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Australia - Melbourne

Cruise ships dock at Station Pier at the Port of Melbourne, at one of its four berths, two of which are dedicated only to cruise ships. The pier is a historical and architectural treasure itself. Opened in 1854, it was then named Railway Pier and saw the arrival of the first settlers in search for gold and the departure of the Australian troops to three wars. The Station Pier and the Gate House and Pier are all heritage listed.The Station Pier is about 4km (2.5m) from the Central Business District (CBD) of Melbourne. There is a free shuttle express bus to the city, provided by the port that will drop you off at The Melbourne Arts centre – operating on cruise days. There is also a nearby, 10 min walking away stop of the city’s tram system – number 109 will take you to CBD in about 20 min. Tickets can be purchased at the station itself or at the Cruise Terminal. You can also call a taxi from the cruise terminal building where you can also find a café, public toilets, a souvenir shop and a security checkpoint. The facilities are wheelchair accessible. There are more shops and restaurants at the adjacent Waterfront Place. In the Australian summer (October to April) there are friendly local volunteers that will happily share their tips and general information about tours and tourist attractions in Melbourne.The International Melbourne Airport is 30km away, 30 min distance by car.
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Local Information

The local currency is the Australian dollar (AUD). Australia has eliminated the penny and cash transactions are rounded up to the nearest nickel. All major credit cards are accepted everywhere. There are plenty of ATMs and exchanging money is easy. You can exchange cash at one of the money exchange shops and bank offices in central Melbourne. Make sure you check the market rate and ask if there would be any commission charges and fees. In general, smaller, independent shops have better rates than banks and major companies, but the best thing to do would always be to check the rates on the day. If you use your cards to draw cash from an ATM, make sure you have notified your bank you would be spending time abroad and you are aware of any transaction fees. More and more banks and financial companies now tend to offer cards with no additional fees when using abroad, so it might pay off for you to check if you can get such card before travelling. Opening hours and bank holidays. The opening hours in Melbourne are quite generous. Most shops and shopping centres are generally opened from 10 am to 7 pm, with most of them having a late night shopping on Fridays or Thursdays with an hour or two extension. They are also open full day Saturday and until midday or 4pm on Sunday. Some of the bigger shopping centres are open every day until 9 pm and many of them would work even on Christmas Day. There are number of National bank holidays as well and some shops will be closed, so do make yourself familiar with those, especially if your time is limited. Tipping in Australia is not as common as it is in Europe and the United States. There are jars for tips, but they are hardly used. You can tip if you are happy with the service, but you don’t have to. There are no service charges added to your bill at restaurants either.It is common knowledge that English is the language of Melbourne, so you would have no problems being understood.The local time in Melbourne is GMT+11 and the International dialling code is + 613.

Things To Do

The second largest city and the capital of the second smallest territory of Australia can certainly offer a lot of history. Start off at the Flinders Street Station at the Federation Square. The station is the first of Australia and it was the world’s busiest station back in the 1920s. You can join one of the tours to find put more about the history of this grandeur building or se the changing exhibitions at Campbell Arcade. The Federation Square is the events hub of Melbourne, where you can see the latest art and design, attend a free meditation class or chill out on the banks of Yara river, while admiring the historic vaults, dating back from 1890s. The square is also home to the ACMI centre (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), the Ian Potter Centre NGV Australia, Koorie Heritage Trust and is the place for numerous festivals and events through the year.To learn more about the unique history and culture of the people of Melbourne, head off to Melbourne Gaol – one of the oldest standing buildings in the city and a site of over 130 executions. The skull of the most notorious Australian bushranger outlaw – Ned Kelly was displayed here, until it was stolen in 1978. The National Gallery of Victoria (or NGV), is the oldest and largest art museum of Australia, opened in 1861. It is separated into two buildings, housing two collections – the aforementioned Ian Potter Centre NGV Australia showcases Aboriginal and contemporary Australian art and NGV International – containing masterpieces from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rom, 16,000 international prints and drawings, a collection from European and British artists and many more. The vision of Science Works– the science museum of Melbourne, initially was designed as a place to inspire young people to play with science. Today, it challenges curious young minds of all ages though its interactive exhibitions, the Melbourne Planetarium, the Lightning Room and even an Autism Friendly Museum. At Immigration Museum get familiar with the immigration that’s fundamental to the history of the city. The stories of the people that travelled from all the world to Melbourne for a better future are sometimes sad, sometimes funny, but always engaging. Melbourne is home to an astonishing number of galleries and art museums– over 100. The ones you shouldn’t miss, time permitting are the City Gallery, Flinders Lane Gallery, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Justin Art House Museum and the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre.

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