We’ve been back in Melbourne, Australia for a week now, so it was definitely time for one of our favourite pursuits — a day out and about in the city for a few hours of food and culture. Seriously, Melbourne is such a vibrant city that even if it is a gray-sky and gloomy day, if you are bored — you just need to get up and get OUT of the house!
Glistening even on a gloomy autumn day, a partial skyline view of Melbourne, Australia across the Yarra River from Southgate.
Here are 4 things to do on a Sunday in Melbourne.
1. Arrive at your destination without the hassle of finding an overpriced parking place if you travel by train for an easy way around the city. The comprehensive train network makes Melbourne such a joy to travel throughout!
Turnstiles inside the Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, Australia
2. Eat a reasonably priced lunch in an eclectic food court inside a beautiful building at Southgate. There are also some wonderful luxury stores and full service restaurants in this multi-level building complex.
One of the multi-level entries to the Southgate shopping & dining complex alongside the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia
Diners at the food court on the lower level of the Southgate shopping and dining complex in Melbourne, Australia
3. Go to the Sunday Market at the Melbourne Arts Centre to see quality handcrafted art, craft, and food items. The row of glass-overhang-covered artists has an enthusiastic audience each weekend.
Sunday Market flag indicating the weekend event outside the Melbourne Arts Centre in Australia
Artists and craft vendors lined up alongside the Melbourne Arts Centre each Sunday
4. Spend an inspiring afternoon at a world class museum — the NGV on St. Kilda Road. There were hundreds of people milling around inside this large art museum, but there was a very happy and relaxed vibe. Autumn leaves were swirling around outside of the beautiful bluestone facade and the people strolling by were dressed appropriately for the cooler temperatures.
Autumn leaves falling outside the NGV art museum in Melbourne, Australia
The current winter blockbuster show at the NGB is
Monet’s Garden, a travelling exhibit from France. But since we have seen so many of these works at various venues worldwide, we chose to visit several of the permanent exhibit galleries as well as one special exhibit —
Dior and Yamamoto: The New Look
Dior sketches from the 1940s post-World War II “New Look” collection
Dior black wasp-waisted dress and black hat from the 1940s post-World War II “New Look” collection
The other enjoyable exhibit, in part as an observer of the effect of it on the audience as they either walked by or interacted with it, was Clinamen by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, a sound and motion exhibit with round white ceramic bowls floating in a round pool of deep blue water. The gentle clink as bowl contacted bowl tinkled pleasantly in the atrium space.
Floating ceramic bowls in a pool of water at the NGV art museum in Melbourne, Australia create a ringing sound as each bowl gently bumps into an adjoining bowl.
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