{"id":481292,"date":"2026-06-17T04:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T04:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/481292\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T04:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T04:20:14","slug":"winter-getaway-to-melbourne-whats-new-whats-good-and-whats-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/481292\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter getaway to Melbourne: What\u2019s new, what\u2019s good and what\u2019s on"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over a long weekend, I walked the equivalent of a marathon, rarely straying beyond a 2km radius of the inner city, and yet I barely scratched the surface. <\/p>\n

In the Southbank arts precinct, I took in two exhibitions at the magnificent NGV, where a towering 5m-tall \u201cdancing pumpkin\u201d sculpture by Yayoi Kusama straddles the foyer. Down by the river, rowboats streaked past and dog walkers clogged the promenade. <\/p>\n

\"JapaneseJapanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s \u201cdancing pumpkin\u201d sculpture at NGV International. Photo \/ Joanna Wane<\/p>\n

Across the Yarra, gritty laneways patchworked with graffiti hid secret doors to underground bars. On Bourke St, a busker wearing a gas mask played electric guitar.<\/p>\n

At dusk, a crowd gathered in Federation Square for a sunset screening of Studio Ghibli\u2019s Spirited Away, and there was a queue at Shanghai Street for Chinatown\u2019s most famous xiaolongbao.<\/p>\n

The comedy festival was on, so I grabbed a ticket to see Aussie stand-up Lizzy Hoo and spotted Kiwi comic Sam Wills camped out on the footpath, promoting his Tape Face show<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"DuckboardDuckboard Place, one of Melbourne’s graffiti-covered laneways, was once where World War II troops came to be entertained. Photo \/ Joanna Wane<\/p>\n

Another Sam was my guide on a free (koha appreciated) Melbourne Sights walking tour that passed the Old Melbourne Gaol, where Ned Kelly was hanged. <\/p>\n

The youngest prisoner ever recorded was a 3-year-old sentenced to 12 months for being idle and disorderly, Sam told us. \u201cHe was released six months early for good behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the 1850s gold rush, Melbourne became the richest city in the world. It\u2019s all about new money now. In 2023, a young billionaire bought a CBD penthouse for A$39 million, craning his McLaren supercar to the 57th floor.<\/p>\n

That night, on Sam\u2019s recommendation, I climbed the stairs of a converted inner-city apartment block to Berlin Bar. Evoking the Cold War, it\u2019s divided in two \u2013 a dark Soviet bunker to the East, opulent capitalism to the West. To be honest, the East looked more interesting.<\/p>\n

\"Disuko,Disuko, a cool new kid in town.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d already dined at Disuko, a \u201clow-lit, disco-drenched homage to 1980s Tokyo\u201d that opened late last year with an all-vinyl playlist and a cocktail bar on the terrace. <\/p>\n

For lunch, I\u2019d gone Eastern Mediterranean at Cleo, a sun-drenched bar and eatery on the 12th floor of the Hyde Melbourne Place hotel, where \u201ctwin eye\u201d brick portals frame the city skyline.<\/p>\n

\"OneOne of the twin “eyes” at Cleo, on the 12th floor of the Hyde Melbourne Place, where the menu leans Eastern Mediterranean (below). Photos \/ Joanna Wane\"\"<\/p>\n

As always, though, some of the most memorable moments were also the most unexpected ones. On a behind-the-scenes tour of the Arts Centre Melbourne, the guide ushered us into a \u201chidden gem\u201d, the Truscott Lounge in Hamer Hall.<\/p>\n

Named in honour of the Arts Centre\u2019s interior designer, John Truscott, the elegantly furnished egg-shaped room is concealed behind a one-way window and is rarely open to the public. <\/p>\n

\"TruscottTruscott Lounge, where Princess Diana once held court (but didn’t use the loo). Photo \/ Joanna Wane<\/p>\n

An adjoining bathroom, tiled in royal blue and stocked with lavish toiletries, was built for Princess Diana\u2019s 1986 visit to Australia with Prince Charles. <\/p>\n

Finding it positioned uncomfortably close to her guests, she was escorted downstairs by the house manager to use the loos on Level 2, which had been cleared before her arrival. <\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the power of royalty \u2013 you never have to queue.<\/p>\n

Winter Calendar<\/p>\n

Melbourne Winter Masterpieces: Cartier (NGV, to Oct 4): Dripping with diamonds, including a 1930s brooch owned by Princess Margaret, this love letter to Cartier was created by the V&A in London.<\/p>\n

Winter Night Market (Queen Victoria Market, Wednesdays, to Aug 26): Mulled wine, campfire cocktails, hojicha lattes, hot jam doughnuts, live music and street performers. I\u2019m in.<\/p>\n

\"MelbourneMelbourne sparkles at the Winter Night Market.<\/p>\n

Lightscape (Royal Botanic Gardens, to Aug 2): Melbourne\u2019s award-winning immersive light experience returns with new installations by artists from around the world.<\/p>\n

ROME: Empire, Power, People (Melbourne Museum, to Oct 25): From priceless antiquities to a virtual soak in the Baths of Diocletian, the splendour of life in the Roman Empire is unveiled in all its glory.<\/p>\n

A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical (Princess Theatre, from Aug 5): The hit Broadway production, billed as \u201cthe uplifting true story of how a kid from Brooklyn became a chart-busting, show-stopping American rock icon\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Melbourne'sMelbourne’s 19th-century Princess Theatre, where the songs of Neil Diamond will soon be in residence. Photo \/ Joanna Wane<\/p>\n

Encore! (AMPA, from Sept 16): In its second major exhibition since opening last December, the Australian Museum of Performing Arts will display rarely seen items from its extensive archive collection.<\/p>\n

The journalist\u2019s stay in Melbourne was supported by Visit Victoria, visitmelbourne.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over a long weekend, I walked the equivalent of a marathon, rarely straying beyond a 2km radius of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[73010,95,6128,4057,2199,241956,95181,26635,17247,156,131197,26094,5275,6101,69620,296,15896,134105,123,117,111,139,69,90,28464,1361,61,15897,14605,23644],"class_list":["post-481292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-activities","tag-and","tag-bars","tag-behind","tag-city","tag-coldweather","tag-cosy","tag-delivers","tag-drinks","tag-entertainment","tag-feelgood","tag-getaway","tag-goes","tag-good","tag-indoor","tag-into","tag-joanna","tag-leans","tag-melbourne","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-scenes","tag-that","tag-to","tag-wane","tag-whats","tag-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}