Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

SHOPPING 551
FOOTBALL Melbourne’s number-one sport is Australian Rules Football—or
simply, “the footy”—a skillful, often violent, ball game the likes of which you’ve
never seen (unless you have ESPN). Melbourne sports 10 of the 16 Australian Football
League (AFL) teams, with the others coming from Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, and
Brisbane. The season starts on the third weekend in March and ends with the
Grand Final on the last Saturday in September. The most accessible grounds are at
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)—take tram no. 75 along Wellington
Parade, and the Optus Oval at Carlton (tram no. 19 from Elizabeth St.). Entrance
tickets cost around A$16 (US$10) per person, or A$30 (US$20) for a family of
four. For game information, call AFL Headquarters at & 03/9643 1999. Buy
tickets at Ticketmaster (& 13 61 00 in Australia; www.ticketmaster7.com).
HORSE RACING The Melbourne Cup, on the first Tuesday in November,
has been fought for by the best of Australia’s thoroughbreds (and a few from
overseas) since 1861. Melbourne society puts on a show when they dress up for
the occasion, and the entire nation stops in its tracks to at least tune in on TV.
The city has four race tracks: Flemington (which holds the Melbourne
Cup), on Epson Road in Flemington (& 03/9371 7171); Moonee Valley, on
McPherson Street in Mooney Ponds (& 03/9373 2222); Caulfield, on Station
Street in Caulfield (& 03/9257 7200); and Sandown, on Racecourse Drive in
Springvale (& 03/9518 1300). If you’re staying in the city center, Flemington
and Moonee Valley tracks are the easiest to get to. Take tram no. 57 from
Flinders Street to reach the Flemington racetrack, and catch tram no. 59 from
Elizabeth Street to travel to Moonee Valley.
TENNIS The Australian Open, one of the world’s four Grand Slam events, is
played during the last 2 weeks of January every year at the Melbourne Park
National Tennis Center, on Batman Avenue (& 03/9286 1244). Tickets for the
Australian Open go on sale in mid-October and are available through Ticketek
(& 03/9299 9079) and also on the Open’s website, www.ausopen.org. Guided
tours of the center are offered from April through October, Wednesday through
Friday, when events aren’t scheduled. Tours cost A$5 (US$3.25) for adults and
A$2.50 (US$1.60) for children. To get there, take a train from the Flinders Street
Station to Richmond Station and catch the special Tennis Center tram from there.
7 Shopping
Ask almost any Melbournian to help you plan your time in the city, and they’ll
advise you to shop ’til you drop. All Australia regards Melbourne as a shopping
capital—it’s got everything, from fashion houses to major department stores and
unusual souvenir shops. If you’re coming from Sydney, I say save your money
until you get to Melbourne, and then indulge!
Start at the magnificent city arcades, such as the Block Arcade (running
between Collins and Little Collins sts.), which has more than 30 shops, including
the historic Hopetoun Tearooms (see section 4, “Great Deals on Dining”),
and the Royal Arcade (stretching from Little Collins St. to the Bourke St. Mall).
Then hit the courts and lanes around Swanston Street and the huge Melbourne
Central shopping complex between Latrobe and Lonsdale streets.
Next, take your wallet as you fan out across the city, taking in Chapel Street
in South Yarra, for its Australian fashions; and The Jam Factory, 500 Chapel
St., South Yarra (& 03/9826 0537), which is a series of buildings with a range
of shops and food outlets, including a branch of the U.S.-based Borders, as well
as 16 cinema screens. Get there on tram no. 8 or no. 72 from Swanston Street.