CBD East

Princess Theatre
Tourism Victoria

This is Melbourne’s most distinguished quarter, taking in some fine old buildings and the government district. The Parliament of Victoria occupies a suitably prominent position on Spring Street at the top of a hill. At the top end of Collins Street is the Melbourne Club, where Melbourne’s male elite have been socialising and doing business since the city’s earliest days. If dining interests you more than politicians and businessmen, then there is a food institution here too: at the top end of Bourke Street, Pellegrini’s began serving real Italian espresso and pasta in 1954, at a time when Australian fare was all ‘meat and three veg’. Today hardly a thing has changed behind its unassuming shopfront, including the furnishings, and the pasta is as satisfying as ever.

Parliament of Victoria

The Parliament of Victoria is perched atop a grand run of steps, which are a popular spot for wedding photos. Built in stages between 1856 and 1929, the building remains incomplete – an ornate dome in the centre was originally supposed to double its height. From 1901 to 1927 this was the seat of federal government before it moved to Canberra. Free tours of the building run on days when parliament is not sitting; sitting dates are published on the parliament’s website (www.parliament.vic.gov.au). Spring St, facing Bourke St; (03) 9651 8911.

City Museum at Old Treasury

Not long after the first gold nugget was found, Victoria required a place to store all the gold being exchanged for cash by the miners. The Treasury Building was built in 1857, with vaults for the gold and administrative offices for many of the colony’s important figures. Today the vaults are home to a permanent exhibition on the gold-rush era. Displays cover everything from bushrangers to the ships that took gold out of the country and brought thousands of migrants back. The building hosts other temporary exhibitions as well. Spring St, facing Collins St; (03) 9651 2233; open 9am–5pm Mon–Fri, 10am–4pm Sat–Sun.

Flinders Lane galleries

This laneway boasts the highest concentration of commercial galleries in Australia, mainly in the section between Spring and Swanston streets. There is a strong focus on Indigenous and contemporary art, with standout galleries including Flinders Lane Gallery, exhibiting emerging and established Australian contemporary artists, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, with Aboriginal art from many of Australia’s lesser known regions, and Craft Victoria, with an excellent gallery and retail space fostering creativity in craft and design. Many local artists get a start in these galleries. Flinders Lane Gallery, 137 Flinders La; (03) 9654 3332; open 11am–6pm Tues–Fri, 11am–4pm Sat; Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Level 3, 75 Flinders La; (03) 9654 2944; open 10am–5.30pm Tues–Fri, 11am–5pm Sat; Craft Victoria, 31 Flinders La; (03) 9650 7775; open 10am–5pm Tues–Sat; admission free.