmarket boutiques, nightclubs, two hotel towers, a cinema complex, and floorshows. Crown is open 24 hours every day except Christmas Day, Good Friday and Anzac Day when it is closed from 4:00 am to noon. As I said before, think Melbourne, think shopping, the rest of Australia does. Following is a reasonably complete list of major shopping precincts in Melbourne city and surrounds.................enjoy John. Melbourne CBD: • Port Phillip Arcade, Flinders Street • Australia on Collins, Collins Street • Collins Place, Collins Street • Sportsgirl Centre, Collins Street • Centreway Arcade, Collins Street • Georges, Collins Street • Royal Arcade, Bourke Street • The Paramount, Bourke Street • Myer, Bourke Street • David Jones, Bourke Street • Melbourne's GPO, Bourke Street • Tivoli Arcade, Bourke Street • Target Centre, Bourke Street • Target Centre, Little Bourke • The Galleria, Elizabeth Street • Block Arcade, Collins Street, Elizabeth Street • QV Village, Lonsdale Street • Melbourne Central, Lonsdale Street • Swanston Street Mall, Swanston Street • Capitol Arcade, Swanston Street • Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct, Southbank • Crown Entertainment Complex, Southbank • Southbank Promenade, Southbank • Waterfront City, Docklands • West End Plaza, Spencer Street Melbourne suburbs: • Victoria Gardens Shopping Centre, Richmond • Centro Karingal, Frankston • Centro The Glen, Glen Waverley • Centro Rosebud, Rosebud • Centro Brandon Park, Wheelers Hill • Centro Cranbourne, Cranbourne • Warringal Shopping centre, Heidelberg • Centro Box Hill, Box Hill • Centro Croydon, Croydon • Centro Keilor, Keilor • Centro Mornington, Mornington • Centro Oakleigh, Oakleigh • Centro Ringwood, Ringwood • Centro Meadow Heights Meadow Heights • Centro Sunshine Marketplace, Sunshine • Centro Langwarrin, Langwarrin • Centro Newcomb, Newcomb • Westfield Southland, Cheltenham • Westfield Airport West, Airport West • Westfield Doncaster, Doncaster (Major expansion under construction) • Fountain Gate Shopping Centre, Narre Warren • Westfield Plenty Valley, (Major expansion under construction) • Westfield Bay City, Geelong (Major expansion under construction) • DFO Cheltenham, Cheltenham • DFO Essendon, Essendon • DFO Spencer, Melbourne Central Business District on Spencer Street • Northland Shopping Centre, Preston • Chadstone Shopping Centre, Malvern East • Rosebud Plaza, Rosebud • Altona Gate Shopping Centre, Altona North • Broadmeadows Shopping Centre, Broad Meadows • Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre, Forest Hill • Frankston Town Centre, Frankston Central (Bayside Central) • Brimbank Central Shopping Centre, Deer Park • Roxburgh Park Town Centre, Roxburgh Park • Corio Village Shopping Centre, Corio • Bendigo Marketplace. Bendigo • Chirnside Park Shopping Centre, Chirnside Park • Dandenong Plaza, Dandenong Central • Parkmore Shopping Centre, Keysborough • Highpoint, • Epping Plaza, Epping • Werribee Plaza, Hoppers Crossing
If you prefer to do your shopping on-line you'll find a wonderful selection of travel goods, apparel, photographic equipment etc.. all courtesy of Amazon at our on-line travel shop. Our RSS feed will be updated periodically with all the latest travel deals and special offers. Please subscribe by clicking the button to the left (XML/RSS) to receive notice of these updates without any risk or obligation. PLEASE NOTE: If you don't know what an RSS feed is just click this link. Click here to return from Melbourne shopping to The Discount Travel Guide home page.
|
but I digress.....
FEDERATION SQUARE:
CHINATOWN:
