Melbourne Shopping

Mixing high-end haute couture and bargain-basement specials, Chapel Street is shopping nirvana. Alongside Australian and international designer stores you’ll find chic smaller boutiques with eclectic original pieces. Whether you choose a funky piece of jewelry from Dinosaur Designs or an original by Australian designer Collette Dinnigan, your credit card is bound to get a workout.

Since reopening in 2004, GPO has quickly become a serious shopping destination for Melbournians. Interspersed between high-end Australian and international designer boutiques such as Wayne Cooper, Akira, and Zimmerman you’ll find a few Melbourne-based brands in this gorgeously grand and historic building.

The largest open-air market in the southern hemisphere, the Queen Victoria Market offers a huge range of souvenirs and great-priced clothing. While there are bargains-a-plenty, don’t miss the fabulous produce section with hundreds of vendors selling everything edible; closed Mondays and Wednesdays.

From the city’s two flashy flagship department stores, David Jones and Myer, to the old world Royal Arcade with its delightful mix of small shops, Bourke Street Mall has universal shopping appeal. Throughout the day this long strip buzzes with tourists, shoppers, street performers, and city workers.

Once the domain of Melbourne’s clothing factories, Flinders Lane is now a hip shopping district. The stretch between Swanston and Elizabeth streets is lined with boutiques from fresh, young Melbourne designers like Christine and Alice Euphemia. It’s also home to several New Zealand designers.

A great way to discover the city’s best kept shopping secrets is on a Hidden Secrets tour. Taking in over 50 of Melbourne’s most unique boutiques, and covering everything from men’s and women’s fashion and accessories to chocolate, confectionary, and wine, you’ll see the shops locals love.