Melbourne city guide
STUDY IN MELBOURNE
What's in this student city guide?
Quick facts about Melbourne
📍 State
Victoria
📆 Established
1835
🌆 Area
9990 km2
👪 Population
5.1 Million
🌥 Climate
Oceanic
👋 Welcome to Melbourne
A packed agenda of study, food, wine, sports and arts is your introduction to the best of Melbourne – from its creative, exciting city centre, to its buzzing neighbourhood hubs. Melbourne is a place to be.
Melbourne is the second-most populous city in Australia after Sydney. It is located on the large natural bay of Port Phillip, with its suburbs spreading out along the shores of Port Phillip Bay, as well as along the Yarra River to the east.
Here is a student guide about study in Melbourne. We hope you enjoy reading it.
Reasons to Study in Melbourne
🏆 Australia's #1 student city
Melbourne pride itself for being named as Australia’s best student in QS Student City Rankings. It is also the world’s third best student city after London and Tokyo.
🌮 Food Heaven
Melbourne is a stunning food destination. It is a Global Gourmet Capital due to the varied food cuisines available. Casual culture with stunning quality at reasonable prices.
🏀 Sports Capital
Melbourne hosts many sporting events like Australian Open Tennis, Melbourne Cup, Melbourne Grand Prix, Boxing Day Test and many more. Australian footy is a must watch for everyone.
🎨 Laneway Art
Melbourne has an amazing number of eclectic laneways full of great restaurants, cafes and art. Don’t miss out the famous street art in Hosier Lane.
🏛 Best Universities
Melbourne’s universities are one of the best in the world. That’s why QS World University Rankings put 6 out of 10 universities in the top-ranked universities.
🎨 Multicultural
There are more than 200,000 international students from 170 countries studying in Melbourne. Melbourne celebrates its multiculturalism through various events, festivals, performances throughout the year.
💡 Did you know?
Melbourne has the largest tram system outside of Europe and the fourth largest in the world.
Universities and Vocational Education in Melbourne
🏛 Universities in Melbourne
Here is a list of Melbourne based universities in Australia:
📒 Universities with Satellite campus
You will find campuses of universities like Central Queensland University, Federation University, Australian Catholic University, Charles Darwin University, Torrens University for studying in Melbourne.
✍ TAFE and other education providers
Melbourne is home to world class Tafes like Box Hill, Chisholm, Kangan Bendigo, Holmesglen and Melbourne Polytechnic and private colleges like William Angliss etc. They are known for their quality education and innovative practical training methods.
Transport in Melbourne
📌 How to get to city from Melbourne airport?
Melbourne Airport is 23 kms from the city centre, situated adjacent to the suburb of Tullamarine.
It is the second busiest airport in Australia after Sydney.
If you are coming to Melbourne for the first time, then it is good idea to take Skybus service (shuttle bus) from the airport to the city. It costs $19.75 one way or $32 return.
You can even catch a public transport bus from the airport or hire a taxi or ride sharing service like Uber, DiDi etc.
🚌 Public Transport
Melbourne has various types of public transport like trains, trams and buses available for everyone to travel around. You will need a MYKI card in order to travel on public transport in Melbourne. It costs $6 to buy MYKI card.
The average weekly cost of travel can be around $40 to $50. You can travel free within the CBD area by using free tram services connecting various universities, institutes and tourist attractions.
🚖 Other Transport & Concessions
Bike paths around the city and the suburban areas makes bicycles not only a cheaper option to travel but also more environmentally friendly and healthier as well.
Although, concession on public transport is not available to all overseas students, you need to be studying an undergraduate program at one of the institutions that is a part of iUSEpass program to avail 50 percent concession on your yearly ticket.
💡 Did you know?
After the Victorian gold rush, Melbourne was once the richest city in the world.
Key Events During The Year in Melbourne
🎾 January
Australian Open Tennis
The first Grand Slam kicks of the season kicks off in Melbourne, and watch the best tennis players descend here.
🏎 March
Australian Grand Prix
World’s biggest motor racers chase each other down at the Grand Prix at Albert Park circuit in the middle of Melbourne city.
🏈 September
AFL Grand Final
Australian Football or ‘Footie’ is a beloved sport of the Aussies. So much that the day of the grand final is marked as a public holiday in Victoria.
🏏 December
Boxing Day Cricket Test
Following the Christmas day, the boxing day sees masses come out in droves for shopping as well as a game of test cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
🏇 November
Melbourne Cup Carnival
This famous annual horse race is held on the Flemington Racecourse. Plus throw in a mix of fashion, food, and entertainment, and you have a jamboree at hand.
Free Things to do in Melbourne
🏛 Parliament House
When Parliament is not sitting, you can take a public tour and learn about its magnificent architecture as well as how the state is governed. If you’re in a hurry, there’s also a 20-minute express tour available.
🖼 National Gallery of Victoria
Melbourne is one of the cities best renowned for its art culture, and its crown jewel is the National Gallery of Victoria, which houses over 70,000 works in a wide variety of art forms that span across Eastern, Western, and native cultures.
🏂 Melbourne Beaches
Apart from its cafes and art galleries, there’s no dearth of seaside beauties to be explored in Melbourne. Visit St Kilda, Brighton, or Frankston beach (to name a few), walk along the piers, build sand castles, or show off the city skyline on your social media feed.
🚋 City Circle Tram
To get a summarised version of Melbourne CBD and its main attractions, jump on tram no. 35 aka the City Circle tram, which is easily distinguishable with its maroon and golden colors and 12 minute frequency, and get a bird’s eye view of the CBD. Plus, it’s totally free.
🍿 Free Gigs
Melbourne’s The Highlander Bar (11A Highlander Ln) hosts open mic night and short stand-up gigs on Tuesdays. There are many other free gigs you can enjoy around the city and suburban areas,
🏁 Other places to explore
Apart from the list above, there are many other places to explore and visit in Melbourne. Here are some of them:
