NATURAL WORLD
The city is built on the banks of the Yarra
River. City parks include the Royal
Botanic Gardens and the King's Domain Gardens.
BIRDING
The 11,000-hectare Western
Treatment Plant processes more than half of Melbourne's waste
and is considered a twitcher's paradise. More than 200 species of
birds have been spotted in the area. Among the birds: pelicans,
shelducks, terns, avocets, stints and sandpipers. Details about
tours are online the Melbourne
Water Education.
URBAN WATER CONSERVATION
CERES Community
Environment Park has developed an Urban Water Conservation Demonstration
and Research Facility. Follow the Water
Trail.
HISTORY
The city grid was commissioned in 1837, the same year the city
was named after then British prime minister William Lamb, 2nd Viscount
Melbourne.
Goldrushes fueled population explosions in the 1850s. The bubble
burst during the 1893 recession. The second wave of growth occured
in 1956 when the city hosted the Olympic games.
CULTURE
Melbourne has some of the best architecture, gardens and museums
in the country. Check out the National
Gallery of Victoria.
THINGS TO DO
Head to the top of the Melbourne Observation Deck, located on level
55 of the Rialto Towers, the Southern Hemisphere's tallest office
building (232 meters).
PARKS
The city's network of parks and gardens range from classical gardens
and grand avenues of trees, to the 188-hectare Royal Park which
is being recreated as a representation of an Australian landscape.
The Carlton Gardens and the Royal Exhibition Building have received
international acclaim and were added to UNESCO's World Heritage
List in 2004.
Melbourne's newest park is Birrarung Marr, alongside the Yarra River.
This park hosts a number of festivals and events.
FOOD
Melbourne and Sydney compete for the title of culinary capital
of the country. Melbourne hosts A
Taste of Slow.
MARKETS
Queen Victoria
Market
SPORTS
Melbourne is where Aussie
Rules Football originated, the most popular sport in Victoria.
Melbourne Cricket
Club hosts major sporting events, including the grand final
of Australian Rules Football
in September.
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