Melbourne: the Magic of St Kilda

Melbourne's sandy suburb of St Kilda has a long and chequered history. Once a place of stately homes and grand residents, it fell into disrepute. Now it's reclaimed its former glory as Melbourne's bay side beauty offering music, restaurants and cafe society along with its beaches.

Located on a delightful section of Port Phillip Bay just seven kilometres south-east of the city, St Kilda is one of Melbourne's premier tourist pulls. It's an easy hop on the tram from downtown Melbourne. You can gauge how attractive it is from the fact that St Kilda has a higher population than any suburb in Port Phillip.

The Esplanade is St Kilda's main drag. It's divided into upper and lower sections. The Upper Esplanade offers great views of the bay and its Esplanade Hotel is a local landmark and a popular venue for music events. A Sunday crafts market has been held on the Upper Esplanade since the 1980s. It's a great place to pick up paintings, ceramics, hand made soaps and other knick knacks made by local craftsmen.

The Lower Esplanade is right on the beach and features some inviting beachside restaurants. It's home to a number of St Kilda landmarks such as the St Kilda Baths, the Palais Theatre and Luna Park, an amusement fair.

St Kilda Baths is an old St Kilda institution. Also called South Pacific, its Arabian style facade was first built in the 1920s. It fell into disrepute and was demolished and was later rebuilt in its original style to preserve its sense of tradition.

Luna Park is probably St Kilda's most famous icon with its entrance in the form of a huge laughing face. The park features a roller coaster and 15 other thrilling amusements. The park was opened in 1912 and has been often refurbished.

Another delightful feature of St Kilda is its many parks and gardens. The most common flora are the Canary Island Date Palms and Californian Fan Palms. The St Kilda Botanic Gardens off Ackland Street are also called Blessington Gardens and are famous for the spectacular roses. The Botanical Gardens feature a conservatory and a lake.

Then there's Acland Street, a shopping and restaurant strip famous for its cafes, and cake outlets, and art displays. Its proximity to the beaches makes it a popular sleeping area for the backpacker set. Fitzroy Street is also a major cafe and restaurant strip with a bustling night scene. Running off Acland Street is fashionable Robe Street with its delightful Edwardian houses.

St Kilda is a great place to go anytime but it also hosts many major annual events that make the area especially good for a visit. The jewel in the crown is the St Kilda Festival. From a modest beginning in 1981, it has grown to become a major event attracting more than half a million young people each year.

Other notable events that take place in St Kilda include the Gay Pride March, sections of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival, the St Kilda Film Festival and St Kilda Writers Festival.

On your Melbourne holiday, don’t forget to head for St Kilda. It's a quick and easy trip and you may well be so charmed you'll want to stay there. If so, you'll find a wide range of St Kilda Hotels and guest houses to suit all style and pockets.

About the Author

Richard Greaves has over 20 years experience in the travel industry and writes for Cheaper than Hotels. Cheaper Than Hotels offers St Kilda hotels as Cosmopolitan Boutique Hotel Melbourne and Easystay @ The Bayside Motel Melbourne.

A backpacker in Melbourne, Victoria by night

Melbourne $10 Melbourne

Melbourne Hotels $40 Melbourne Hotels

A Grand Old Flag (Melbourne) $10 A Grand Old Flag (Melbourne) - Melbourne

Melbourne - A Grand Old Flag $10 Melbourne - A Grand Old Flag - AFL Club Song

Wild Places of Greater Melbourne $17.95 Introduces 30 of Melbourne's magnificent 'wild places' all within an hour-and-a-half drive of the centre of Melbourne.

Melbourne 2030 $18.8 The Melbourne 2030 plan is the Victorian Governments blueprint for the accommodation of an additional one million people in Melbourne by 2030. The plan seeks to change the shape of Melbourne radically. The vision is of a compact city in which growth will be concentrated in existing commercial centres (activity centres). Notwithstanding this fundamental departure from the low density pattern of the past, it is claimed that Melbournes famed liveability will be preserved. This book explores: the intellectual origins of the plan, the demographic assumptions behind it, the mode of implementation, the likely impact on the built environment, the environmental and social consequences, the heritage outcomes and alternative planning options. It critically examines assumptions about the projected demand for higher density housing, and argues that the plans compact city vision is unlikely to be achieved because it fails to come to grips with the economic and demographic realities facing Melbourne.

Gangland Melbourne $9.72 Throughout the past century, Melbourne has spawned its fair share of notorious criminalssome more infamous than others. In this compelling and comprehensive book, Britains top true crime writer James Morton and former barrister and legal broadcaster Susanna Lobez take you on a tour of Melbournes criminal past, visiting Australias favourite larrikin Squizzy Taylor, career criminals Chopper Read and the Pettingill family, as well as chronicling the long-running Painters and Dockers Union and recent Melbourne gang wars. Along the way, tales of Melbournes talented standover men, contract killers, robbers, conmen, brothel keepers, biker gangs, drug dealers and corrupt cops offer an extraordinary insight into this colourful and mysterious world. Vivid and explosive, Gangland Melbourne is compulsive reading.

Melbourne Cup 1930 $12.25 The Melbourne Cup is Australia's internationally renowned horse race and no Melbourne Cup better illustrates the great race as truly as Phar Lap's Cup.

The Birth of Melbourne $24.5 The Birth of Melbourne includes voices that range from tribal elders to Chinese immigrants, from governors to criminals. Among many others, John Pascoe Fawkner, Georgiana McCrae, J. B. Were, Ned Kelly, Marcus Clarke, Anthony Trollope and Rudyard Kipling contribute to this biography of our most surprising city.

Melbourne Travel Map Second Edition $10.98 Area Maps: Greater Melbourne 1:150,000 City Maps: Central Melbourne 1:10,000; Inner Suburbs 1:35,000

North Melbourne - A Wee Doch And Doris $10 North Melbourne - A Wee Doch And Doris - AFL Club Song

Hide and Seek Melbourne $14.95 Hide & Seek Melbourne is a funky - bordering on quirky - insight into Melbourne's unique hidden treasures. Divided into four main themes, covering places to see/things to do, shopping, food and bars/clubs, the guide focuses on secret and intriguing places that you won't find in any regular Melbourne travel guide. The concept also extends to some of Melbourne's better known attractions, but these places are approached from a new angle. The book is intended for an audience of 18- to 35-year-old locals, interstate travellers and overseas visitors, who want to discover Melbourne's many ‘faces'. Written by a team of in-the-know Melburnians, each of the 40 selected places features over a double-page spread with a review, images, contact information and a locator map. Blank pages at the back of the book allow readers to record their own secret Melbourne discoveries as they explore this wonderful city.

Laptop Backpack $28.94 Laptop Backpack

TPS BACKPACK $69.94 TPS BACKPACK

Summit Backpack $55.94 Summit Backpack

League Backpack $35.94 League Backpack

Rainier Backpack $48.94 Rainier Backpack

Backpack $69.99 Two large central compartments with ample storage, one with file dividerFront U-shaped pocket with organizers for PDA, MP3, CD’s etc.Separate zippered side pocket fully padded for laptop computer storageOpen mesh pockets for power chordsVelcro closure padded pockets for PDA, Cell Phone, MP3, etc.Hanging fleece lined zippered valuables pocket on frontTwo, external mesh water bottle pocketsFully padded contoured backpack straps with sternum strapComfort mesh padded back panelPadded backpack straps with Coolmax mesh undersideFoam padded webbing handle for comfort while carryingTitleist embroidered logo on zippered accessory pocketMade of 100% woven polyester with excellent wear and durability properties