A touch Berlin, a little Milan and New York, Melbourne is the most ‘un-Australian’ of Australian cities. Forget sultry surf and endless sunshine. This is a metropolis of fickle weather, black wardrobes and gritty laneways packed with street art and galleries, cafes, cabaret clubs and buzzing, late-night eateries and bars.

It’s also a city of superlatives, home to the southern hemisphere’s largest sporting stadium and open-air market, its tallest observation deck, and Australia’s biggest and most visited art museum the National Gallery of Victoria. The latter is one of many world-class cultural institutions, from the glorious State Library of Victoria to the Melbourne Museum and cutting-edge Australian Centre of the Moving Image. Melbourne is also the nation’s sporting capital, birthplace of Australian Rules Football and home to the Australian Open.