A touch Berlin, a little Milan and New York, Melbourne is the most ‘un-Australian’ of Australian cities. Forget sultry surf and endless sunshine. This is a metropolis of fickle weather, black wardrobes and gritty laneways packed with street art and galleries, cafes, cabaret clubs and buzzing, late-night eateries and bars.

It’s also a city of superlatives, home to the southern hemisphere’s largest sporting stadium and open-air market, its tallest observation deck, and Australia’s biggest and most visited art museum the National Gallery of Victoria. The latter is one of many world-class cultural institutions, from the glorious State Library of Victoria to the Melbourne Museum and cutting-edge Australian Centre of the Moving Image. Melbourne is also the nation’s sporting capital, birthplace of Australian Rules Football and home to the Australian Open.

Topping it off are some of Australia’s most impressive historic buildings and parks, among them the UNESCO-lauded Royal Exhibition Building and romantic Royal Botanic Gardens.