Nature & wildlife

Discover Melbourne's abundant parks and leafy gardens. Take a break from the hectic pace of the city and enjoy floral displays, manicured lawns, ancient elms, cooling fountains and heritage architecture.

Inner-city tranquility

Stroll fine avenues of European trees lining the park and its edges in the Treasury Gardens adjacent to Old Treasury House. Visit the Scarred Tree in Fitzroy Gardens, the bark of which was used by the Wurundjeri people to create canoes and other items. Get a glimpse of Victoria's colonial history at Cook's Cottage, which was transported from the Yorkshire village where Captain James Cook was born.

Walk along the banks of the Yarra and check out the Indigenous rock carvings in the riverside park Birrarung Marr – 'birrarung' meaning 'river of mists' and 'marr' meaning 'side'.

Take a break from a day of shopping at the Queen Victoria Market and wind down on the lawns of Flagstaff Gardens established on the highest point of land in the city. The gardens hosted a signalling station that flagged the arrival of ships in the bay. Also known to early settlers as Burial Hill, the gardens were a pioneer burial site until the establishment of the Melbourne Cemetery in 1853.

Gardens south of the river

Make the most of a visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens, home to more than 12,000 different species of plants and a sanctuary for native wildlife. Discover the beauty and diversity of the historic gardens at your own pace. Explore the Australian Rainforest Walk, picnic with friends by the Ornamental Lake, or spend the day in the National Herbarium and Old Melbourne Observatory.

Home to Victoria's Shrine of Remembrance, Kings Domain has lush parkland and sweeping lawns. Catch an evening show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, an expansive outdoor amphitheatre.

Join locals and visitors alike, wandering through impeccably maintained beds of annuals and roses at the Queen Victoria Gardens, or visit the giant floral clock on St Kilda Road, made up of some 7,000 flowers.

See the city from a different angle from Alexandra Gardens, relax on the extensive lawns and watch the ferries chug by.