Hire Car Melbourne Tips, Experiences & Comparison

Discover Melbourne by Hire Car

Melbourne is the second largest city in all of Australia after Sydney, with a population of 3.4 million people spread over some 1700 square kilometres.

At the same time, it is also the capital of the state of Victoria, which lies deep in the south, and the southernmost metropolis of one million people in the world.

Europeans first settled on the site of what is now Melbourne around 1803.

Sights in Melbourne

But unlike many other Australian cities, the city was never a penal colony; it was laid out directly as a residential area with large parks and wide streets, which is still clearly reflected in Melbourne’s cityscape today.

Imposingly, the Yarra River meanders through Melbourne, which got its name in 1851 in reference to the British prime minister at the time. To the right and left of it, modern Melbourne presents itself with its numerous skyscrapers of various banks and other business enterprises.

Here is also the 281-meter-high Eureka Tower, which is one of the tallest buildings in the world since its completion in 2006. The 88th floor observation deck offers spectacular views of Melbourne and the adjacent Port Phillip.

The oldest structure in Melbourne is the birthplace of James Cook. Once built in 1755, the house originally stood in the English county of Yorkshire, where the famous explorer of the Australian continent was born. In 1933, however, it was demolished stone by stone and faithfully rebuilt in Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne.

Museum in Melbourne

A hire car is also an ideal way to get to the Melbourne Museum, which includes the Victorian-style Royal Exhibition Building, built in 1880. The museum complex is one of the largest in the entire southern hemisphere and the Exhibition Building is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.