Traveling in Australia is expensive by most standards, so when visiting the cosmopolitan capital of Melbourne, you’ll want to do your best to cut costs. It’s difficult to avoid if you want to take advantage of the city’s best restaurants, bars and hotels, but if you would rather keep your funds going, here are the best free and cheap things to do in Melbourne.
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The Free Things to Do in Melbourne
The Outdoors
While Melbourne may be a major city, it has no shortage of green spaces, which are a great free place to spend the afternoon when the fickle weather permits. Carlton Gardens surrounds the area near the Melbourne Museum and was created for the International Exhibition of 1880.
It has tennis courts and a playground. Fitzroy Gardens are another favorite and are a popular spot for wedding photos. Created in 1848, they house the cottage where Captain Cook’s parents once lived and was brought from Yorkshire in the 1930s. It also has a model Tudor Village and the carved Fairy Tree.
While personally I prefer Sydney’s beaches, Melbourne has plenty nearby for visitors to enjoy when they need a break from the city buzz. St Kilda is the closest at a 20 or so minute tram ride away. It has some funky boutiques, cafes and restaurants along the main street.
Brighton Beach is further out and more residential, but is home to the famous painted bathing houses. Port Melbourne is another nearby.
Other Sights
You can see all of the city’s best sights through the free city tours, which run twice daily. It takes you through Federation Square, the city’s famous lane ways, Chinatown and more. Even if you don’t go with a tour, Federation Square always has something going on, including musical performances and free WiFi.
The museums around it, including the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) and the National Gallery of Victoria, have both free and paid special exhibits.
The State Library of Victoria is much more than a beautiful place to read. It contains coffee shops, free WiFi and computers and galleries with free exhibits on Australian history, including the famous armor worn by outlaw Ned Kelly.
Across the street from Federation Square is the famous Hosier Lane, one of the many free places around town to experience Melbourne’s street art culture. Luna Park in St. Kilda is also free to explore, but you’ll have to pay extra for rides.
The city’s markets, like Queen Victoria Market, are the same, but have cheap food and goods when you’re ready to spend.
The Cheap Things to Do in Melbourne
Accommodation
The cheapest options are hostels, but you should expect to pay at least $30 per night for even the most basic rooms. If you want to stay further out of town near St. Kilda or one of the beaches, you should factor in transportation costs into your total.
In terms of budget options, I recommend Tune Hotel, which allows you to pay more for extras like WiFi and premium channels. For a hostel experience with hotel amenities, Space Hotel is well located and has amenities like a large kitchen, rooftop deck, in-house bar and keycard entry.
Sights
Apart from excursions to the Great Ocean Road and Philip Island, Eureka Skydeck is one of the few Melbourne attractions that you’ll have to pay for. It may seem like a lot for an elevator ride, but the building contains the best views of the city and is ideal for an afternoon when you’ve already seen the free sights or when it’s raining.
Eating and Drinking
In a city full of expensive restaurants, you may be surprised to find that there are cheap and filling options for travelers in Melbourne. Let’s start with the dumplings at Shanghai Street 小街小龍店 on Little Bourke, which come in massive portions for only $8. This is easily something you can split with a friend or save for later.
There are also sandwich shops lining the alley of Centre Place, which were filling for only $5. Lygon Street, the city’s Italian neighborhood, isn’t cheap, but you can find some deals for lunch or if you’re splitting with friends. Bars and pubs are another place to find cheap meals, as most have specials throughout the week like $10 steak and chips or all you can eat paella.
Public Transportation
Melbourne is smaller in scale than Sydney, making it much more walkable. In our few days there, the only time we paid for a ride was to the airport. If you’re staying in town, you can rely on your feet as well as the free City Circle tram, which makes a loop of the city in each direction.
It stops by Flinders Street Station and the Docklands. You can also rent a bicycle for the day, which have docking stations all over town.
Looking for cheap or rather affordable in Melbourne in terms of accommodation, I’d agree that travelers should hold to Space Hotel. Wise choice for budgeted visits in Melbourne. But you don’t have to just stay inside the four corners of a room, when the weather ables you to wander around Melbourne, better grab it!
Wow great list love how its organised, thank you for listing accommodation!! http://tipitravel.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/melbourne-edition-10-things-to-do-under.html For cheap eats I would add Queen Vic markets great produce and cool night food markets, and also Lucky Coq (surprising serving pizza and not chicken) seriously whole authentic Italian pizza for $4AUD!!
Thanks for the great tips! I’m heading to Melbourne later this week, where my budget is going to be tighter than most of the trips I go on. Oh well, seems like there’s plenty to do for not much cash. Plus it helps that the Aussie dollar isn’t as strong as it has been.