Melbourne: A city of vibrant street art beckons
Walls transformed: Some examples of Melbourne’s street art. Pix by Sanjeeva Van Cuylenberg
It has been ranked by the Economist’s Intelligence Unit, for all but two years of the last decade, as Number One in its list of The World’s Most Liveable Cities.
If you are visiting for the first time, Australia’s second largest city Melbourne is certainly a destination providing much to look forward to and much to enjoy. Green leafy parks, beautiful gardens, narrow cobble-stoned laneways, colonial heritage buildings, modern street art, Australia’s finest coffee plus excellent food from all parts of the world catering to all types of budget–this city has it all!
The City Centre is constructed on a simple grid pattern and so is easy to navigate. Tourists armed with only a map or a mobile phone can confidently undertake a rewarding walking tour on their own.
You can spend a whole day wandering through quaint laneways and mooching around coffee bars, pavement eating places and interesting shops. Stop for a coffee at the famous Patricia Coffee Brewers at the corner of Little Bourke Street and Little William Street – you can sit and savour an excellent cup of barista- brewed coffee and peacefully watch the world go by. As you stroll through this area look out for sites like the Block Arcade and Centre Place plus places with more intriguing names like AC/DC Lane, Hardware Lane, Postal Lane, Market Lane and Hosier Lane.
And it is in venues like Hosier Lane that you will come across Melbourne’s famous Street Art.
This is the place where Street Art first hit the headlines. Come here and you will see why it still draws tourists as well as couples wanting their wedding photoshoots taken against this unorthodox backdrop. Virtually every square centimetre is covered in a colourful riot of murals, posters, stencils, stickers and tags – brightly coloured wall paintings that are not only eye catching but often also convey a socially relevant message.
Street Art has been described as ‘a colourful and creative form of graffiti’. The current attitude of the Melbourne City Council to encourage Street Art has allowed artists to create aesthetically attractive paintings, large colourful murals on what would otherwise be grungy and grimy city walls.The Council now specially sets aside certain streets for street artists to show off their works.
Instead of wandering around the laneways of the city and serendipitiously hoping to come across examples of street art, you may want to do a more structured walking tour. There are several organised tours – some conducted by street artists or photographers themselves.Or you could check out Melbourne Street Art Walking Tour map and plan your walk before you actually get to Melbourne. This will allow you to leave no laneway mural un-photographed – but it involves a three kilometre stroll that takes about two and a half hours. Many of these artworks are temporary so there will always be something new for you to see.
Colonial architecture: The Flinders Street Railway Station
Melbourne is named after William Lamb, the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, who was Britain’s Prime Minister at the time of its founding in 1835 (and incidentally was the husband of Lady Caroline Lamb, Lord Byron’s mistress!). With such a long history, the city’s built environment boasts of some magnificent colonial architecture -Flinders Street Railway Station, the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens, the Shrine of Remembrance and the former General Post Office (now redeveloped into a shopping mall).
If you want to enjoy Melbourne’s natural scenery, you have not only the 26 hectare Carlton Gardens to stroll through but also the Royal Botanical Gardens, a green oasis full of colourful flowers, majestic trees and beautiful landscapes. You may even like to hop on one of the boats that offer a cruise along the Yarra River flowing through this lovely city.
If it is museums and galleries that take your fancy, make sure to walk across to the Immigration Museum which documents the stories of the many folk from diverse cultures who came to Melbourne and made it one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. The National Gallery of Victoria which brings to Melbourne exhibits and artworks from all over the world is also well worth a visit.
All these places are within easy walking distance of the Melbourne CBD.