Melbourne runs on a dense circuit of state institutions, artist-run initiatives and 19th-century civic halls packed within a few tram stops. Three days here covers Australian modernism at Heide, Indigenous curation at Koorie Heritage Trust, and live opera under the Arts Centre spire.
The world's only major gallery devoted entirely to Australian art — 20,000-plus works across three levels, from Aboriginal bark paintings and Possum Dreamings to Nolan's Ned Kelly series and Brett Whiteley. Free entry daily 10am–5pm; ticketed shows from A$20.
Aboriginal-owned cultural centre on Federation Square's Yarra Building, holding 100+ possum-skin cloaks, artefacts and a contemporary Koorie art collection from south-eastern Australia. Free entry, open 10am–5pm; Aboriginal-guided Birrarung River walks run most days.
Melbourne's 1932 Art Deco landmark at 220 Collins Street, modelled on Chicago's Tribune Tower by Marcus Barlow — terracotta faience cladding, a vaulted arcade and the city's first escalator. Walk east past the Athenaeum, Regent Theatre and the 'Paris End' plane trees.
The commercial gallery spine of the CBD. Anna Schwartz Gallery at 185 Flinders Lane has shown Australian conceptual and installation art since 1986; Flinders Lane Gallery at No. 137 runs contemporary and Indigenous shows. Both free, Tue–Sat, closing around 5–6pm.
Victoria's flagship museum beside the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building — Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, the taxidermied racehorse Phar Lap, a living forest gallery and the Melbourne Story. Open 9am–5pm daily; A$15 adults, under-16s free.
Australia's oldest public library, opened 1856, crowned by the 1913 octagonal La Trobe Reading Room and its 34.75-metre reinforced-concrete dome. Free entry 10am–6pm; the Ned Kelly armour and the World of the Book gallery sit on the same floors.
The 162-metre lattice spire marks Victoria's performing arts home. The one-hour guided tour covers the State Theatre's 2,000-plus seats, orchestra pit and Australian Performing Arts Collection — Kylie Minogue's costumes and Nick Cave's archive included.
Hamer Hall on the Yarra hosts the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; the Recital Centre's Elisabeth Murdoch Hall in Southbank, with its plywood-panelled acoustic walls, runs chamber music most nights. MSO tickets from around A$49, recitals from A$35.
John and Sunday Reed's 15-acre riverside property where Nolan painted the Ned Kelly series in the 1940s. Three buildings — the 1870s farmhouse, the 1960s Heide II modernist house, and Heide III — plus a sculpture park and kitchen garden. Open Tue–Sun 10am–5pm.
The spine of Melbourne's artist-run scene. Gertrude Contemporary at 21–31 High Street Preston and Gertrude Glasshouse show studio-based artists; along Gertrude Street sit Sutton Gallery, Nicholas Projects and Bus Projects. Most free, Wed–Sat, roughly noon–5pm.
A former technical school at 35 Johnston Street rebuilt in 2020 as a A$27m creative precinct — 60-plus studios, Blak Dot Gallery, Contemporary Art Precincts, radio station 3RRR nearby and Perimeter Books. Free to wander the courtyard; galleries Wed–Sat.
A 1938 Art Deco picture palace in the western suburbs, restored to eight screens with the original Grand Cinema's proscenium and 250 leather seats intact. Arthouse and repertory programming; tickets around A$16–22, Tuesday cheap nights from A$12.