No different to Pitt Street Mall in the city, the Bourke Street Mall is Melbourne's equivalent, and…read morewith its own unique Zara outlet as well. So often the tram tracks are crossed to get to the other side to the point where waiting to cross the road at the lights to enjoy some more high quality shopping is a chore within itself. The iconic public purse at the tram station outside Melbourne GPO is a hit within itself (no pun intended) as musicians come to entertain us with their musical equipment stacked along this magnetic piece of art. Don't cross the tram tracks just yet as you have Melbourne GPO to explore. A word of warning: just ensure that you have gone to the toilet beforehand as something so simple as going to the loo turns out to be an obstacle here. Great cafes await you as well as quality boutiques to browse through. I love Georg Jensen here; in fact all the jewellers here provide great customer service. Keep walking and you will find Myers and DJ's in tandem with more street performers, and not to mention activists wanting support to help free the refugees or to take a stand of capitalism etc. Something would be so wrong with you if you are bored here. Cross the tram tracks (safer to actually cross the road) and you will find the food halls and more treats. Sadly that bistro on the Elizabeth Street side is now closed. And you might be lucky to spot one more street performer before moving on.

In the late 90's early 00's, the Bourke Mall of Melbourne was a Mecca of dodge. Sure every…read morechristmas there was the myer windows, but overall it wasn't a great place. Lucky for us Melbournians the recent (last 5 years) new tram stops and the current Myer and David Jones remodeling and the addition of Zara have lifted to the Mall to the cosmopolitan space I always new it could be.

Ah Melbourne Central. Home to the old shot tower, it's infamous glass cone, and the giant clock…read morethat plays Waltzing Matilda. I didn't actually realise it still did that until passing through the other day. I always insisted on watching it as a little kid when going to Melbourne Central was considered an exciting day excursion. Now we have huge shopping centres popping up all over the place and Melbourne Central is more a convenience than destination, but they're certainly upping their game to compete with the flashy new Emporium across the way. I actually find shopping here by comparison much easier. On Boxing Day during the sales, Emporium & Bourke St Mall were nightmares and we whipped through here in no time, scooping up all the bargains without the chaos. And while it doesn't have the 'cafe court', the quick dining options here around the cinema are actually pretty decent with good coffee, a few bars, and more new stuff along the way. Down the escalator past the level 3 food court is a new adjoining laneway (Menzies Alley) with some fun new businesses popping up. A lot of the side lanes are allowing for more independent businesses to join rather than mall-chains and franchises alone. As someone that typically shops for purpose rather than pleasure, it's an easier destination than some of the others, even if the layout is a tad confusing!

Love the culture and the food. Not a huge fan of the car park, but this place works better on…read morepublic transport.

The Hoddle Grid was the City design that created serviced alleyways that have now become…read moreMelbourne's famous laneways with food stalls, restaurants, cafes, night spots and murals. There are over 900 laneways in Melbourne. The Gold Rush in the 1850s, made Melbourne the World's richest city and the wealth afforded the resources to construct the ornate buildings featuring Victorian, Georgian, Italian and French architecture and design. Opened in 1870, Royal Arcade is the oldest surviving shopping arcade in Australia and an iconic heritage landmark in the Melbourne CBD. t. It is best known for its elegant Italianate architecture, high glass roof, and the mythical giant statues of Gog and Magog that strike the hour. Gayle and I were here for window shopping and visiting a "not to miss" and elegant Melbourne attraction.

I was so surprised at how small this place is! But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in…read morecharm. It's beautiful in here and full of natural light. You would never know that from the outside. It's fairly easy to enter this arcade, as there are openings on three sides. It's also marked very well so there's no way you could miss it. There are quite a few interesting shops, mostly targeted towards knick-knacks and jewelry for tourists. There are also some coffee/café spots. My partner always finds the adult toy/card shops and immediately went downstairs to purchase some Magic the Gathering cards. This is a nice, quick attraction that is well worth the visit.

Lots of great outlet stores at the DFO! Adidas, Nike, Cotton On, a few shoe stores.. I can't name…read morethem all but I've always enjoyed coming here. The layout downstairs confuses me a bit and I get a little turned around when trying to find a store I've been to countless times. They have a food court downstairs has a really good selection of cuisines and are all reasonably priced.

Great place for a bargain and they have all the great stores for everything for the the family from…read morehats to shoes and everything in between

This is a HUGE shopping mall with what feels like too many stores (LOL!), mostly high end/expensive…read morebut there are some not so high end ones as well. This feels like a great place to people watch. We saw quite a few characters while we were in here and I'm glad I got to take a gander. We shopped in some of the stores but the items here aren't really for us. We're not high fashion, spend a lot on unique clothes type of people but if you are, this is the place for you! The layout is a bit confusing with escalators that don't keep going and up and down, being in different places but for the most part this place was easy to navigate. We ended up wanting to sit for a bit with a snack and, again, the food court is MASSIVE. From what I saw, you could probably get any kind of world cuisine in this place. There was so much to choose from.

I was in a nearby Southland Sandringham, Melbourne, Victoria, Austalia shopping mall at Bras N…read moreThings, and Forever New! :)

A great shopping mall! This place has really picked up over the years! Lots of amazing shops! A…read moreplace to get some great buys! I go here often for my lunch break and head back to work with bags of shopping. I just can't help it. There is always new shops and new items to buy! Omg I love sales racks! :-)

This is a bit of a tricky one to review as there is pretty high store turnover so if anything I…read moremention here appeals, check online that it's still there before you visit. If jewellery is your thing and you're on a tight budget, check out Lovisa. They have a great range of classic and cool styles. Much of it is a lot cheaper than their normal stores. Thanks to their outlet, I now own more pairs of earrings than I will probably ever wear. The Cotton On outlet is enormous. In addition to the standard Cotton On men's and women's ranges, they also stock sister brand Rubi Shoes. They often have cute shoes crazy cheap eg. 3 pairs for $10 deals are not uncommon. Look out for the cute $2 tote bags too. As the normal Strandbag stores are pretty reasonably priced the savings at the outlet don't tend to be massive but it is still worth a look. The outlet has a great selection and I've always been really happy with the quality of what I brought there. If you're into stationery don't miss checking out Typo. They often have great journals and notebooks on sale. I really need to stop buying those! Trade Secret is an interesting store to have a browse in. They stock a very large range of assorted fashion and home-ware items from a range of designers. There isn't many of each particular item so it takes a bit of rummaging through the racks. Personally I haven't had much success in there but you're a size that a lot of designers like to make for you might get lucky.

What an unexpected alley filled with the crowd of people and eateries!…read more It seems so hipster to be huddled in refined cuisines and it's full of culture! It was quite happening on this street to my surprise! I adore the graffiti and sight of Darth Vader in yoga pose form. The artwork is daring and innovating. I enjoyed my time here! Moment captured and lived.

Degraves Street was one of Melbourne's first laneways. Laneways are narrow streets, like an alley,…read more that support diversity in public spaces. Love the cute cafes and shops along this passage off busy Flinders Street.

Only on Wednesday night lots of choices for eating and music abounds sometimes it is difficult to…read morefind seating and it can be quite crowded So much food do little time

I'm impressed by this weekly event. We have a similar monthly event where I grew up, but the one in…read moreMelbs is every single week! You can sample various delicious foods, check out the local artwork, watch performers on the stage, or even watch a movie with some hot apple cider. There are a lot of vendors selling jewelry and clothing. I bought a very cute bracelet with custom charms and amethyst stones. I also got to try on some kimonos. Kimono stylist Sala Okabe will personally fit one for you. Just bring a smile and a camera. If you want to purchase, a kimono is only $20 -- cheaper than what I paid when I ordered mine online.

TwoDollarsEighty! I love knick knack stores and especially…read moreJapanese ones. Yes you will find random products in this store that will last all of 3 minutes but there are also kind of cool things like plastic stylish glasses, great for outdoor entertaining. Kitchen goods, Stationary products, Sushi making utensils, cute tote bags, mittens and socks... The store is HUGE and if I have $100 on the day I went I would have made that money go in a flash. Daiso is definitely worth checking out. Especially if you are planning a party and not keen on using your 'good stuff'

Daiso in Melbourne CBD is huge! It's a bargain galore full…read moreof stuff you don't need. It's a bit like Japanese Ikea really. Umbrella for $4 is pretty cheap and comes in handy when you're caught in the rain, but you really get what you paid for and some purchase here is a bit of a lucky dip. As in, wow that didn't break in first go, so lucky! i bought a packet of lollies here and the said umbrella. Although the first umbrella broke as the shop assistant opened it, but the second one didn't so i feel like a winner already.

Big W has a large selection of items but it can't be said that quality is a factor involved in…read moreselecting this stock. But, can find some bargains here. If you look hard enough.

I'm American, and when I heard that Big W was pretty much the Australian equivalent of Wal*Mart, I…read moredo have to admit I got excited. Now, if you have never been to Wal*Mart, what you need to understand is this - it WILL have EVERYTHING YOU NEED. Food, clothing, furniture... you name it, they got it. With Big W being the supposed Wal*Mart equivalent, I was a bit disappointed by its very limited selection. --- ~ Isn't Big W's entire market strategy based on the fact that they're supposed to be a cheap alternative to other shops? I looked at nail polish that cost the same as Mecca Cosmetica, a much higher quality beauty store. ~ The music and electronics section could use a bit of work as well. They have a lot of obscure things, but nothing big. I wanted to buy Beyonce's new album '4' and it was nowhere to be found... not even out of stock - they just didn't have it plain and simple. Big W isn't a bad store, but I probably would not be coming here to do my shopping. It's small and not as cheap as it would like you to think - what's the point?