Southbank Boulevard

Southbank Boulevard is such an amazing walk, full of restaurants, café’s, bars, entertainment and the best of all the views.
Relaxing, somewhere you can switch off and just walk endlessly up and down. Its chill (expect in peak hour with 1000’s bikes gunning through)
Ive made lots of discovery of places just by walking down through every now and then. very peace full. Just dont look down into the River, because guess what, its still brown.

This is one of my fave places — especially at night with the fairy lights in the trees and the flames. The city looks gorgeous at night (from this location). It’s so much fun to get an ice-​cream or a coffee and sit somewhere and just people watch. The boulevard brings out all walks of life and there’s never a dull moment. There’s so many great spots to grab some food after the footy, or before catching a movie. Sure to suit anybody’s budget and preferences. The parking is cheap and there are some decent shops to pop into on the way back to the car. The night life is so-​so. I actually prefer going to one of the bars and having a wine overlooking the city rather than clubbing at Crown but if you get too drunk to drive anywhere else and aren’t too old, then there’s good enough options there.

This is the way to enjoy a Sunday — walk along the river, grab a drink, drop at a restaurant to eat, watch some of the performers on the walk… it does not get better than this!
Awesome and always interesting.

Great view of the cityscape on the Southbank side. Worth every minute to take a stroll and soak in sights. Lots of places to eat, drink and shop.

It’s a bit odd rating a strip of restaurants alongside a murky river with stars, but, sure, okay, let’s give it four. Why four? Well, there are some pretty clear highlights here:
1) The view. Melbourne CBD. Beautiful. Great at dusk as the buildings light up.
2) People watching. The freaks come out at night. And day. Okay, 24×7 freaks. Love it!
3) Choices. LOTS of spots to grab a bite to eat, drink, or be pick pocketed.
A bit more on that last point — Southbank seems to be home to a lot of buskers, «entertainers,» artists, and so on. Some are great, some are sad, but the ones that have crowds around them are, to my eye, a great spot to lose your wallet. People crammed up against one another, others slipping past (because those doing the cramming are blocking the path for everyone else), a LOT of tourists… I always hold on to my wallet tightly when passing through these crowds, you probably should too.
There are some downsides, namely, after-​work on Fridays… the d-​bag factor goes off the charts, with a plethora of lawyers and accountants (PWC is nearby) all getting their Friday buzz on. You will not be able to have a quiet experience on most of the venues that are at ground level with a terrace — so just don’t try. Other nights of the week and you’re definitely better off.
It’s also a popular route for traffic to/​from the Melbourne Cricket Grounds where I guess some sort of sport-​related nonsense takes place (I dislike all sports and all teams, and pretty much all fans) — which can make for awkward walking, but at least it’s mostly good natured.
There are some great food/​drink venues here, and some pretty mediocre ones. Seems to be a reasonable rate of turnover, so, just wait a few months and there might be something new to experience!

Southbank boulevard brings back memories of being 16 and finally getting the freedom to explore the city, «the city» being a restaurant at Southbank and a really D-​grade nightclub at Crown Casino.
But don’t let my seedy memories deter you; Southbank boulevard is enduringly one of my favourite parts of the city, especially during summer. The view of the city across Fed Square and St Pauls Cathedral is so pretty and the Boulevard itself is the perfect place to stroll along and take in buskers, street artists, stop for an ice cream and feel the heat from the giant flaming tower thingys which are always a tourist trap.
I recommend stopping for dinner at Bearbrass followed by a drink at Ponyfish Island. In winter there is an ice skating rink which is also kind of rad.