Things to Do

Living in Victoria gives you the best Australia has to offer. In summer, you can swim or surf at an ocean beach. In winter, you can ski down a snowy mountain slope. All year round, there's something exciting to enjoy.

Victoria is one of Australia's smallest states. So, wherever you live in Victoria, nothing is too far away. And living in Melbourne you're in the centre of the state.

Whether you choose to study and live in Melbourne or in one of the many student cities and towns located across Victoria, there's so much to do in your spare time. You will have a variety of opportunities to make new friends, explore new interests and even connect with home.

If you're after fun and young fashion, Melbourne's the best place in Australia to be. You can make up your own style from Melbourne's laneway boutiques, recycled clothing shops or one of the many fashion shopping strips and centres.

You can discover tiny cafes, hidden designer shops and urban art in Melbourne's laneways. Why not jump on a tram and uncover the secret treasures of the city the old-fashioned way.

Great food
Melbourne is Australia's culinary capital. With so many cultures coming together you'll be sure to find the food you love. For example, you can try:

Chinatown – in the heart of the city where you can find a cosmopolitan culinary mix including Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Contemporary European and Australian to tempt your taste buds
Richmond – well known for cheap and colourful Vietnamese fare
Carlton – has a strong reputation for classic Italian
all over Melbourne – for authentic Thai.

A passion for sport, beach fun, outdoor adventure and unique animals

Australian's are keen sports lovers – Melbourne offers a high profile sporting agenda including:

o Australian Rules Football (AFL), the most popular, or cricket at our famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
o Australian Open – the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year

o Formula 1 motor racing at Albert Park.

Your school or local area will most likely have a team involved in your favourite sport. You can join the team or club and make new friends.
When you live in Victoria you'll never be far from the coast. You can swim, sail or fish in the bays around Melbourne or learn to surf at the ocean beaches close by. You may also like to try surfing at the famous Bells Beach.
If you like wide-open spaces and the great outdoors, then you'll love the walking and cycling trails in Melbourne as well as the student cities and towns in Victoria. But you don't have to go far from Melbourne to find nature reserves such as the Dandenong Ranges or everything from mountains and rivers to goldfields.
You can choose your adventure with a day trip or weekend away with your homestay family, parent, guardian or relative. Our schools often run excursions so you can also join a school trip with teachers and friends.
You can also see Australia's cute and unique animals in their natural settings. If you visit Victoria's popular wildlife parks and zoos you can say hello to a koala, meet a kangaroo and even listen to the lyrebird. Other popular attractions include the popular penguin parade at Phillip Island as well as the free whale watching near Warrnambool (during June to September).

Gateway to Australia

All the iconic places of Australia are easy to access from Melbourne airport,. a key transport hub. Hopping on a plane can take you to see:

Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) in central Australia
the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland
Sydney's Opera House and famous beaches.

Your school may even organise a trip during your studies.

See Tourism Victoria for many more great ideas.

Living history and culture

If you tour Melbourne's heritage buildings and landmarks you can discover the variety of settlers and immigrants who are an important part of our culture. You may find a connection to your hometown, or even an ancestor who made their way to Australia many years ago.

Visit the villages of Victoria and experience our colourful past and our wonderful local fresh food and produce. From gold and bushrangers to wineries, seafood and wellness spas, there's something for everyone.

What to see and do in Melbourne and Victoria

10 Fun facts about Victoria

Brighton Beach's bathing boxes

Brighton Beach's bathing boxes started popping up along Brighton's beaches over 100 years ago to allow for women to change into their bathing suits as changing was not permitted on the beaches. Over 80 uniquely designed boxes have become one of Melbourne's top tourist destinations.

The "garden state"

When you're living in Melbourne, you have free access to more than 480 hectares of parks and gardens. Great for weekend picnics with friends and outdoor concerts.

Melbourne enjoys four distinct seasons and has an annual average rainfall of approximately 649mm. Melbourne is known for having four seasons in one day, so make sure you bring sunscreen and a jacket!

Victoria is home to about 4 million hectares of national parks taking up to around 18 percent of Australia's landmass. Victoria's parks are home to more than 4,300 native plants and 1,000 animal species. Make sure you bring your camera along to capture some amazing wildlife and our unique plants!

An early capital

Melbourne was Australia's capital city for 26 years from 1901 to 1927. Melbourne continues to be the capital of the state of Victoria. We also like to think we are the food and culture capital of Australia too!

The first for Australian Rules Football (AFL) and surfing

AFL began in Melbourne in 1858 as a way to keep cricket players fit during the wintertime. AFL is now Australia's most popular sport in terms of attendance and television viewing. Your friends and homestay family will help you choose an AFL team when you study in Victoria.

Bells Beach became the first surfing reserve in the world in the early 70s and is now the longest running professional surfing event. It has even starred in the movie 'Point Break.'

The home of bush ranging rebels

Ned Kelly, a notorious Victorian bushranger, is an Australian folk hero. Ned lived in regional Victoria and is famous for his contempt for authorities. Bushrangers were outlaws in the early years of British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills to use the Australian bush to hide from the authorities. The 2003 movie of Ned Kelly starred Australian film idol Heath Ledger.

Natural inventors

Victorians are naturally inventive. Some of our famous developments in society, food, science and technology include:

Professor Graeme Clark pioneered the Bionic Ear – changing millions of hearing-impaired lives in the 1970s. The bionic ear was firstly implanted at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne and is now used globally
George Richard R. Nicholas invented the first Australian acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) tablet which was marketed as "Aspro" in 1917
the Black Box Flight Recorder (which is actually orange!) was invented by Dr David Warren in 1958. This box was designed to record various notes, statistics and cockpit conversations
the Eight Hour Working Day – pioneered in 1856 Victoria introduced an eight-hour working day. The Eight Hour Working Day was recognised internationally as a world first and is now a symbol to the rights of workers. Victorians now celebrate Labour Day to commemorate our achievements
dim sims were created by Chinese chef William Wing Young. It's filled with pork, cabbage and other flavourings and is encased similar to a traditional dumpling. The South Melbourne Market is an iconic place to buy them, make sure you add this to your list of things to do!
MacRobertson Chocolates' Cherry Ripe, Crunchie and Freddo Frog are all iconic Australian chocolates invented right here in Melbourne. You will notice some of your school friends in Melbourne having one of these in their lunch boxes!

A long history of Chinese culture

China sent Loong, an imperial dragon in the 1870s to the gold-rush town of Bendigo Victoria, where many ethnic Chinese were then working. Loong is the oldest dragon in the world.

Sun Loon comes from Hong Kong and replaced Loong in 1970. In April 2019 a new dragon named Dai Gum Loong made its debut at the Bendigo Easter Festival, taking over the title of the longest dragon at 125m. Both Loong and Sun Loong are on permanent display at the Golden Dragon Museum in Bendigo.

There's nothing like a homemade steamed 'dim sim', also known as a 'dimmy', with soy sauce on a cold Melbourne day. Don't confuse this with the authentic Asian 'dim sum', although it is related.

Culture vultures

Film, music, theatre, opera, ballet, comedy, visual arts – you name it, Melbourne's got it. And the cultural buzz continues with a vibrant arts scene when you're living in cities and towns across Victoria.

One of our most famous home heroes was internationally renowned Australian operatic soprano Dame Nellie Melba. She chose her famous 'stage name' in honour of her beloved Melbourne hometown.

Find out more about Melbourne's people and culture.

Political pioneers

In 1891 Victorian women took to the streets to fight for the vote. They gathered 30,000 signatures on a petition made of pages glued to a roll of fabric. The completed petition measured 260 metres long and came to be known as the 'Monster Petition'. There is now a statue inspired by the petition near St. Patrick's Cathedral.

A Great Ocean Road

Soldiers returning from World War 1 constructed the Great Ocean Road to connect Melbourne to many seaside towns. This is now the world's largest war memorial. Along the Great Ocean Road you'll see many tourist attractions such as the world-famous Twelve Apostles made from limestone which has been eroded by wind and sea over time.

CRICOS Provider Name and Code: Department of Education, 00861K.

CRICOS Course Names and Codes: Primary (Prep to Year 6), 019047G; Secondary (7-12), 019048F; Victorian College of the Arts Secondary Course (7-12), 028651A.

Last Update: 15/09/2023 2:54 PM

Great foodMelbourne is Australia's culinary capital. With so many cultures coming together you'll be sure to find the food you love. For example, you can try:

A passion for sport, beach fun, outdoor adventure and unique animals

Living history and culture

10 Fun facts about Victoria

Great food
Melbourne is Australia's culinary capital. With so many cultures coming together you'll be sure to find the food you love. For example, you can try: