Known to generations of Melburnians as the white house on the hill, Como House is a grand colonial mansion overlooking the Yarra in South Yarra, built in stages from 1847 and now cared for by the National Trust. Its blend of Australian Regency and Italianate styling, with a two-storey verandah and a tower added during later expansions, reflects the wealth of a young Melbourne riding the boom of the gold rush years. The house took its present form through additions in the 1850s and 1870s, includi.....

Behind the wide, grinning face known as Mr Moon, whose gaping mouth forms the entrance, Luna Park Melbourne has welcomed visitors to the St Kilda foreshore since 1912. It is the oldest amusement park in Australia operating on its original site, built by a syndicate who drew on the expertise of Coney Island showmen, and its survival through more than a century of changing tastes makes it as much a heritage landmark as a funfair. The park's great treasure is the Scenic Railway, a wooden roller co.....

Leaping from a light aircraft thousands of feet above the coast and then drifting down to a landing on the sand at St Kilda is the promise of Melbourne Skydive, which bills itself as the closest tandem skydiving operation to the centre of the city. Run as part of a national skydiving company, it offers beach-landing jumps over the bayside suburb, pairing first-time jumpers with experienced instructors for a tandem descent. On a tandem skydive the customer is harnessed to a qualified instructor .....

Laid out from 1846 on a bend of the Yarra River just south of the city centre, the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria cover around 38 hectares of lawns, lakes and plant collections in the heart of Melbourne. The gardens were shaped most influentially by the director William Guilfoyle in the late nineteenth century, whose sweeping, picturesque landscaping still defines their layout. More than 8,500 plant species from around the world grow here, arranged in themed beds and collections that range from.....