St Kilda (Melbourne, Australia)
Hip St Kilda is Melbourne’s Bohemian Seaside Playground
Seaside St Kilda is where busy Melburnians let their hair down on sunny days. Besides the much-loved Luna Park amusement park and the annual St Kilda Festival, this charming inner Melbourne suburb offers trendy restaurants, bohemian market stalls and smart hotels. Found about six kilometres south-east of Melbourne’s CBD, St Kilda abounds with grand Victorian and Edwardian mansions that are the architectural toast of Australia. A glitzy boomtown neighbourhood favoured by wealthier residents in its heyday, today St Kilda is a melting pot of edgy artists, talented musicians and global cuisine. If you’re a foodie, don’t miss Acland Street and Fitzroy Street. There you’ll find funky cafes serving breakfast, fine-dining Australian restaurants, traditional European cake shops and vegetarian eateries like Lentil as Anything, which offers pay-as-you-feel dining. After dark, these streets and the seafront Esplanade become nightlife hotspots, with numerous pubs and live music venues to try. One of the best known nightspots in St Kilda is the Esplanade Hotel, which is a heritage property that is among the longest running live music venues nationwide.
Summer in St Kilda Means the St Kilda Festival
Revellers flock to the St Kilda Festival in early February for all-day dancing, food and music. Billing itself as Australia’s largest free music festival, this annual one-day event attracts thousands of people and sees roads closed in central St Kilda for a pedestrian takeover. The Midsumma Pride March also happens in early February. A celebration of all things LGBT, the colourful parade is another highlight of the neighbourhood’s year. These events are so popular that the light rail service linking Melbourne and St Kilda sometimes struggles to cope with the increased demand. It means it might also be wise for those who are attending to arrange their St Kilda accommodation well in advance. Summer Down Under is also a great time to enjoy St Kilda’s parks and gardens at their most luscious. Enclosed by Blessington Street, Tennyson Street, Dickens Street and Herbert Street, the St Kilda Botanical Gardens offer a verdant urban escape showcasing roses, palm trees and exotic plants. At the Veg Out Community Gardens in Shakespeare Grove, green-fingered visitors can explore quirky garden plots designed by locals, or experience the lively farmers’ market on the first Saturday of each month.
St Kilda Offers Fun Near Your Hotel all Year Round
Whether you prefer a fun-packed destination or something more serene, St Kilda truly has something for everyone. For a fascinating insight into local history, the Jewish Museum of Australia in Alma Road lifts the lid on the Jewish community’s connections with St Kilda, Melbourne, and wider Australia. Meanwhile, families and thrill-seekers won’t want to miss the historic Luna Park amusement park, which you enter by stepping through a notorious mural of a smiling moon-face. It brims with fun rides including the Scenic Railway, which rumbles its way along one kilometre of tracks as the world’s oldest continuously operating wooden roller coaster. Further highlights at this St Kilda gem include a Ferris wheel and a ghost train that dates back to the 1930s. This attraction lies conveniently close to some of St Kilda’s major hotels. It sits less than one kilometre from Rydges St Kilda and a five-minute walk from Novotel St Kilda.
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