Melbourne is a popular place to visit in Australia and the debate still rages to which is better, Sydney or Melbourne? Well, it’s your turn to decide. Melbourne certainly has a lot to offer it terms of sights and attractions, but 
surprisingly you won’t always have to put it on your credit card with many things being free. Here are our top 18 that won’t cost you a single penny or cent:
#1 Free tram trip around Melbourne
: Any trip to Melbourne isn’t complete without a ride on a Melbourne icon, the tram. And the best way to get around the city is on the free City Circle Tram. The circuit takes about 30 minutes but you can get on and off as many times as you want. City Circle Trams are burgundy and gold in colour and the stops are specially marked.
2# Wander the Narrow Streets and Lanes
– Take some time to wander through the quaint, very European narrow lanes of Melbourne’s CBD (Central Business District), especially around Flinders Lane. Mind you, you’ll be tempted to sit and sip lattes because these lanes are lined with delicious cafes and restaurants.
3# Window shopping
– Peruse what you cannot purchase. Recommended: Brunswick St, Smith St, Chapel St, Bridge Rd, Acland Rd. Best done with a friend AND the shameless will to enjoy dressing up in things you have no intention of buying.
4# NGV International
: Australia’s oldest public art museum and home to one of the country’s most important art collections with everything from Egyptian and Roman antiquities and Asian art, through to Renaissance, Baroque and everything up to and including contemporary art. 180 St Kilda Road. Open daily except Tuesdays, 10am-5pm. www.ngv.vic.gov.au
5# The Ian Potter Centre NGV Australia
: Discover more than 20 galleries presenting the history of Australian art from the Colonial period through to contemporary art, plus galleries dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. Federation Square. Open daily, 10am-5pm.
6# Australian Centre for the Moving Image
: The first centre of its kind in the world, dedicated to the moving image in all its forms from early cinema to the latest digital media. Two multi-format cinemas, the world’s largest dedicated screen gallery with changing exhibitions and movie/art installations, and hands-on public activity, education and production zones. Federation Square. Open daily, 10am-5pm (until 6pm on weekends).
7# George Adams & State Theatre Foyer Galleries
– Free art at the Arts Centre. Get a taste for some ‘high’ culture. Shows and exhibits are always changing so take a look and see what’s inside.
8# The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art:
Enjoy photography, video, electronic imaging, painting and sculpture as well as new developments in sound, movement and popular culture at 111 Sturt Street, Southbank. Open Tues-Sun, 11am-6pm.
9# On your bike
: Melbourne is a great city for cycling. The Bay Trail starts at St Kilda Pier and heads past historic Luna Park before dropping in at a bustling Acland Street café for cakes and coffee, past the colourful St Kilda Marina, parks, restaurants and sports grounds to finish in Brighton, 6km or 40 minutes later. If you want to walk it will take around two hours.
10# Queen Victoria Market
: On the corner of Victoria and Elizabeth Streets, there’s around 1000 traders selling everything from fruit and vegetables, fresh produce and delicatessen goods to clothing, plants and pets sold at this market. Market Days: Tue and Thur 6am-2pm, Fri 6am-6pm, Sat 6am-3pm, Sun 9am-4pm. Closed: Mondays, Wednesdays, and public holidays.
11# Royal Botanic Gardens
: 35 hectares of extensively landscaped gardens near the centre of the city on the South Bank of the Yarra. They are widely regarded as the finest botanical gardens in Australia, and among the best in the world. Free guided walks or self-guided audio walks are available. Open daily from 7.30am-6pm April to October and until 7.30pm November to March.
12# SLV
– Take a free one-hour tour of the domed La Trobe Reading Room, the elegant Cowen Gallery and the new Dome Gallery at the State Library of Victoria. 328 Swanston St. Open daily, 10am-6pm, and until 9pm Monday to Thursday. www.slv.vic.gov.au
13# Yarra River Art
– The Yarra River winds through the heart of the city, providing the backdrop for a vibrant outdoor contemporary art gallery. Wander past sculpture, paintings, architecture and a ‘soundscape’.
14# Federation Square
– Its a real bustling busy spot and you’ll probably end up there more than once. Oftentimes, there are free activities happening in Fed. Square.
15# Playground Fun
– Take your kids to Birrarung Marr, the best playground in the city. Its just behind Federation Square where you can have fun and enjoy the view of the city from the park.
16# St Andrew’s Market –
Saturday morning, St Andrews. Can’t miss it, opposite the pub. No expenditure necessary. Lots to look at, a nice grassy knoll to sit on from which to watch the world go by. http://www.standrewsmarket.com.au/
17# Fitzroy Gardens
– Step into another world. Explore footpaths & barely-made trails, discover flowers, fairies, dragons & miniature villages. Everything is free except for Cook’s Cottage. The gardens are best place to bring friends & a picnic blanket in the summer.
18# Southgate
– If you are in Melbourne in the summer, the heat can be stifling. So stay cool by running through the dancing water fountains outside Crown Casino on the South side of the Yarra!
There are so many great activities and sights available for free around Australia, it means you can make your budget stretch even further and spend the money on things you really want to do.
Stay tuned to our Australia Guide for more budget busting tips for other destinations in Australia.
St Andrews Market may be free but it will cost you an arm and a leg to get there from Melbourne. You can eithere hire a car (which sort of negates the purpose of going to an environmental market) or write off the whole day by using the trains and infrequent country buses witha ll that waiting at connection time. Good fun when you get there though.
Thanks for your thoughts Gloria.
You must know Melbourne and near by areas pretty well? Do you have any free activities or sights that you'd recommend?
TravMonkey
Some of my favorites are:
Free classical music concerts at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Free entertainment and dancing in the parks over summer
Street festivals
Open days at places not usually open to the public. Provided you know when things are on you can visit places like the home and garden of Rupert Murdoch's 99 year old mother or ex Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser for a small donation to charity and so on.
A lot of Melbourne has an old-world formality and if you dress an act in accordance with this it is surprising what free events and places you get invited to.
The markets, espescially the night markets, can be great.
In general the stuff promoted for mainstream tourists and backpackers is all trying to make a buck and good luck to them. Try looking out for the free things the locals do.
As well as the city circle tram there is also a tourist bus that is free.
Weekend travel all day on public transport at weekends anywhere in Melbourne costs next to nothing if you buy the right ticket.
Be aware that some 'official' information booths may only tell you about what's going on in the locality that's funding them. So a city informaton service may not give you information about a free festival in the inner suburbs ten minutes away.
The best day to be in Melbourne or anywhere else in Australia for free events is Australia Day.
The current favourite Saturday morning free activity for myself and bf is to go to the Prahran Market, sample our way around the deli are where there are lots of tasters then sit and watch the passing parade.
You don't need much money to enjoy Melbourne.
I've lived here for several years now and have found the best source of free and cheap things to do is the White Hat weekly newsletter at:
http://whitehat.com.au/newsletter.html
Excellent points there Gloria, thanks,
It's always great to get a view from insiders!
Apart from the standard touristy things that Mark mentioned, we enjoyed a lot of the free festivals and hidden gems when we visited Melbourne. Make sure you do a search before you visit. Avoid the expensive commercial tours herding hundreds of people a day around "hidden secrets" – how hidden or secret is that? One of oor favorites was having a picnic in the gardens of the Melbourne Club – a traditional London genteman's club in the heart of Melbourne. Keep your eyes open for special events like these and and they can make your visit truly memorable rather than just toristy.
Helen
Hi Helen,
You're right there are always lots of free events and activities on, especially in a great city like Melbourne. Thanks for your additional hints and trips.
Paul @
TravMonkey.com
Its really great if you are planing to spending your holidays in Melbourne since there are many places to visit. This article mention wonderful places of Melbourne.I really enjoy this article.
Melbourne has of course become well known in recent years for its street art. As I discovered in the past couple of months, the 86 Tram route passes through most of the suburbs with the largest concentrations of it (City, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Clifton Hill, Northcote. It is a kind of hop on, hop off open air gallery, in a way:-)