At the moment we're mostly confined to the house and not able to go out and enjoy our city in the usual way. It is still possible, however, to experience many of Melbourne's iconic places and attractions from home, virtually.
Note that while the digital world is keeping everyone connected and up to date, the lack of traditional live performances has seriously impacted the income of many of Melbourne's favourite organisations, artists and performers. Options are available on many of their sites should you wish to consider supporting them through these difficult times, so they can be there when we can once again go there in real life.
Here's a selection of Melbourne's finest attractions you can enjoy from your couch.
1. PERFORMANCE
The Melbourne Theatre Company's
MTC NOW offers stories, quizzes, a look behind the scenes and a virtual tour of MTC headquarters.
The Australian Ballet has
Ballet TV where you can watch full-length ballets from the 2020 Digital Season, see what happens behind the scenes, learn about the Australian Ballet's education program and if you wish, even learn a few ballet steps.
The Arts Centre Melbourne -
Together With You initiative showcases performances, podcasts, interviews with artists, family activities and stories.
2. ANIMAL ACTION
See what happens inside a
penguin burrow at Phillip Island or watch a croc have lunch at
Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium.
Melbourne Zoos are offering "
Animals at Home" live feeds so you can watch your favourites go about the daily activities. There's snow leopard cubs, giraffes, lions, penguins and special guests.
3. MELBOURNE LIVE
Photo by Enrique Alarcon on Unsplash
If you'd like to see what's happening out there in our beautiful city, well, there's webcams for that.
See the
Melbourne skyline,
Fed Square, check out the traffic on
Melbourne's roads (not much at the moment but it's a great time for roadworks) or watch the
waves roll in. Travel Victoria has a comprehensive
list of webcams around the state.
4. MUSIC FOR EVERYONE
Concerts with audiences are not possible at the moment so there is a big movement online. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has
keep the music going. There's also
Melbourne Digital Concert Hall and
Live from Melbourne Recital Centre.
For a myriad of performances (some from home) from solo artists, bands, comedians and entertainment check out
Live Nation's Live from Home, a virtual hub of live streams and content.
5. MUSEUMS
Image: Melbourne Museum Facebook
has the Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks and the Immigration Museum sharing their collections and exhibitions via virtual tours, live streaming, educational experiences and kids activities.
6. ART
Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash
The Public Galleries Association Victoria has a great guide called
Online Visual Art Experiences which lists galleries and their virtual offerings Victoria-wide. There's a smorgasbord of art plus a special section of kids activities.
7. MELBOURNE IN PICS
One of the most photographed spots in Melbourne - the bathing boxes at Brighton. Image by Julian Hacker from Pixabay
Sometimes looking even better in photos than you can remember, Melbourne is well served in the photographic realm. You can spend hours browsing pics of the skyline, streets, gardens, architecture, markets, landmarks and other Melbourne attractions.
As a guide see the City of Melbourne
FB page, Visit Melbourne's
Instagram, and Travel Victoria's
Melbourne. For some eerily-empty-of-people shots of well known Melbourne spaces see this collection entitled
Melbourne Isolated.
