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DESCRIPTION

Melbourne is the more common name for the geographic region and statistical division of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area. It is the second most populous city in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.9 million (2008 estimate) and serves as the state capital of Victoria. Melbourne is located on the lower reaches of the Yarra River and on the northern and eastern shorelines of Port Phillip and their hinterland.

A tiny pastoral town established by settlers from Van Diemen's Land around the estuary of the Yarra (47 years after the first European settlement of Australia) was rapidly transformed into a wealthy metropolis by the Victorian gold rush and immigration. By 1865, Melbourne had become Australia's largest and most important city, and by the 1880s "Marvellous Melbourne" was one of the largest and richest cities in the world.

Many major international and national conferences and events have been held in Melbourne, including the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1981 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting the World Economic Forum in 2000, 2006 Commonwealth Games and the G20 summit.

Melbourne is a major centre of commerce, education, tourism, the arts and cultural activities, and also industry. It is consistently ranked as one the World's Most Livable Cities.In 2008 and 2009, it was ranked 2nd in The Economist's World's Most Livable Cities list and 18th in Mercer's Quality of Living Survey respectively.The city is recognised as Australia's 'sporting and cultural capital' and it is home to many of the nation's most significant cultural and sporting events and institutions. It has been recognised as a gamma world city by the Loughborough University group's 1999 inventory.Melbourne is notable for its mix of Victorian and contemporary architecture, its extensive tram network and Victorian parks and gardens, as well as its diverse, multicultural society.

Geography

Melbourne is located in the south-eastern part of mainland Australia, within the state of Victoria.Geologically, it is built on the confluence of Quaternary lava flows to the west, Silurian mudstones to the east,and Holocene sand accumulation to the southeast along Port Phillip. The southeastern suburbs are situated on the Selwyn fault which transects Mount Martha and Cranbourne.

Melbourne extends along the Yarra through the Yarra Valley toward the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Ranges to the east. It extends northward through the undulating bushland valleys of the Yarra's tributaries - Moonee Ponds Creek (toward Tullamarine Airport), Merri Creek, Darebin Creek and Plenty River to the outer suburban growth corridors of Craigieburn and Whittlesea. The city sprawls south-east through Dandenong to the growth corridor of Pakenham towards West Gippsland, and southward through the Dandenong Creek valley, the Mornington Peninsula and the city of Frankston taking in the peaks of Olivers Hill, Mount Martha and Arthurs Seat, extending along the shores of Port Phillip as a single conurbation to reach the exclusive suburb of Portsea and Point Nepean. In the west, it extends along the Maribyrnong River and its tributaries north towards Sunbury and the foothills of the Macedon Ranges, and along the flat volcanic plain country towards Melton in the west, Werribee at the foothills of the You Yangs volcanic peaks and Geelong as part of the greater metropolitan area to the south-west.

Melbourne's major bayside beaches are located in the south-eastern suburbs along the shores of Port Phillip Bay, in areas like Port Melbourne, Albert Park, St Kilda, Elwood, Brighton, Sandringham, Mentone and Frankston although there are beaches in the western suburbs of Altona and Williamstown. The nearest surf beaches are located 85 kilometres (53 mi) south-east of the Melbourne CBD in the back-beaches of Rye, Sorrento and Portsea.

Climate

Melbourne has a moderate oceanic climate (Koppen climate classification Cfb).and is well known for its changeable weather conditions. This is due in part to the city's flat topography, its situation on Port Phillip, and the presence of the Dandenong Ranges to the east, a combination that creates weather systems that often circle the bay.[54] The phrase "four seasons in one day" is part of popular culture and observed by many visitors to the city.

Culture

Melbourne is widely regarded as the cultural and sport capital of Australia.It has thrice shared top position in a survey by The Economist of the World's Most Livable Cities on the basis of its cultural attributes, climate, cost of living, and social conditions such as crime rates and health care, in 2002, 2004 and 2005.In recent years rising property prices have led to Melbourne being named the 36th least affordable city in the world and the second least affordable in Australia.

The city celebrates a wide variety of annual cultural events, performing arts and architecture. Melbourne is also considered to be Australia's live music capital with a large proportion of successful Australian artists emerging from the Melbourne live music scene. Street Art in Melbourne is becoming increasingly popular with the Lonely Planet guides listing it as a major attraction. The city is also admired as one of the great cities of the Victorian Age (1837-1901) and a vigorous city life intersects with an impressive range of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century buildings.

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Melbourne vacations packages | European Plan Melbourne vacations European Plan Melbourne vacations packages