Walk On Melbourne

Melbourne's city streets

From the traditional meeting place of Melburnians - “under the clocks" at Finders Street station - to grandiose Parliament House, this walk (about 2km) covers civic and commercial aspects of Melbourne.

The station steps open on to the bustle of the city centre. Across the road is the new Federation Square development, featuring the Ian Potter Centre (see page 100). then Swanson Street and the Gothic grandeur of St Paul’s Cathedral. Modern City Square marks the junction with Collins Street, dominated by the splendid Town Hall.

In Queen Street the elaborate Safe Deposit Building (No 90) is dwarfed by tune soaring AJNZ Tower. Trams and shoppers throng Bourke Street Mail. 'Off which runs the city’s oldest shopping gallery . Royal Arcade. Colourful archways signal the entry to Chinatown.

The god of city streets ends where Little Bourke Street emerges into Spring Street, overlooked by the imposing colonnade of Victoria’s Parliament House, and the Windsor Hotel of 1883. Near by stands the Old Treasury Building, completed in 1862. which contains the Gold Treasury Museum, dealing with Melbourne's history, architecture and comtemporary life.

Return to Flinders Street station via the eastern end of Collins Street.
Along the Yarra
A 5km walk along Melbourne’s River Yarra into the green spaces of Kings Domain and the Botanic Gardens.

Downstream from Princes Bridge, the Yarra is crossed by a footbridge.
Avoiding the tempting riverside cafes of the Southgate Precinct, you are rewarded with a stunning view of the city skyline from Southbank Promen¬ade on the far side of Princes Bridge.
Negotiate the crossing of Alexandra Avenue with care and enjoy the calm of Kings Domain, with its various focal j points like the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden. The far bank of the lake in the Royal Botanic Gardens marks the outermost point of thewalk, excuse enough for a pause at the lakeside cafe.

Beyond the Herbarium and Visitor Centre is the Shrine of Remembrance. whose outside gallery gives a wonderful vista back towards the centre of Melbourne.
The return to Finders Street station can be made on foot or by tram along St Kilda Road.