Five Summer-Themed Melbourne Activities You Can Enjoy All Year Round

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We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems long Sunday afternoons in the beer garden in your short-shorts might be done for the foreseeable future. But as we wave goodbye to summer, we're also ushering in chilly evenings — you know, the ones that let you snuggle up in a pub next to a fireplace, warming your outsides with pants and your insides with beer.

But there are still ways you can pretend that it's not getting dark before 6pm and your fingers don't keep going numb. All you need is good friends, good food, good beer and something fun to do. To help you keep the summer dream alive, we've teamed up with Coopers' latest Session Ale —  a refreshing new beer with distinct tropical fruit aromas and a crisp bitterness — to pull together five activities to keep summer kicking for you. It isn't over yet, Melbourne — keep the dream alive.

SWIM SOME LAPS

Just because swimming is a refreshing activity to do outdoors in summer, doesn't mean the tables don't turn in winter. There are quite a few heated pools around town, and the colder weather means you'll have less lane traffic to contend with. In Glen Iris, the Harold Holt Swim Centre's 50-metre outdoor pool is heated and will allow you to either go for a splash or do your laps in cosy comfort — plus it's open till 9pm Monday to Thursday. Or, if you're looking for somewhere close to your office, try Melbourne City Baths for some chlorinated charm in the form of the 30-metre heated indoor pool.

SPEND THE EVENING AT A NIGHT MARKET

Markets aren't just the territory of warm summer evenings and sitting in the sunset with a beverage. You can certainly be assured that the Queen Victoria Winter Night Market has you set and ready to go this cold season. The whole set-up is sheltered, so even if it's raining, you can weave through 30 food stalls hawking everything from pasta to paella to ice cream (if you're game). Wandering around being tempted by smells and tastes and listening to the live music will warm the cockles of your heart — even if you're holding an ice-cold Coopers.

COP IT AND GO FOR ICE CREAM

Come on, you'll be fine. You'll find a queue outside Pidapipo come rain or shine, hail or sleet — and probably snow too. The gelato makers here obviously know what they're doing, so don scarves and gloves (pro tip: mittens make it hard to hold a cone) and join the line snaking outside the gelaterias in Carlton or Windsor, or the just-opened CBD store. Lining up solely for the hot Nutella tap is fine, too — we've all been there.

Image: Arbory Bar via Facebook.

PARK YOURSELF NEXT TO THE RIVER

Ah, the Yarra. Icon of the city, banks of your summer….and potential atmospheric winter date spot too. Chase the summer (feelings of which are immediately exacerbated when you're looking over a body of water, even one that is mostly unswimmable) by heading to Arbory. Looking over the Yarra and down towards Southbank, it may be outdoors but there are enough heaters and warming food to forget about any chilly toes.

TRY A PUB WITH A FIREPLACE

What better place to drink down your Session Ales than someplace that'll give you warm, toasty vibes by way of a fireplace? The Grace Darling on Smith Street capitalises firmly on this, warming patrons right up and making them forget about any nasty weather business happening outside. Add to your cosiness with the Sunday roast or the Monday curry. Eat in the plant-filled atrium — there's enough tropical looking greenery in there to make you feel like you're not too far away from that sweltering beer garden on a summer's day.

Grab a Coopers Session Ale and make the most of summer, all year round.