MELBOURNE, THE WORLD'S MOST LIVABLE CITY
Before moving to Australia we had the chance to choose which city we wanted to live in: Sydney or Melbourne. At that time we knew little about them, but moving to Australia, in our imagination, equaled to sunshine and beaches, therefore Melbourne's cooler climate, four seasons and its reputation for being less of a beach city convinced us that Sydney was a better fit with what we were after. Since our arrival, however, colleagues and friends equally told us positive anecdotes about Melbourne, their favourite city in the country, so we were looking forward to an opportunity for a visit. Not too long ago as part of an extended business trip we had a few days to form our own opinion about the place.
Melbourne is the capital of the state Victoria, and as previously described in our general introduction to Australia, it used to be the largest city, but when Sydney grew in size and business importance Melbourne's position was challenged - there is still a lot of rivalry between the two cities. To avoid conflict, the solution was to artificially create Canberra, a political and administrative centre and name it the capital. Today Melbourne is considered by the locals as the cultural center of the country and it definitely has many faces and charms that attract locals and tourists alike. Here are some of them:
1. Melbourne is the world's most livable city
For the 6th consecutive year the city has been ranked by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) as the most livable city, based on healthcare, education, stability, culture, environment and infrastructure. The trams in Melbourne - similarly to Budapest or Lisbon - are commonly photographed as a unique phenomenon in the country. Some of the best universities in the country are also here - based on national rankings. Overall, people definitely seem to be happy and nice, we felt very welcome wherever we went.
Flinders Street Station, Melbourne's most iconic meeting point; Street art on shopping streets, St Paul's Cathedral
2. Melbourne = Coffee
People in Melbourne are serious about their coffee. They can't be in enough of a rush to to take their time to have a proper one in the morning, and they are willing to queue for the best cup. Cafes - that are literally everywhere - compete to hit the top rankings in range, style and friendliness, and the best ones are full throughout the day. We loved the little hidden alleys that opened up the way to a row of tiny cafes - the best place to start the day.
An education chart in a cafe
Cafes in alleys (Centre Place and Degrave street)
3. Foodie Haven
Melbourne is a mix of European and Asian cultures, which has a large influence on its cuisine. Greek, Italian and Chinese are among the largest ethnic groups, so no wonder why you can find here some of the best of their typical restaurants all over Australia! Eating out is among the top activities in the city, and the abundance of restaurants is simply overwhelming - it's a paradise for foodies! We got recommendations from colleagues to visit so many 'unmissable' places that it was impossible to go through them all, it will be enough for a few more visits.
Even simple eateries are stylish and each applies creativity to offer something uniquely attractive to the audience. We went to a Greek place, Stalactites, based on the recommendation of my colleague, which has been operating for almost 40 years by the same family and it is ranked as one of the best ones in the city - it did not disappoint!
Another not so fancy place to eat out well is at the Queen Victoria Market that happens every Wednesday during the summer in the market hall. It's an covered area with drinks, food stalls and even some art and craft sellers, accompanied by live music and art performance. After getting the essential glass of Sangria punch we had a hard time choosing from the options of 50+ stalls offering the best market food, so ended up sampling as many small portions as possible.
We got the excellent recommendation from our lovely airnb host couple to try one evening the Velodrome Food Truck Festival which was on for 3 days at the time of our visit. It was on the outskirt of the city in a velodrome arena which was formed into a countryside-style food market with trucks selling food and visitors sitting on hay cubes.
The selection of food was very similar to other Aussie markets with at least one avocado-based food truck, Spanish, several variety of Asian, Belgian waffles, French crepes. One thing we have not seen before was the truck of the Knafeh bakery which created a Middle Eastern party atmosphere with its uniformed bearded bakers who sang and danced on the table and around at Middle Eastern music and attracted the lion share of visitors around their truck to eat some knafeh and join the fun. Fantastic marketing idea, well worth checking out! Knafeh is a Middle Eastern cheese pastry soaked in sweet, sugar-based syrup, which we both liked a lot - even we could not resist trying it, so many Arabic people had some that we thought it must have been one we need to try. After this visit we looked up these guys, and it turned out they've built some reputation with their nights, they've even featured in national magazines, which you can read here.
4. Fashion
Melbourne is the home of fashion and design in Australia. It gives home to the annual Melbourne Spring Fashion Week and some other fashion exhibitions each year to showcase the works of talented students and new designers, as well as to popularize collections from established designers. Fashion labels typically also have their first boutique in Melbourne where the best of the profession is represented. Shopping, therefore is another of the favourite time passers, and perhaps not surprising, that people in Melbourne are known in Australia for dressing fashionably.
5. Sport
Sport is the bread and butter for Australians - even official holidays ensure that everyone can attend the most important sport events where friends and families gather to cheer for their team. On top, Victoria claims to be Australia's most sports-loving state of all (although this would be disputed by every other state). Some of the key events are the Melbourne Cup day in November, when everyone in the state gets a day off to watch the horseraces, either in person or from a bar accompanied by non-negligible amount of alcohol. Even in Sydney offices last year emptied out in the early afternoon as as everyone headed out to social gathering to watch the event,
Another important event is the Australian Open tennis competition that actually took place on the weekend of our visit. The city was full of local and international visitors and ticket prices skyrocketed to see the final clash between Nadal and Federer and the two Williams sisters. Nothing can stop Melbourners if it's about fun.
6. Street art
We followed our guide book to find the 3-4 streets that are covered by graffiti paintings in the city centre: Union Lane, Hosier Lane, Croft Alley, small lane of Queen Street. Most of them are within walking distance from each other, so it's a relaxing activity for a couple of hours. As a European, where street art is so common, we did not find the paintings too outstanding, however, in Australian terms, it is unique and is worth a visit.
7. Festivals and events
During our few days the city was at full speed hosting the Australian Open, and celebrating Australia Day and the Chinese New Year celebrations all at the same time. This was just a lucky coincidence this year, however, locals confirmed that the city general is vibrant, and a festival or some other event is on almost each weekend. I guess this is related to the demand from outgoing people who love culinary experiences.
We felt lucky to spend Australia Day, 26 January in the cultural capital, so we could combine our general sightseeing with joining the celebrating crowd. Australia Day, 26 January is the official National Day of Australia, it's the "Foundation Day", the celebration of the arrival of the British to the island in 1788 . Today celebrations reflect the diverse society and landscape of the nation on this day each year, and are marked by community and family events.
We started the day checking out the procession on the main street where minorities who migrated into the city over the past decades walked along the main avenue showcasing their national folk costumes as a representation of their cultural heritage which is now united in Australia. In the long queue we coincidentally found representatives from the Hungarian community straight away! Costumes from the Polynesian islands around Australia wore grass skirts, while Egyptians had pharaoh costume!
The Hungarian team
Later on the procession ended up in a demonstration of the aboriginal Australians at Federation square who consider this day 'Invasion Day' and the first of many years when they and their culture was ruthlessly oppressed. It was a peaceful demonstration but insightful to know how aboriginals feel about history even today.
The celebration continued in the Kings Domain green field next to the Royal Botanic Garden with old-timer car exhibition, airforce flight show, and many activities for children like demonstration of professions, for instance firefighters, policeman or gold washing (which kids could try themselves from the mud and seemingly had a great time!).
We walked along the river bank and then to the Botanic Garden from here to enjoy the fantastic sunshine, which was much needed - as mentioned the weather in Melbourne is a lot more like in Europe, which we were't entirely prepared for. The Vintage Cycle Club of Victoria also chose the Botanic Garden as their meeting point!
Princes Walk (1), Alexandra Gardens (2) and the Royal Botanic Gardens (3-6)
Members of the The Vintage Cycle Club of Victoria
Overall, we had a nice time in Melbourne and we enjoyed discovering the reasons locals are so fond of the city. We agreed that it is very different from other parts of country, it is the city that most resembles Europe in our view, which is why for us it was a nostalgic visit. If you want to make a larger change from Europe, however, we still feel that Sydney is a better choice to live, but you should definitely visit Melbourne.