OPTION 1 - CHAPEL STREET  (designer)

Chapel St and Toorak Rd, South Yarra. This is where you will find the best international and Australian designer labels in Melbourne. Toorak Rd tends to cater for the older crowd while Chapel St is more chi-chi. For a great feed, check out the Oriental Tea House (455 Chapel St, South Yarra).

Chapel St, Prahran. This is more your alternative, designer grunge and vintage clothing precinct. For a great feed, go to Borscht, Vodka and Tears (173 Chapel St, Prahran) While here, a must to check out is Greville St in Prahran with its alternative designs and a few good cafes.

Getting there

South Yarra - 72 tram from Swanston St and St Kilda Rd. Or catch the train from any of the city train stations. Three train lines will get you to South Yarra – the Sandringham, Packenham and Frankston lines. When you exit the station, you will be on Toorak Rd. To get to Chapel St, turn left outside the train station into Toorak Rd, and then right into Chapel St.

Prahran - The easiest way to get here is to catch the Sandringham line train from any of the City train stations (including the City Loop train stations), and get off at Prahran station. It's about a 12 minute train trip. Or you can catch the 78 and 79 trams from Richmond.

For more information, go to www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/



OPTION 2 - FITZROY AND COLLINGWOOD  (alternative)


Brunswick St and Gertrude St, Fitzroy; and Smith St, Collingwood. This is the heart of Melbourne’s arty, grungey, alternative scene.

Brunswick St: There are dozens upon dozens of shops and cafes here and it's always busy.


Gertrude St is carving out a niche for more upmarket grunge and has some great cafes.

Smith St is much more raw. There are plenty of small shops and cafes. Don’t be fooled by their unrenovated exterior. Smith St also has quite a few outlet stores that mostly sell sports gear. These can be found at the bottom end of Smith St, away from the city.

Eating

You can get a great feed in almost any café in Brunswick St, Gertrude St or Smith St. In Brunswick Street, try the Vegie Bar (380 Brunswick St), Mao’s (263), or the perennial favourite Mario’s (303). And for a night cap, try the Black Cat café (252) – earthy and cool.

In Gertrude St try the Gertrude St Enoteca (229).

In Smith St try Dr Java Organic Coffee (cnr Gertrude and Smith), Bebida Cafe, Gypsies Cafe (102), or the Kooshi cake and lounge bar at 20 Johnston St.

Getting there

Brunswick St - Catch the West Preston (112) tram in Collins St in the city to get to Brunswick St. Get off at Johnston St and explore.

Gertrude and Smith streets : Get the 86 West Preston tram in Bourke St in the city. This will take you to Smith St and the happening end of Gertrude St.



OPTION 3 - CITY   (alternative and designer)


Collins St has the more upmarket stores - especially the area around Spring St.

Bourke St has the mall, the GPO, and the Myer and David Jones department stores.

Melbourne Central has more of the mainstream type

shops and plenty of them.

For the bigger shopping experience try Melbourne Central (cnr of LaTrobe and Swanston streets), or the QV building (cnr of Lonsdale and Swanston streets). The QV has several designer stores, some you will only find at the QV building. There’s a Max Brenner chocolate shop for the chocoholics out there.

Once you’ve finished doing the QV, head to the GPO (cnr Elizabeth St and Bourke St Mall - www.melbournesgpo.com/#welcome ). This used to be Melbourne’s main Post Office until a few years ago when a fire guttered the building. It has since been totally refurbished and is now home to some bigger name designers, including Akira Isogawa and Karen Millen. There’s also a Campers shoe store here, Jigsaw, and some other interesting shops. If you are up for a drink, there’s a cool European style café alongside the building, sandwiched between the GPO and Myer department store.

Collins Street also has some good shops. The super European designer labels are at the top end of Collins Street between Swanston and Spring streets. Otherwise you can check out two shopping centres in Collins Street. Both are between Elizabeth and Swanston streets.

Interesting laneways include Degraves St, Centre Place, the Centre Way, Port Phillip Arcade, Flinders Lane and Lt Collins St between Elizabeth and Spring streets. These laneways are very close to each other, have super groovy cafes and interesting shops.  Serious coffee drinkers like to hang out here. But, if you are not into coffee and would prefer a good old fashioned cup of tea and sandwiches head to the Hopetoun Tearooms in the

Block Arcade. Or try Segovia in Block Place if you like a good chai.

Good eating in the city

Japanese: Chocolate Buddha (03 9654 5688) in Federation Square
www.chocolatebuddha.com.au

Spanish and Tapas : If you want authentic tapas in an impressively cool venue, head for Movida (03 9663 3038). It’s off Flinders St, in Hosier Lane. Bookings are essential.  Or try their larger and more relaxed place next door. It’s on the corner of Flinders St and Hosier Lane. www.movida.com.au

For a cheaper, but still good, Spanish feed, try Lorca at Centre Place (03 9650 6337)

Italian: For good Italian, go to Il Solito Posto . It’s in the basement, 113 Collins St. (03 9654 4466)

If you want a goooooooood coffee and cakes, head for Brunetti. It’s an open air café on the corner of Swanston and Little Collins streets.

Or if you are after something Italian/French, try the European ( 03 9654 0811) in Spring St opposite Parliament, near the corner of Bourke St. The food isn’t the cheapest but it is good and so are the wine list and waiting staff.

For something quintessentially Melbourne, try Pellegrinis (03 9662 1886) at 66 Bourke, near Spring St for home style Italian food. Or head to the Waiters Club at 20 Meyers Place (off Bourke St near Spring St). Enter via a narrow door and go upstairs. It’s very low key, cheap Italian cuisine. (03 9650 1508)

Middle Eastern: A must is Maha Bar and Grill. Great décor with an outdoor middle eastern pipe smoking area. 21 Bond St (03 9629 5900) www.magabg.com.au


Bookings for all places are highly recommended. For Movida, it is essential.



OPTION 4 - DISCOUNTED SHOPPING AND OUTLETS

DFOs - there are several Direct Factory Outlets including:
*  Southern Cross station
*  Essendon (near the Essendon Airport) on Bulla Rd via Mt Alexander Rd
*  Mooraabin - cnr of Centre Dandenong Rd and Grange Rd in Cheltenham
www.dfo.com.au/

Bridge Road Richmond. This used to be the street many would go to for discounted shopping but in recent years, the arrival of DFO's (Direct Factory Outlets) has taken the shine off Bridge Rd.

Getting there

Trams 48 and 75 from Flinders St will take you to Bridge Rd.



OPTION 5 - SHOPPING CENTRES  (malls)

CHADSTONE is the largest suburban shopping centre in Melbourne and largely caters for the south-eastern suburbs. It's a mega mall in the south east. It's best to drive there but if you want to catch public transport - there are three train lines. www.chadstoneshopping.com.au/centreinfo/gettingthere/

If you are a country*, interstate or overseas visitor to Melbourne you're entitled to discounts of up to 30% from nearly 200 retailers. Collect your free Visitor Passport from one of the Customer Service Desks and have it stamped for endorsement. Make sure you bring some ID, such as a drivers licence or passport, which will confirm your visitor status. Chadstone is 12 minutes from Melbourne CBD on Citylink and approximately 35 minutes by taxi from Melbourne Airport.
*To qualify as a country visitor you must reside 50km from Chadstone.
www.chadstoneshopping.com.au

DONCASTER Westpoint - is the main shopping centre for the eastern suburbs - http://westfield.com.au/doncaster/

HIGHPOINT - a large shopping mall in the inner north west. Take the 57 West Maribyrnong tram from Elizabeth St in the city. www.highpoint.com.au


For more information on public transport, go to www.viclink.com.au/maps_stations_stops