35 New Reasons to Visit Melbourne and Victoria

A hotel boom, a retail renaissance, a blockbuster program of arts and theatre, great Aussie road-trips and World Cup Cricket at the 'G' – Melbourne continues its quiet evolution as one of the world's must-do destinations.

Here are 35 of the hottest reasons to tick Melbourne and regional Victoria off the bucket list.

Arts and culture

1. Dreamworks Animation: The Exhibition is now open at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image at Federation Square until October 5, 2014
2. From 16 May 2014 until 31 August 2014 the Italian Masterpieces: from Spain's Royal Court Museo del Prado will be giving a Melbourne exclusive.
3. At the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum First Peoples tells the story of Aboriginal Victoria.
4. The award-winning Melbourne Museum has is also showing Aztecs until August 10, a fascinating exhibition that takes visitors back more than two thousand years to one of the greatest empires of modern history.
5. The National Gallery of Victoria will be the only Asia-Pacific venue for The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk from 17 October 2014 to 8 February 2015.

Retail renaissance

1. Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana both opened flagship stores in Collins Street in 2013
2. Shoppers are flocking to the newly opened Emporium Melbourne which features never before seen in Australia brands such as Uniqlo and Muji as well as a whole floor dedicated to Australian designers.
3. H&M has chosen Melbourne for its first Australian store taking over Melbourne's iconic GPO building in Bourke Street.
4. Makers Melbourne is woven into the fabric of the city – experience it at Melbourne Design Market at Federation Square and Big Design Market at the Royal Exhibition Buildings.
5. When the weather warms up so do Melbourne's many night markets.The People's Market in Collingwood, Suzuki Night Market at Queen Victoria Market and Style After Dark at South Melbourne Market
6. Melbourne is one of the world's leading cities for social enterprise movements. Buy a beer at Shebeen Bar and your money will go directly to development projects in that country, grab a coffee at Streat Melbourne and you will be helping young people get off the streets.

Rock around to the Docklands

1. The Australia Day Fireworks have found a new home at Melbourne's Docklands precinct for 2014.
2. The quirky Sebel Melbourne Docklands opened in 2013 and two other hotels announced construction timelines, M Docklands by Peppers and Altus by Pan Pacific
3. Melbourne's newest attraction, the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel located in Docklands, takes visitors on a 30-minute ride offering extraordinary bird's-eye views of the city and surrounds

Road Trip Victoria

1. Marysville, just an hour out of Melbourne, has been completely rebuilt after being devastated in the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009. Walk, hike or take a drive to appreciate the majestic mountain ash trees, rainforest and waterfalls.
2. Self-drive touring routes are more popular than ever including Great Southern Touring Route, South East Touring Triangle and Sydney to Melbourne Touring

New hotels

1. Sheraton Melbourne Hotel has opened its door adding another five star hotel to the city's accommodation portfolio.
2. Tune Hotel Melbourne and Ovolo are new international additions to Melbourne and renovations include the iconic Adelphi Hotel as well as Pullman Albert Park
3. Providing yet another reason to visit the happening city of Bendigo - the Schaller Studios – has become the first regional Art Series Hotel in Victoria.

Attractions and neighbourhoods

1. Sea Life Melbourne the all-new attraction features a multi-million dollar, state-of-art Croc Lair exhibit, which houses a spectacular five-metre, 750kg Saltwater crocodile, named Pinjarra
2. Classes, workshops, discussions and lectures are emerging in locations such as cafés, clothing stores, pubs and museums and Allan de Botton's School of Life has found a permanent new home in Melbourne offering 1000 ideas for everyday life.
3. Northcote, Windsor, Collingwood, South Yarra, Footsgray visitors to Melbourne are increasingly venturing outside of the city to discover vibrant music scenes, vintage and boutique shopping and growing number of top bars and eateries.

Destination dining

1. Heston Blumenthal will temporarily relocate his three Michelin starred restaurant The Fat Duck to Crown Melbourne Resort for a six month period from February 2015. Following the six month period, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will take The Fat Duck's place within the Crown complex. This will be the only restaurant the chef has in his portfolio outside of the UK.
2. Dan Hunter has opened his highly anticipated first solo project. Brae. Described as a place to “interact with nature and eat from the land.”
3. Coming soon, Burnham Beeches is the highly anticipated new project from Vue de monde's Shannon Bennett in the stunning Dangenong Ranges it will include a truffle farm, bakery, brewery and accommodation
4. Other new destination restaurants on the must-do list include Jack Rabbit Winery and neighbouring Terindah Shed in the Bellarine Peninsula, Broadgauge in the Murray River region, Gladioli in Inverleigh and Tani Eat & Drink in the High Country town of Bright.
5. Grape Grazing Festival returns to the gourmet Yarra Valley region in 2014 from 14 – 16 February
6. In the Mornington Peninsula, visitors have some new help organising their gourmet itineraries in the form of the new Wine Food Farmgate website and trail kit with map highlighting the many delicious experiences available.

Melbourne crowned sporting capital of the world…

1. Melbourne has been named winner of the 2014 SportsBusiness Ultimate Sports City, large city category, for the second time
2. The city is also recognised as the world leader in Sports Venues and in Event Strategy, at an Awards announcement at the SportAccord Convention in Turkey.
3. Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will host yet another monumental sporting occasion as the English cricket team take on Australia at the Boxing Day Test (26-30 December) as part of the 2013-14 Ashes test series
4. Then in March 2015, the MCG will also host five games including the final of the International Cricket World Cup.
5. AFC Asian Football World Cup comes to Melbourne also in January 2015

Nature experiences giving back in Victoria

1. New group holiday experiences from Naturewise Eco Escapes allows participants to not only experience some of Victoria's most amazing locations but to also make a personal contribution to the conservation of the state's natural assets.
2. There are also four-day experiences in the Grampians, the Glenelg region and Little Desert National Park which offer amazing walks amongst spectacular scenery, rich cultural assets, and hands-on conservation work.