New hotels, restaurants and tours in Victoria for 2016
TOP NEWS FOR INBOUND TRAVELLERS
The biggest news for tourism in Victoria is that Terminal 4, Tullamarine Airport’s new domestic terminal and home to Tiger, Jetstar and Regional Express, will finally have all three airline tenants moved in and fully operational by the end of 2015. A retail precinct with more than 30 shops will also be located inside the terminal.
NEW TOUR OFFERINGS
Melbourne has always had some fantastic Aboriginal tour experiences, but it has taken one company to round them all up into a day-long tour to take in the best of traditional and contemporary indigenous culture. Oceania Tours and Safaris’ Aboriginal Melbourne tour starts with a one and a half-hour walking tour of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne to look at native flora before having lunch at bushtucker fine-diner Charcoal Lane and moving on to the Melbourne Museum in Carlton Gardens to visit the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre before ending in Federation Square.
Further afield, the world’s first interactive Antarctic experience will open on Phillip Island in time for the 2015 Christmas holiday season. A joint venture between the WWF-Australia and Phillip Island Nature Parks, The Antarctic Centre is located in the Nobbies Centre and will feature augmented reality technology, allowing guests to feel as if they are in Antarctica as stand on an ice floe, pat penguins and seals and more. It’s a virtual experience with a real conservation message. While you’re here, join a ranger on their nightly penguin count with a VIP tour of the penguin parade.
ARTS AND CULTURE
The National Gallery of Victoria continues to showcase huge international travelling exhibitions and smaller, innovative displays of local works in both the gallery and surrounds. Its Summer Architecture Commissions program kicked off with an inaugural initiative by John Wardle Architects. On display until May 1 in the Grollo Equiset Garden, the shady structure has a pink and orange textile origami-like skin. Meanwhile, an exhibition featuring works by Andy Warhol and Ai Wei Wei will be exhibited from December 11 to April 24.
Any trip to Melbourne warrants further exploration into why the city has been named a UNESCO City of Literature. As well as conducting a DIY bookshop crawl, check out what’s on at The Wheeler Centre, a cultural institution that hosts public talks and events about books, writing and ideas. Its 2016 events calendar will be announced later in the year.
HOTEL OPENINGS
Boutique hotels are big in Melbourne, and 2015 has seen a swathe of openings, including the Coppersmith, a 15-room design hotel in South Melbourne, right near Albert Park. It’s worth booking in to try the 18 Australian craft beers on tap in the Coppersmith Bistro downstairs.
Art Series Hotels opened their fourth Melbourne property, the Larwill Studio (dedicated to Ballarat-born artist David Larwill), in Parkville within walking distance of the Melbourne Zoo and Queen Victoria Market.
Funky accommodation brand QT will open its first Melbourne property, QT Melbourne, in mid-2016 on the former site of the Greater Union cinema on Russell Street. The best of QT Sydney’s offerings will be right at home in Melbourne, such as the signature Bar and Grill. (close cut)
Meanwhile, work continues on the Ritz Carlton luxury hotel at 250 Spencer Stand Four Points by Sheraton Melbourne Docklands, which are scheduled to open at the end of 2016 or early 2017.
FOOD AND DRINK
Not sure which taste trend is next for fickle Melbourne foodies? Is Mexican really out? Is dude-food and Texan barbecue still in? Find out on a small-group tour with Melbourne Food Experiences. They keep abreast of the city’s ever-changing gourmet tastes so you don’t have to.
As Melbourne’s hipsters were priced out of Collingwood and Fitzroy’s rental market and moved further north of the CBD, it was only time before Thornburybecame the place to go. Welcome to Thornbury is a food-van trailer park with a revolving roster of some of the city’s most popular food trucks coming to set up shop for the evening. One constant is the bar, which sells classic cocktail jugs, wine, beer and cider.
BIG-TICKET EVENTS
Melbourne would have to be the festival capital of Australia. Kicking off with the “festival of tennis” that is the Australian Open in January, almost every month sees yet another reason to visit the city. February sees Melbourne pull an all-nighter with artists taking over the CBD for White Night. March is for Moomba, Melbourne Fashion Festival, Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. May has Good Beer Week and the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. July has the Melbourne International Film Festival. August has Spring Fashion Week and the Melbourne Writers Festival. September has the Royal Melbourne Show and Melbourne Fringe Festival. October has the Melbourne Festival. November has the Melbourne Cup Carnival and Melbourne Music Week. December has the Big Design Market and the Boxing Day Test.
Source: Adelaide Now, Elisabeth Knowles, 18th October 2015
Originally published as: New hotels, restaurants and tours in Victoria for 2016
