Few cities around the world could be called as inspiring as coastal Melbourne, the capital of Victoria. Sporting the largest tram network in the world and still the only producer of iconic spread Vegemite, it’s the second most populous city in all of Australia. We asked Jane Timmins to give us the low-down from a citizen’s perspective about the beautiful metropolis. Read on to discover more:
What do you love about your city that makes it unique?
Well, Melbourne was ‘the most liveable city’ for the last 7 years (dropped to 2nd place in 2018), known for its eclectic mix of great restaurants, shopping, rooftop bars, street art and of course, our great sporting events.
Melbourne has a great sporting culture and is home to the great Melbourne Cricket Ground where cricket (Boxing Day test) is played and our national game Australian Rules football which several times a year attracts over 90,000 to top games. It’s also home to the Melbourne Cup, a horse race that ‘literally stops the nation’. One of the richest horse races in the world, we even have a public holiday for it on the first Tuesday in November.
Can you give us a picture that shows off its charm?
I love the aerial shot of Melbourne taken via a helicopter tour over the city – this one shows the MCG sporting district.
Tell us one food dish a visitor must try before they leave.
There are so many great restaurants, bars and cafes in Melbourne and a must-have is a Chicken Parmigiana - basically a schnitzel with tomato puree and mozzarella cheese. It's found at nearly every pub in Melbourne for instance the Young and Jackson in the City. This pub was established in 1861 and is an institution among locals great for a beer, a parma… and saying cheers to Chloé – a French painting there which dates back to 1875.
Tell us about your favourite secret location (like a hidden gem)
I love to photograph all the street art hidden down the laneways and in the inner city - Melbourne is famous for it. I’ve included a collage of some of my shots here.
