Top 10 Melbourne Traveler
Top 10 Shopping in Melbourne
10. Block Arcade
If only this was a Top 10 Melbourne shopping center filled with Pacman and Snake and Pong games… but it isn’t. Instead, this partially glass-covered pedestrian walkway impresses with its mosaic tilings and stone and iron finishes, including the Golden Mile heritage walk. Be sure to visit Dr. Suess, Haigh’s chocolates, and Hopetoun Tea Rooms! Hours Mon - Fri 8 AM - 6 PM, Sat 10 AM - 5 PM, Sun 10 AM - 4 PM.
9. Chapel Street
From Windsor to the upscale South Yarra, this Top 10 Melbourne shopping precinct is the Mecca of Melbourne retail. Over 980 shops, boutiques, cafes, bars, pubs, and more await you and your hard-earned dollars, ranging from local secondhand pawn shops to upscale designer boutiques. The more you spend, the more points you earn to buy that $2,000 plane ticket back home amirite?! Hours vary by shop.
8. Chadstone Shopping Centre
You know how the Chad in your class was always the preppy jock? Chadstone is the high-end luxury boutique end of the shopping centers in Melbourne. Armani, Apple, Adidas, Diana Ferrari, Chanel, and many more designer brands call this place home. There’s also a dental surgery store if you’ve suddenly developed the need for a root canal. Open Mon-Fri 9 AM - 6 PM and Sat 8:30 AM - 1 PM. Closed Sundays.
7. St. Kilda Esplanade Market
Over 150 stalls showcasing local artwork, jewelry, woodwork, and more products is the perfect Top 10 Melbourne market to purchase souvenirs for everyone you didn’t invite on this trip with you (they hate you). Make it up to them with some of the world’s finest coffee, canvas images, ceramics, accessories, and more. Then rub it in again with a Snap of you in the Foodie Zone! Weather permitting, open every Sunday 10 AM - 5 PM (Oct-Apr) and 10 AM - 4 PM (May-Sept).
6. Queen Victoria Market
The Vic Market is a 17-acre open-air market, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, and can tell stories of its time as a livestock market, fruit and vegetable market, and even a cemetery (dead guy market?). Currently, this Top 10 Melbourne shopping attraction is a major tourist thoroughfare offering a range of jewelry, shoes, handmade crafts, delicatessen foods, and much more. Plus there’s a hot donut van so, go. Hours vary by shop, closed Mondays and Wednesdays. Top 10 Tip: From Nov-Mar, there is a Wednesday “night market” with street food, live music, dance performances, and more from 5 - 10 PM!
5. Melbourne Central
This glass-domed mega Top 10 Melbourne shopping mall contains over 300 shops, which is nice, but let's be real - the bullet-making factory relic, "Coop's Shot Tower Museum" with the gigantic Marionette watch clock serenading you every hour are way cooler. Plus there’s a Little Library to swap-and-share books and a public piano for jam seshes - this place is the David to the Goliaths of Amazon, Kindle, and iTunes. Open Sat-Wed 10am - 7pm and Thu-Fri 10am - 9pm. Individual store and car park hours vary.
4. Royal Arcade
The first and longest-standing arcade in Australia is sure to impress, particularly with its gigantic "Gaunt’s Clock", which is struck every hour by the mythical Gog and Magog statues. Historic, charming, and lovely, even your cranky teenagers will find nothing to complain about here! Okay I’m sure they’ll find something but at least you’ll have plenty of shiny things to distract you. Open Mon-Thu 9 AM - 6 PM, Fri 10 AM - 8 PM, Sat 9 AM - 5 PM, Sun 10 AM - 5 PM.
3. Melbourne’s GPO
Formerly a Post Office until 2004, this Top Ten Melbourne shopping district fits perfectly into the modern upcycle trend! Situated on Bourke St. in the heart of the city’s business district, this shopping hub is listed on two historic registers and now contains shops such as H&M, Federal Coffee Palace, and Larsen Jewellery. Fun fact: the GPO is the central point for road distance measurements in Melbourne! Open Mon-Thu & Sat 10 AM - 6 PM, Fri 10 AM - 8 PM, Sun 11 AM - 5 PM.
2. Smith Street
A gentrified blue-collar neighborhood boasts an interesting mix of the high-class with the hard-working. Shops include a specialty butcher, design/homeware/bookstore, and an upscale vintage boutique that will remind you of a Pretty Woman kind of makeover. Nightcaps available at the numerous bars and gastropubs sprinkling the street along this Top 10 Melbourne shopping district! Hours vary by shop.
1. Gertrude Street
Vintage bicycles, cottage quilts, creepy painted skulls, warehouse chic decor — this is the street you’re looking for if you’re too hipster for everything hipster right now. Begin your day with pastries and coffee or upscale brunch, whittle away the afternoon perusing vintage fashion or old-school records, and finish with a flourish over a gourmet evening meal or beverages served with a metal straw in a reading room. Hours vary by shop.