Not too big or too small. You can walk across one to the other in 20 minutes, but if you mean there…read morelike I did, you can easily spend an hour or more. I liked walking with a general plan and running into the nicely maintained gardening clusters where it flowed with the pathways.

RBGV is a nearly 200 yr old massive oasis in Melbourne. There is so much to see and do here in a…read moretranquil environment. Best of all, its free! We saw people walking their dogs, sitting on the grass, and just walking around & enjoying the sights like us. The place is super clean, and we didn't see any rubbish. We spent about 2 hrs here, and we saw roughly half of the total area. If you visit Melbourne, and enjoy the outdoors, RBGV is for you.

We were on a tour, and only had so much time. We spent more time on Shrine of Remembrance and then…read morehurried through Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful and wish we had more time, but we enjoyed seeing the many blooms. We did go into the office/gift shop just to see what was available.

I joined some friends on a day tour that went all over Melbourne's surroundings and, while the…read moreDandenong Ranges Botanic Garden wasn't a main attraction, we did take about an hour to stop here. The grounds are expansive and walking through them, there's an experiential arc so much so that I felt I had gained understanding of the flora of Victoria.

Lovely quiet garden, many different routes to travel and it's very green and colourful with all the…read moreflowers and trees. Nice seating around the place and little viewing points. Only problem I had was that there were no rubbish bins? Which can be a bit chaotic because then people litter with all there rubbish. Overall, besides the bins, it was very beautiful

Great experience to wander and see what Australian gardens offer. The volunteers are excellent and…read morefriendly and show great interest in their gardens.

If you are nearby you need to visit here. It is free to enter…read more They have stunning exhibits and you could easily spend a full day here. We came on the off chance as we noticed a brown sign on the freeway. With big information signs outside we were learning before we entered. The Australian desert garden is gorgeous. There is an awesome play area for the kidlets and even an area to wade in the water which our little one loved. A hidden treasure that everyone needs to visit!

Wait, wait, wait. What's going on here? When did Moonlight become half Gold Grass? And where did…read moreall the food and the bars go? Don't get me wrong, Moonlight Cinemas is still one of my favourite things to do when it comes to summer in Melbourne, but the good ol' days of Moonlight are fading. When we ventured in to the perfectly manicured gardens yesterday eve, I was stunned to find HALF of the viewing area already bean-bagged, a quarter a second VIP area, and the remainder was for the plebs (i.e. you and me.) The Gold Grass area appears to be a whole lot better, with staff catering to your every need, but the rest of us were crammed in to a vastly smaller area. Moonlight I still love you, I just wish I didn't have to sit so close to strangers when I'm with you.

Going to the Moonlight Cinemas feels like a treat. It's in the Botanical Gardens, so you have…read morebeautiful trees & plants surrounding you and in the distance the city-scape twinkling at night. And bats. I love bats. Seeing them fly over the movie screen at dusk delights me every time. Hot tips to make the most of your Moonlight Cinema experience: 1. Bring something comfortable for your bum, or pay $9 for a bean-bag rental. 2. You can BYO, so BYO! (Including alcohol). How great is it that you can chow down on picnic goodies and share drinks with your friends? (For the unprepared, there are also concessions available for purchase.) 3. Know your nearest toilet! Stumbling around in the dark with a full to bursting bladder after following step #2 is preferably kept to a minimum. 4. Save some cash with $12 tickets on Thursdays. 5. Bring an extra layer. Even on warm days, Melbourne frequently cools off in the evening. So bring an extra rug to rug up.

"The Tan" as it is affectionately known (due to its surface of tan-coloured stone), is one of the…read moremost popular running tracks in Melbourne. It is 3.87km in distance and borders the Royal Botanic Gardens as well as the Kings Domain. The Tan originally served as a horse track and is now regularly used by runners, walkers, locals, visitors and even the odd celebrity! "Go the Tan," as well as many other regular fun runs and competitive marathons are often held at The Tan, especially on weekends it is a very busy running track filled with people getting their daily exercise as well as others wandering through on their way to a picnic at the Botanic Gardens gorgeous parkland. Open 24/7 but the lights turned off between midnight and 5:30am

I love going for a run or walk around The Tan Track. It's such a beautiful part of Melbourne with…read morethe lower part taking in the river, the dreaded Anderson St hill perfect for some hill sprints and the upper side encircling the Botanic Gardens and cafes along Domain Road. There are 250m markers all the way along the nearly 4km track (3.87km to be exact) and it's really well lit, with the lights only switched off between 12am and 5am. It's also a sandy gravelly surface that a bit softer on your knees and ankles than the old bitumen. There are always lots of people walking or running around, on their own, in groups, with dogs or prams. There's quite a few water bubblers all along the route, some of which are currently out of order due to irrigation works (note: they have been offline for more than 6 months and I have no idea when they will be back online). If you are a local or visiting from out of town it's a great spot to get some fresh air and turn the legs over!

Beautiful museum with a main center piece from Yayoi Kusama one of my favorite artists. There was…read morea special French Impressionism exhibit there when we visited. A bunch of Monet, Renoir, and Degas. I think it goes until the beginning of October. This exhibit you have to buy a timed entry ticket for. The regular museum is free. Great spot to take pics and see some Australian history.

This was on top of my list of things to go do when I came to Melbourne. The Yayoi Kusama exhibit…read morewas going on and I knew I had to go. This place was nothing short of amazing and the exhibits were beautiful. I've been all over the world to a lot of art museums, but this is one of my top 3 favorite art galleries! Took me around 3.5 hours to get through with the special exhibit waiting times, but spent the time walking through all 3 levels, stopped at the gift shop and enjoyed some high tea while I was there! 100% recommend!

Was looking for a rooftop bar in Melbourne and found this spot. Had very big signage and was super…read moreeasy to find. That being said, I wish their rooftop felt more like a rooftop. It was only three stories tall and you could only get to experience the views if you were seated along the edge at the high top tables. I was in the middle of the outdoor section, so I wasn't able to fully experience the views. I got a couple of their spritz variants and some food. The drinks were really good, super refreshing for a hot summer day. For the food, I got the roasted cauliflower and an order of the crispy tofu. The crispy tofu was probably the best crispy tofu I've ever had. It was addictive! The service here was super fast and friendly. Glad I stopped by

I went Here for the rooftop and Wednesday Thursday fondue special nights. The place was cozy and…read morethe rooftop deck had space heaters. The music is perfect for conversation and date nights and the view of Yarra river. The drinks were average and not strong but the fondue cheese was delicious. They serve it with double fried potatoes. A tiny salad. But no bread. Definitely worth a stop if you are near the flinders station area

Walk through the giant slate grey box that is the International Gallery, through the spacious…read moreentrance hall, through the stained glass room, and out to the garden. This is one of the lovely free art spaces dotted around Melbourne that are somehow still big secrets. I find that it's a beautiful place to relax, eat a packed lunch, drink a coffee, and just take time to oneself to enjoy the surrounds. The sculpture display changes in the garden frequently, so you can be sure to never get bored with what you see. Yes, I can still here the cars and the trams on the road, and yes, I am not alone in the garden. Yet who cares, when it's a little moment of peace in an otherwise busy day. And it's free!

I wasn't too interested in stopping by this playground, for one, the opening hours are after school…read morehours and generally the kids are a bit pooped and ready to rest, but two... You can't get your kids out once they are in there. This place consists of so much play equipment and guess what?!? ITS FREE! Yes I did say free. It's a community playground run by awesome people and it has so much fun stuff to play with. I can put my 7 year old in there and let him go off and eventually find him later on, all while spitting on a cup of tea and relaxing and talking to other Mums, if I like. Although I do have an almost 3 year old which requires a bit more supervision so I tend to be running through the forts and jumping over toys and other kids to keep up with the energy of a 3 year old. They also have a sand pit and one of those zip line flying things (Sorry don't know the technical name for it!) It is open during school holidays so it's defintely a great place to hang out and let some of the kids get that school holiday energy out.

I have a 4 year old son who doesn't just like to run but needs to be run and this is most certainly…read morethe best play ground in Melbourne. It was built by the community in the 1960's or 70's and there is none of that politically safe rubbish, oh my kid needs to be padded up and protected from everything type attitude stuff going on in this play ground. Your kids can be kids and climb, jump, play, throw, run, get dirty and all that other fun essential stuff kids are meant to be doing. As an adult they have a wee kitchen that you can make yourself a cup of tea, some tables and chairs and you can read your book or have a picnic while the kids run wild. I had my son't birthday there last year which cost around $180 to hire out a room type thing. I had parents come up to me after saying it was the best place they have taken their kid to for a party. HIGHLY recommend this place and am surprised there are no other reviews on this place. Mind you it is reasonable undiscovered and you almost don't want the world to know it exists, so you can keep it for yourself...