Originally a gold-rush town in the mid 1800s, Melbourne is Australia's second largest city at 3.5 million, a cultured and cosmopolitan place on the banks of the Yarra river in the far south-east of the country.
The city's Victorian architecture is impressive and mostly blends well with some ultra-modern buildings, plentiful green spaces and picturesque riverside walks.
City activities, whether cultural, sporting or pure entertainment are creative, varied and interesting, bars are buzzing and restaurants are superb - especially for Asian cuisine, while both live music and club scenes are thriving.
Around Melbourne there's plenty of action too - massive beaches [one of them is 90 miles long] with fine surfing, excellent wildlife parks [e.g. Hall's Gap], the spectacular Great Ocean Road [GOR] driving route, great hiking in the Grampian Highlands and skiing in the winter.

Comparisons are inevitably made with Sydney, particularly since the two cities were such equal contenders for the title of Australia's capital in the early 20th century that the government was unable to decide which was more suitable, so they built a new capital in the middle of nowhere - Canberra.

Just about everything in Melbourne is cheaper than Sydney, tourist herds far less obtrusive and there's a free circular tram. Melbourne is more dynamic, Sydney more relaxed. Melburnians claim that their city is one of the world's most liveable; could that imply that Sydney may be one of the most visitable?
Sydney certainly outshines Melbourne in two tourist areas. It has a more immediate, unique charm due to its wonderful harbour setting and those world famous icons - the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, while the climate is somewhat better. Winter in Melbourne is colder than Sydney though both cities can have excessively hot summers.
On the other hand, Melbourne is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road...