When visiting Melbourne there are many places to see and things to do. There is a zoo, many public gardens, museums to visit and various sporting events to watch. The Victorian Arts Center was completed in 1984 and had been under construction since 1968. This building contains an art gallery, a concert hall and three theaters. It is located on the south side of the Yarra River. The Royal Melbourne Zoo is the third oldest zoo in the world. There are many casinos in Melbourne for those gambling fanatic.
Royal Botanical Gardens
This is a must see. This garden is laid out along the Yarra River and is the best botanic garden in Australia. It is located on 86 acres and contains lakes, lawns and thousands of trees and shrubs. Wildlife is also abundant in this garden.
There are many sporting events that occur throughout the year in Melbourne.
Melbourne hosted the Olympics in 1956. Many improvements were made on athletic
facilities in Melbourne because of this. Melbourne would like to host the
Olympics in the future. Cricket and Australian Football are the dominant
sports in Melbourne. 
Melbourne also plays host to the Australian Formula
One Grand Prix. It moved from Adelaide in 1996. Another big event is the
Melbourne Cup. This horse race occurs in early November and has been run
since 1861. The Melbourne Cup is a holiday for the Melbourne Metropolitan
area. Yarra Park is the home of the Melbourne Cricket Ground and to the
Melbourne Park National Tennis Center. Both of these sports attract a lot
of spectators when their respective games are occurring.
Above: Professional Cricket Players
The Footy
The footy is Australian Rules Football. It draws much public support and involvement. The season runs from April to September. Melbourne is know as the place where Australian Rules Football was started. The biggest game occurs on the last Saturday in September.
The first grand slam of the year for tennis professionals occurs here in January. It is a hard court tournament that sets the tone for the year to come. Many new faces come out of this tournament. The courts are open to the public for a small fee except in January.