The Summer Arts & Entertainment Guide
The nights are long; savour them in the best outdoor (or air conditioned) events.
We hope you weren’t expecting to get much work done this summer. The cultural calendar is bursting with so much talent that getting to the ‘must-sees’ alone could be your full-time job.
The nights are long; savour them. Festivals call out for your dance moves, outdoor cinemas flicker invitingly in oasis-like parks, the circus comes to town and art galleries proffer the balm of air conditioning with their summer blockbusters. Whether you've got the hot ticket of the season or are meandering down to something free and loose, there's plenty to inspire.
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News
The Best Outdoor Swimming Pools in Melbourne
Melbourne's best outdoor swimming pools cater to athletes, casual summertime swimmers and those just looking to cool off during extra-hot days.
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News
The Best Waterfalls You Can Swim Under Near Melbourne
Forget TLC. Go chase some waterfalls in Victoria.
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News
Where to Find the Best Ice Cream and Gelato in Melbourne
Whether you like your gelato and ice cream scoops creamy, salty, vegan or served with hot chips, you can find them here.
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Restaurant
Marquis of Lorne
411 George Street, Fitzroy
Drink down on the street, dine at the second floor restaurant or soak up some rays on the rooftop.
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News
The Best Picnic Spots in Melbourne
Wait till the weather is just right, then fill your esky with cold beer, natural wine and an oversupply of snacks and get picnicking.
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News
The Best Rooftop Bars in Melbourne
Rise above the burning concrete and escape to the echelons of summer delight.
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News
The Ten Best BYO Restaurants in Melbourne
Offset the damage to your wallet on your next night out.
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Bar
St Hotel - CLOSED
54 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
Once a questionable choice of venue, the Saint Hotel has been transformed into a sleek Thai dining space and bar.
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News
The Nine Best Rum Bars in Melbourne
Where you'll find this city's best Zombies, Dark 'n' Stormys, Mai Tais, house infused apricot rum and more.
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News
MTC Announces NEON 2015 Season of Independent Theatre
Carnivals, cannibals and the real, foul-mouthed, alcoholic Calamity Jane.
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News
Melbourne's Longest Eatery The Arbory Is Now Open
Taking cues from New York’s Highline, Melbourne's newest spot runs 150m along the old Sandridge railway line.
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Restaurant
Tokyo Tina
66A Chapel Street, Windsor
The third sister has been born, and she brings a Japanese edge to the family.
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Event
Movies Under the Stars
Thu, 26 Feb, 2015
Point Park, Docklands
Lap up the last of the openair cinema season with Docklands' free version.
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News
New Food Precinct The Archway Opens in Flinders Lane
Homemade smores, chilli salt slices, maple bacon chipotle bagels. Lunch just got interesting in the CBD.
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Event
Fat Tuesday Southern Food and Music Festival
Tue, 17 Feb, 2015
Hardy Reserve, Brunswick
Fat Tuesday, or French Mardi Gras, means offensive amounts of delicious, greasy, Southern barbecued goodness.
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Event
Luna Park On Play - The School of Life
Sat, 21 Feb, 2015
Luna Park Melbourne, St Kilda
The School of Life and Rockwiz’s Brian Nankervis are letting you play all day. Really.
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Event
Fashion on Film 2015
Sat, 21 Feb - Sun, 8 Mar 2015
Watch Vogue shoots with Lena Dunham, trace the history of bespoke Italian menswear, celebrate the glory of '90s fashion.
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News
Bar Exuberante is Melbourne's Newest Secret Rum Bar
Find a little piece of Old Havana in the back of Bar Economico.
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Event
Slide Melbourne
Sun, 15 Feb - Mon, 9 Mar 2015
Lansdowne Street, East Melbourne
Be the first to experience the biggest street slide in the world.
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Event
Farnsworth Republic For Dogs
Mon, 16 Feb - Sat, 28 Feb 2015
ACCA, Melbourne
The hottest canine event of the season.
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Event
Supergraph 2015
Fri, 13 Feb - Sun, 15 Feb 2015
Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton
Welcome to an art fair you can actually afford.
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Event
Golden Koala Chinese Film Festival 2015
Wed, 11 Feb - Sun, 15 Feb 2015
ACMI and Cinema Nova, Melbourne
Spend the Chinese New Year with some of the country's latest cinematic exports.
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News
This Swing Table Just Made Meetings Way More Fun
Swing your way through boring PowerPoint presentations.
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Event
Sustainable Living Festival 2015
Sat, 7 Feb - Sun, 1 Mar 2015
Melbourne
All the tips you need to make life a little better.
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News
Meet Tokyo Tina: Saigon Sally and Hanoi Hannah's New Chapel Street Sister
The family is growing.
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Bar
Magic Mountain Saloon
62 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
An eatery and bar spawned from one of Melbourne's best hospo pedigrees.
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News
Could This New Sky Garden Be the Workplace of the Future?
Forget the tedium of the office cubicle. The future is harvesting your own lunch, wearable tech and abseiling during coffee breaks.
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News
Van Gogh Paintings Realised as Haute Couture
Van Gogh's little straw hat has never looked so Bjork.
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Event
St Kilda Festival 2015
Sat, 31 Jan - Sun, 8 Feb 2015
Various locations in St Kilda, St Kilda
Get amongst Melbourne's biggest (and most wallet-friendly) street festival.
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Event
Summer Sundays
Sun, 8 Feb, 2015
NGV International, Melbourne
The NGV are crashing festival season with a series of weekly free garden parties.
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News
A Look Back at Ten Years of Laneway Festival
The last ten years have seen Australian festival after Australian festival launch and go under. How have Laneway managed to nail it?
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News
This New App Can Tell You Which Friend Stresses You Out Most
Want to surround yourself with positive people? There's an app for that.
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Restaurant
Code Black Howard Street
119 Howard Street, North Melbourne
Code Black starts a spin-off on Howard Street, and it's not just the same shtick.
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Event
Belle and Sebastian
Sun, 1 Feb, 2015
Palais Theatre, St Kilda
Indie-pop royalty blown in on a breeze of Glaswegian whimsy.
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News
Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch Wanted Your Nine-to-Five Job
The Glaswegian lead singer also thinks you might have written his music for him.
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News
Win Passes to Palace Cinemas Thanks to Appleton Estate
One of summer's classic cool retreats, now with a cocktail to match.
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Event
The Val Cinema
Fri, 23 Jan - Sun, 15 Feb 2015
Swan Street Chamber Of Commerce, Richmond
The Val is back in action for a summer pop-up on Swan Street.
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News
All the Best Ways to Spend Australia Day 2015 in Melbourne
Sausages, citizenship, the Triple J Hottest 100. Celebrate what you value this Australia Day.
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News
Brunswick Street Cider House to Open Summer Pop-Up Garden
Just in time for the Australia Day weekend.
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Restaurant
Union St Brewers - CLOSED
34 Union Street, Brunswick
Brunswick's newest cafe is baking their own bagels and pouring their own brew on Union Street.
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Bar
The Rooks Return
201 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Your local better watch out — The Rooks Return threatens to take its place.
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News
Entrecote Brings Parisian-Style Dining to South Yarra
Dine like a Parisian — late, simple, with fries.
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News
The Ten Best Summer Getaways From Melbourne
When the Fitzroy Pool just doesn't cut it, get your friends together for one of these jaunts out of town.
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News
Five Reasons To Head To Sugar Mountain That Have Nothing To Do With Nas
Despite what the buzz may tell you, there's more to this festival than Illmatic.
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Bar
The Grand Trailer Park Taverna - CLOSED
87 Bourke Street, Melbourne
East Coast trailer trash at its finest (and funnest).
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Event
Slidestreet
Sat, 24 Jan, 2015
Lansdowne Street, East Melbourne
Your summer dreams just came true. This 315 metre-long Slip 'N' Slide is unfurling in Fitzroy Gardens.
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Event
Whisky at the Cinema
Wed, 21 Jan, 2015
Kino Cinemas, Melbourne
Two of your favourite things together at last.
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News
Build Your Own Smartphone With Google's Project Ara
Pick and choose the components of your phone. Nice one, Google.
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Bar
Jardin Tan
Birdwood Avenue, South Yarra
A bit of Vietnamese exoticism in the middle of the Botanic Gardens.
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Restaurant
Gelato Messina Fitzroy
237 Smith Street, Fitzroy
How do you know it's summer? You're standing in the queue at Messina again, dummy.
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News
Gelato Messina to Launch International Soup Kitchen
You won't find boring ol' tomato soup in these cans.
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News
This Durable Cardboard Bike Costs Just $10 to Make
A bike so cheap that it's not even worth the energy deployed in trying to steal it.
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Event
Midsumma 2015
Sun, 18 Jan - Sun, 8 Feb 2015
Various locations across Melbourne, Melbourne
Melbourne's favourite summer festival is back to paint the town every colour in the rainbow.
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News
The Ten Best Things To See At Midsumma 2015
Melbourne's favourite summer festival is back to paint the town every colour in the rainbow.
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Event
South Melbourne Night Market 2015
Thu, 15 Jan - Thu, 5 Mar 2015
South Melbourne Market, South Melbourne
South Melbourne Market has a whole lot more to offer than dim sims.
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Event
Royal Croquet Club
Fri, 16 Jan - Sun, 1 Feb 2015
Birrarung Marr, Melbourne
It's time to break out the Pimms.
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News
The Ten Best Things to Come Out of Jamaica
Jerk, James Bond, the world's finest coffee and rum? Thank Jamaica.
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News
Cookie Team to Open New Magic Mountain Saloon
The brains behind The Toff in Town, Cookie and Boney have made a new nest in a 19th century warehouse.
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News
Swan Street Chamber of Commerce is Actually a New Pop-Up Food Precinct
Pop-up record stores, ice cream sandwiches and retro films. Hell-o, Swan Street.
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News
Ten Tasty Ways to Break Your 2015 New Year's Resolution
Rules are made to be broken - especially ones that cut out food.
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News
Summertime Sips: Three Rum Cocktails to Make at Home this Summer
Your pool party punch and post-festival nightcap, sorted.
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Event
So Frenchy So Chic In The Park 2015
Sun, 11 Jan, 2015
Werribee Park, Werribee
Don your best floral-headband-and-sundress-combo and gear up for un merveilleux après-midi.
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Event
Danny Brown
Sun, 4 Jan - Mon, 5 Jan 2015
Corner Hotel, Richmond
Fast, frantic and truly original, Detroit's must-see rapper returns to Melbourne.
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Event
Woodford Folk Festival 2014/15
Sat, 27 Dec 2014 - Thu, 1 Jan 2015
Woodfordia, Woodford
Set up camp, let your hair get knotty, and roam makeshift tarpaulin towns.
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News
The 2014 Boxing Day Movie Smackdown
It's a fierce field of contenders, except for one sadly flabby has-been.
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News
The Enduring Lure of Shakespeare Under the Stars
Why do midsummer nights go so well with the Bard? Shakespeare in the Royal Botanic Gardens director Glenn Elston has a hint.
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Event
Orphans' Christmas 2014
Thu, 25 Dec, 2014
Federation Square, Melbourne
With free food, games and movies at Fed Sqaure, Christmas away from home isn't looking half bad.
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Event
Gasometer Hotel Summer Season 2014
Sat, 20 Dec 2014 - Fri, 27 Feb 2015
The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
Everything else may be winding down for the year, but The Gaso is only just getting started.
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Event
Coburg Drive-In Food Truck Festival
Wed, 7 Jan - Fri, 30 Jan 2015
Coburg Drive-In, Coburg
Ditch the tacky choc tops for some gourmet creme brulee.
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Restaurant
Goje Frozen Yogurt
38 Anderson Street, Yarraville
More than your typical frozen treat, this is small batch frozen yoghurt that might actually be good for you.
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News
Concrete Playground's Summer Reading List
Ten books from this year that no bibliophile should miss.
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Event
Haus Party at Munich Brauhaus
Wed, 31 Dec, 2014
Munich Brauhaus Melbourne, Melbourne
Raise a stein to one bier-fuelled New Year's Eve.
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Guide
The Summer Travel & Leisure Guide
Because the year’s too long and summer’s too short to waste time on the mediocre.
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Guide
The Summer Design & Style Guide
Forget layers; summer and style go hand in hand, and its greatest hits are never disposable.
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Guide
The Summer Food & Drink Guide
You've not a care in the world besides finding that new cabana bar and staying there.
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Event
St Jerome's Laneway Festival 2015
Sat, 7 Feb, 2015
Footscray Community Arts Centre, Footscray
Celebrating ten years of Laneway shenanigans, it's only fitting to invite Mac DeMarco's mum to the party.
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Event
Summersalt
Fri, 23 Jan - Sat, 21 Feb 2015
Various Melbourne venues, Melbourne
Come for the giant inflatable whale, stay for the art.
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Event
Shadow Electric Cinema 2015
Fri, 2 Jan - Thu, 2 Apr 2015
Abbotsford Convent, Abbotsford
The convent's cinema is open for another year. Share a bevvy with Talking Heads, Christopher Nolan and Wes Craven under the stars.
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Event
Mr Claws Lobster Rolls Pop-Up
Thu, 20 Nov 2014 - Sat, 31 Jan 2015
Mr Claws, Collingwood
If you hadn't planned on eating lobster rolls all summer, think again.
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Event
Craft Supermarket 2014
Sat, 6 Dec 2014 - Sat, 31 Jan 2015
Craft have your Christmas shopping sorted with this unique artists' market.
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Event
Rooftop Cinema 2014-15
Sat, 6 Dec 2014 - Sat, 31 Jan 2015
Rooftop Cinema, Melbourne
Curtin House is lighting up once more with big releases, cult flicks and childhood nostalgia atop the city's skyline.
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News
The Five Best Summer Drinks in Melbourne
Quench your thirst with these summer concoctions both spiked and non-alcoholic.
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News
Shadow Electric Outdoor Cinema Announces 2015 Program
Share a bevvy with Talking Heads, Christopher Nolan and Wes Craven in a convent.
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Event
Melbourne Designed Twilight Markets
Mon, 1 Dec - Sun, 21 Dec 2014
QV Melbourne, Melbourne
Because who said gift-giving had to be stressful?
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Event
Southgate Cinema 2014
Tue, 2 Dec 2014 - Tue, 24 Feb 2015
Southgate Cinema, Southbank
The only place you can watch free movies under the stars without the fear of getting rained out.
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Event
Mambo: 30 Years of Shelf-Indulgence
Sat, 6 Dec 2014 - Sun, 22 Feb 2015
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Melbourne
Follow the 30-year trajectory of the people behind the iconic farting dog.
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Event
Moonlight Cinema 2014-15
Thu, 4 Dec - Mon, 29 Dec 2014
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, South Yarra
Get your picnic at the ready; the Botanic Gardens are coming to life again.
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Bar
Rooftop Bar
252 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Rooftop Bar is the centrepiece of Melbourne's alcohol stocked skyline.
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News
A Guide to the Perfect Summer Playlist from the Makers of JukeCase
Road tripping, house partying, beach-bumming. Here's how to soundtrack your summer.
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Event
Coburg Night Market 2014
Fri, 28 Nov - Fri, 19 Dec 2014
Bridges Reserve, Coburg
Not sure what to do with your Friday nights before Christmas? Relax. Coburg's got this.
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Event
Ben and Jerry’s Openair Cinema 2014
Sun, 30 Nov - Sun, 21 Dec 2014
Don't settle for that simple choc-top at your usual movie theatre; step your summer game up a notch by heading to St Kilda Beach for a proper 'Sundae Session'. With great bands, new movies, and free ice cream, what's not to like?
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News
Mr Claws Lobster Rolls Pop Up On Smith Street For Summer
The guys behind Huxtable and Huxtaburger have teamed up for a mouth-watering new venture.
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News
This Classy Trailer Park Has Spiked Milkshakes and Mac & Cheese Burgers
It's finally fashionable to overindulge.
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News
Moonlight Cinema Announce 2014-15 Program
Whip out the picnic rugs and get the wine cooler at the ready.
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News
Say Hello to Summersalt: Melbourne’s New Outdoor Arts Festival
Come for the giant inflatable whale, stay for the art.
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Event
Batman Market
Sat, 25 Oct - Wed, 31 Dec 2014
Batman Market, Coburg
Batman has just solved all your hungover weekend woes.
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Restaurant
Plus Five Smoothie - CLOSED
265 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
They've got the green, the chocolate and every smoothie in between.
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News
The Ten Best First Date Spots in Melbourne
Because no one should have to suffer through a bad Tinder date.
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Event
Falls Festival 2014
Sun, 28 Dec 2014 - Thu, 1 Jan 2015
Lorne, Lorne
Spend NYE with SBTRKT, Jamie XX and alt-J.
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News
The Ten Best Healthy Cafes in Melbourne
Raw Snickers bars, superfood salads and sugar-free pancakes. When did healthy food get so tasty?
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News
The Ten Best American-Inspired Restaurants in Melbourne
Melbourne often goes in waves with its international influences on dining, but there's one that's been around for a while now.
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News
The Ten Best Places to Get Your Cheese Fix in Melbourne
We love cheese. And because we know you do too, we've found the 10 best places to get your cheese fix in Melbourne.
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Restaurant
Cafe BU - CLOSED
585a Canning Street, Carlton North
Sip a coffee above the suburbs atop the perfect Carlton North perch.
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News
The Ten Best Laneway Bars in Melbourne
Melbourne is always bragging about its 'best-kept secrets'. These are what we mean.
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News
Homegrown: The Five Most Sustainable Restaurants in Melbourne
Some venues are going past the first point of call and minimising their environmental impact in big ways.
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News
Ten Standout Craft Beers to Try Before the End of Summer
Meet some local beers doing amazing things with hops, water and yeast.
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News
The Ten Best Beer Gardens in Melbourne
Rooftops be damned, the humble beer garden is the place to be this summer.
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News
Ten Outdoor Accessories to Make Your Next Camping Trip the Ultimate
The best gizmos and accessories for getting back to nature.
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Bar
Naked in the Sky
285 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
The best position on Brunswick Street is in the sky.
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News
The Ultimate Escape in the Daintree and Port Douglas
For the ultimate Aussie getaway, we head far, far north to Port Douglas, the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.
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News
Summer Style Guide for Men
Because swim shorts 24-7 are not socially acceptable unless you live on the beach.
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News
Ten Hotel Oases That Will Cool You Down in Summer
Boutique hotel experts Mr & Mrs Smith have the lowdown on where the trendsetters sleep.
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News
The Ten Best Cafe Courtyards in Melbourne
Because coffee tastes better with the sun on your back.
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News
The Best Bike Shops in Melbourne
Whether you're a fixie rider on training wheels or a regular Cadel, Melbourne has the bike shop for you.
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News
The Five Best Scenic Running Routes in Melbourne
One of the best bits about running is exploring new suburbs and parks like these.
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News
The Ten Best Pizza Joints in Melbourne
We have rounded up ten of our favourite places to grab a slice, with both newcomers and familiar faces featuring on the list.
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Bar
Naked For Satan
285 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
It’s the Pintxos that truly set Naked for Satan apart from the 7,564 other bars in Melbourne's inner hub.
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News
The Five Best Vineyard Getaways in Australia
Pop open a bottle of estate-grown wine at these stylish stays among the Australian vines.