Time Out Melbourne

If you’re lucky enough to be considering a move from Melbourne’s rental market onto the property ladder, you might want to take note. While we’re often told it’s smartest to enter the property market as soon as possible, unpredictable interest rates and skyrocketing house prices can call that guiding principle into question.

Winter might not be the season most people associate with a seaside escape, but we'd argue it's exactly when some of Victoria's most magical coastal gems truly come into their own. A case in point? The Barwon Coast.

Running out of winter activity ideas? We’ve got a newbie to add to your cold-season hit list. Australia's largest family-owned entertainment chain, iPlay Australia, is officially launching in Victoria this month with a huge new venue in Frankston, and another huge play space in the works for Melbourne.

Victoria has no shortage of headline-worthy hikes. The Grampians, Wilsons Prom and the Great Ocean Walk are reliable faves for outdoors enthusiasts, and closer to the city, the Dandenong Ranges and You Yangs are popular spots for a back-in-time-for-a-beer Saturday hikes. But if you're keen to swap crowded viewpoints for quieter trails, a new list from AllTrails has got your back – highlighting three lesser-known walks that deserve a spot on your hiking bucket list.

Melbourne’s burger game is pretty damn strong – with two of our city’s burgs ranking among the best in the world for 2026. Despite plenty of great local offerings, Victorian burger enthusiasts have embraced American-born burger chain Wendy’s. The fast-food giant opened its first-ever Australian drive-thru restaurant in Dandenong South – and in just the first week, it already smashed global records.

ICYMI, Melbourne just claimed the highest spot in Australia on the annual EIU Global Liveability Index, and we’ve just landed some insights that might further back up the claim (at least for those of us living in rental properties). While renters across much of Australia are being hit with another wave of sharp price hikes, Melbourne's rental market is proving to be one of the country's rare exceptions.

While we may have crowned Melbourne number one in Time Out's 2026 ranking of the world's best cities, there's another global ranking that often causes quite a stir when it drops – and this year is no different. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has just unveiled its 2026 Global Liveability Index, and Melbourne has climbed one spot from fourth in 2025 to secure third place on the list.

Victoria’s purpose-built campsites are pretty damn perfect for when you need an easy escape into nature, but if you’re keen to really get off-grid, the state’s wild camping sites are where it’s at. To help you get your fix of fresh air – without wasting heaps of time driving in the car – we spoke with the outdoor pros at Hipcamp for their picks of the very best wild camping spots all within a two-hour drive from Melbourne. Drive time from Melbourne: Approx.

We love finding new reasons to visit Geelong, and this winter, we've scored another good one (and no, it's not just the huge new Savers store). This August, a restored 1800s church is set to reopen as Church – an intimate live music venue with on-point programming and gorgeous heritage bones.

When Serendip Sanctuary's stunning sensory garden opened at the start of the year, we immediately added it to our You Yangs hit list. Now, the impressive immersive space has gained some certified cred. The sanctuary’s sensory garden scooped up two major Parks and Leisure Australia Awards, cementing its status as one of the country's most thoughtfully designed outdoor spaces.