The Best Budget-Friendly Things To Do On Your Next Trip To Melbourne

With the population of Greater Melbourne almost reaching 5 million, according to the 2021 Census published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the city has a sizeable audience for any cultural attractions. It also understands the importance of making art available to all, so a number of museums in the city are free. With a history that dates to 1861, the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is the country's oldest gallery. Today, its two campuses — NGV International and The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia — sit a short distance from one another, and together house more than 70,000 pieces of European, Asian, and Aboriginal art. Entry to both is always free. 

As the name of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image suggests, anything that involves movement on a screen, from film to art to video games, comes under the microscope at this contemporary building recently overhauled by BKK Architects. In South Melbourne, in the city's Arts Precinct, and with a distinctive, angular, rust-worn steel exterior, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art has four large galleries where it exhibits works by local and international artists.

A Victorian landmark in the heart of the city, and the oldest library in the country, State Library Victoria is a reader's nirvana, with millions of book, journals, and magazines, and more than 70,000 items of historical importance. What's more, it's a gorgeous destination in itself, first opened in 1854 and now comprises more than 20 buildings, though the most famous is the serene Neoclassical edifice facing Swanston Street. 

The interiors are no less grand, with plenty of natural light, wooden floors, and columns throughout. Among the highlights are the octagonal La Trobe Reading Room, topped by a dome, and the Ian Potter Queen's Hall, which feels like a time capsule from the country's past, and where some tables and chairs date to the 1850s. The independent bookstore Readings has eight stores in Melbourne, including a small outlet in the library, offering visitors of this beautiful cultural hub an opportunity to browse and buy.

Melbourne is not a difficult city to navigate by foot — it's mostly flat, has a city center that follows a grid system, and the streets are well signposted. But for a more in-depth, cost-effective take on the city by foot, and replicating a similar model seen in other cities around the world, the guided rambles run by I'm Free Walking Tours cost nothing, though participants are encouraged to show their appreciation with whatever they see fit at the end of each tour. Guides are Melbourne residents, so beyond the usual show-and-tell imparted during each outing, they can answer all and any questions visitors might have about the city. 

Walks can last up to three hours, though are at a leisurely pace, and a percentage of any takings from guests goes to charity. During a typical tour, visitors might learn about the area's Aboriginal past, the Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, and the city's old jail.

The beating heart of Melbourne, Federation Square — known locally as Fed Square — is where locals and tourists like to hang out, swap stories, chat, take tai chi classes, grab something to eat, visit a museum or gallery, or just simply take a break. First opened in 2002, and surrounded by modernist architecture that might grate some onlookers, it was voted the sixth-best public square in 2014 by the Landscape Architects Network, a social media platform for that genre of architects. More than just a civic space near the Yarra River that has great public transport connections, Fed Square is where to find the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, the Koorie Heritage Trust, which showcases Aboriginal art, and Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. 

It's also home to plenty of free events on its spaces, from musical performances to movie screenings, as well as fun diversions like Gentle Chinese Dancing, pop-up libraries for kids, Santa's workshop, and a brightly lit, 50-feet tall Christmas tree. This is also the place where throngs gather for a raucous New Year's Eve celebration filled with dance, music, and contemporary dance, courtesy of the city's art colleges. Armchair travelers can even watch what's going on from afar by tapping into the square's live webcam.

Instagram is the home of scores of pages showcasing the colorful lines, shapes, and forms of Melbourne's street art, and there's good reason for that — the art is really good, and much of it is located close together. Alleys like Hosier Lane, just across from Fed Square, are well known, but other not-so-famous, but equally impressive, spots are tucked away in various corners of the city. This walking map is a few years old, but it has a good handle on some of the places worth seeking out, with a detailed route and pictures of what you'll see at each stop. It's not a long walk, set within the city's core, taking less than one hour to complete. 

For what's currently going on in the scene, check out the Melbourne creative initiative Flash Forward — it pairs music with murals in small lanes throughout the city, with constant additions to its roster of tones and tunes. What's more, by exploring on foot, you'll burn off some calories in addition to snapping a raft of photos guaranteed to make your friends and family jealous.

With status as a non-profit, Laneway Learning was set up in 2012 with the goal of building community, not for the express cause of making money, great news if you're on a budget! It's an extremely relaxed organization, with classes held throughout the city and a main location that couldn't be more convenient — a stone's throw from Federation Square. The emphasis here is not to perfect a skill or receive deep, intense training in a particular discipline, but to get a better understanding of specific fields, to be able to work on them with a little more competence and finesse. 

Classes are taught by locals in the community — flower arranging by a florist, for example — not academics or those with doctorates in a subject, so the experiences are informal, nurturing, and non-competitive. Starting at $9 (about $6 USD), the classes are eclectically varied, from painting for newbies to how to sew a hat, from creating dioramas to casting a silver ring, and are a novel, rewarding, and unexpected way to meet and interact with Melburnians.

East of the city, and situated near the Upper Ferntree Gully train station (a stop on the Belgrave Live from Melbourne Central), the 1,000 Steps Trail is part of a larger route that commemorates fallen Australian soldiers. Closed in 2021 after storm damage that knocked out more than 150 trees on and around the walkway, it reopened in October 2022 following extensive work by park employees and volunteers to get it back in shape (via Parks Victoria). The walk is popular with Melburnians, climbing from the Ferntree Gully Picnic Ground up through the dense rainforest of the Dandenong Ranges, populated by gumtrees and fern gardens. 

The trail is part of the Kokoda Track Memorial Walk, named for its similarity to parts of the Kokoda Track in southeastern Papua New Guinea, the location of a battle in World War II that involved Australian troops. Along the walk here, 14 plaques serve as a sobering reminder of the sacrifices made during the brutal war.

Small alleys that connect the city's larger roads, Melbourne's laneways are known as lively, creative micro-environments, populated with small, independent stores, cool restaurants and bars, and tons of interesting artwork. Eco-systems unto themselves, laneways are constantly changing and evolving, welcoming new ideas and businesses, and are a stark counterpoint to the mass market commercialism of the High Street (the Australian equivalent of America's Main Street). Visitors need not be in the mood to buy anything to explore the laneways, they are fascinating places to window-shop, a conduit to the city's creative pulse. 

Among a couple of better-known laneways are AC/DC Lane, inspired by the Australian heavy metal band AC/DC (it even has a cool mural of the band's guitarist Angus Young in full guitar-solo charge), and the iconic Flinders Lane, that draws crowds for its food, drink, boutiques, and chance to hop from one gallery to the next. We'll raise a glass to that.