A true Melbourne institution for as long as anyone can remember, the Espy has free live bands almost nightly and on Sunday afternoon. It's also a great place to sit back with a beer and watch the sun set over the pier, or have a meal upstairs at the revamped Espy Kitchen with its views across the bay. Make the pilgrimage at least once.

Located in a laneway off a laneway, the lab-themed Croft is a test of drinkers' determination. Prescribe yourself a beaker of house-distilled vodka in the downstairs laboratory and venture up the rickety stairs to inspect the Departments of Male and Female Hygiene (aka the toilets, complete with hospital beds).

The Gin Palace is the transmutation of a side-alley basement into a sophisticated, dimly lit and beautifully furnished New York-meets-Mittel Europa cocktail bar. One killer martini and you're away and prepared to make this palace your home; brocade, velvet, leopard print and all.

It's best on weeknights, when a conversation can be conducted without resorting to sign language.

Revolver is a popular venue with Prahran's young, arty crowd. With art- and stencil-covered surfaces, and a packed line-up featuring DJs, bands, film nights and spoken word, there's a lot to like here. The cavernous space includes a lounge area and an inexpensive Thai restaurant.

Hidden down a narrow lane off Little Lonsdale St (between Exhibition and Russell Sts), this quintessential dim jazz venue is well worth searching out. It's the jazz joint in Melbourne and most big acts who come to town perform here (even Prince played a secret gig when last in town). Another bonus? It's non-smoking.

Readings will trap you. You'll breeze in for something quick and end up spending hours browsing the stacks, mooching among the magazines, listening to CDs and combing the bargain table for that gasp-out-loud buy. The staff are both knowledgeable and mellow, and the shop is open late - great for that almost-forgotten birthday.

Wunderkammer is devoted to all manner of curiosities, mostly with a medical or scientific bent. Wandering the shop is like being let inside a German expressionist film or a madman's laboratory. Body parts in formaldehyde share shelves with fossils, vintage microscopes and surgical tools, dried scorpions, old prints and one very strange stuffed collie.

Saved from demolition in the 70s, Vic Market has been on this site for more than 130 years and is the mother of all Melbourne markets. A lively mix of Melburnians and visitors flock here to shop for a wide variety of produce and goods: fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, seafood, poultry, deli and baked goods, clothing and general wares.

Many of the sheds and buildings are registered by the National Trust.

The Adelphi was partly responsible for Melbourne's reputation for cutting-edge design from 1990s on, and it's obvious that no expense was spared, as the diagonal lines, sharp edges and citrus-hued colour bursts have held up extremely well. This is easily one of Melbourne's landmark hotels.

The narrow Flinders Lane property stands firm in a sea of inviting specialist shops, eateries and art galleries, with a small reception area staffed by the adept and discreet. Rooms exude an open-plan quality, despite the spatial limitations, with the minimalist ethos excluding all clutter from view. Speaking of views - don't expect one, unless you're swimming in the fabulous cantilevered rooftop pool (heated), the end of which juts out over the street below. Bulgari toiletries are standard, although you'll need a Deluxe or Executive room to enjoy a soak in a tub. Our only qualm at this point is the uncertain future of the fabulous rooftop bar (with breathtaking skyline views).

The Tolarno's management has an intriguing concept that drives their business: they aim to remind people that St Kilda is more than Hedonist Central - it's a suburb with a dynamic past. It's got a good location in Fitzroy St, the pumping heart of bayside St Kilda.

The building used to house the Tolarno Gallery, run by local Bohemian legend Mirka Mora. Today the walls are still festooned with paintings from local artists (the hotel owners donate an annual art prize to Melbourne universities) and old-time St Kilda photographs add charm. The retro rooms are brightly coloured, with interesting prints on the walls, and there's a mishmash of styles in the stairwells, hallways and lobby: gothic, Italianate, stained glass, modern Australian. It kind of all works, too.

A backpacker's bonanza, Hotel Bakpak is a sprawling place offering just about everything you could ask for, from the basement bar and small cinema to a rooftop entertainment area with stellar city views. There's also a resource centre, which assists in finding short- or long-term work.

The impressive Melbourne Visitor Centre is on the corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets, in a glass 'shard' within the bounds of the Federation Square complex. It has maps, events information, public transport information, ticket sales, internet and email facilities, an accommodation and tour booking service and souvenirs on sale.

This helpful organisation has a lounge, café, wheelchair-accessible toilets, showers and a telephone. It has a Disability Access Centre offering meals, toilet and communication assistance, minor wheelchair repairs, accommodation assistance, and computer and internet facilities.

The ALSO Foundation is Victoria's premier gay and lesbian community-based organisation. The web site, where ALSO defines itself as a 'sexuality awareness resource', contains a handy services directory.

The RACV provides an emergency breakdown service, literature and maps. The staff can advise you on road rules and regulations. If you're a member of the AAA in the USA, or the RAC or AA in the UK, you can use any of the RACV's facilities, but bring proof of membership.

The mottled, skew-whiff building that houses the National Gallery of Victoria's Australian holdings was a choking bone of contention while under construction, but these days everyone seems to have fallen for its sleek, user-friendly displays. The collection is marvellous, ranging from Streeton to Nolan to Whiteley; there is an entire floor of indigenous art.

The fine collection of well-known Australian painters includes the work of the modernists Sir Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Fred Williams, Albert Tucker and John Perceval, and Australian impressionists including the Heidelberg school's Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin, Charles Condor and Arthur Streeton.

The ground floor of the gallery features the popular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collection, and temporary exhibitions (you often need to pay for these) can be found on other floors throughout the year.

Melbourne's zoo is the third-oldest in the world, and today sets standards with its new-age enclosures and education programs. Nearly all of the animals live in habitats that mirror their natural environment: rainforests for the gorillas, wetlands for the wading birds, native grasslands for the wallabies. Don't miss the butterfly house.

The famous laughing face of Luna Park has been a symbol of St Kilda since 1912. This amusement park has some great attractions, including the heritage-listed roller coaster (the only one of its kind operating in the world) and a beautifully crafted carousel. There are also dodgem cars, a ferris wheel, a ghost train and a pirate ship.

Housed in an airy, clinical confection of steel and glass, the Melbourne Museum is big on multimedia displays and flashy interaction, which can sometimes get irritating. On the other hand, they do have the stuffed body of Australia's most famous racehorse, a whale skeleton and an indoor rainforest complete with frogs.

In the middle of Carlton Gardens is the Melbourne Museum, an architecturally imposing structure resembling an international air terminal with its open-plan design and modern approach to the use of space.

The emphasis is on education and interaction, and the main attractions include Bunjilaka, the Aboriginal Centre; a living forest gallery; and the Australia gallery, with exhibits dedicated to that great Aussie icon Phar Lap (the legendary racehorse), and another dedicated to the TV show Neighbours (filmed in Melbourne).

The Children's Museum is a great way to keep the kids entertained while here, although we can't help but notice that the video of a woman giving birth (part of the Mind & Body gallery) seems to be the best way to get them to keep quiet. Disabled access is very good. Beside the museum is Melbourne's IMAX theatre, which screens super-wide format films.

The Rialto was once the highest building in the southern hemisphere. Its popular observation deck affords a spectacular 360° view of Melbourne's surrounds. It's a great way to get your bearings and enjoy a high-flying bird's-eye view, via free binoculars, of new developments such as Docklands.

Enlivened by the chink of bell birds, the shrieks of cockatoos and the conversations of a lake-full of water birds ranging from swans to mallee fowl, the Botanical Gardens also boasts a 19th century observatory, a fern gully, a bamboo forest, a silver garden, and more shady lakeside lawns than you can shake a picnic rug at.

Certainly the finest botanic gardens in Australia and arguably among the finest in the world, the Royal Botanic Gardens are a majestic must-see. With a prime location beside the Yarra River (indeed, the river once actually ran right through the gardens), the beautifully laid-out gardens feature plants from around the world, lakes and a surprising amount of wildlife, including water fowl, ducks, swans, cockatoos, rabbits and possums.

Peer over one of the small bridges that are scattered about the gardens and you'll probably see some eels, which have lived here since the ornamental lake was a bend of the Yarra.

The National Gallery of Victoria's international collection has re-opened after a long renovation, and is being hailed as one of the best galleries in the world. A rather bleak foyer opens onto the Great Hall, where a stained-glass roof makes everyone lie down for a better look. The highlight of a superb collection is Tiepolo's The Banquet of Cleopatra.

A 21st-century civic hub, this vast, architecturally confronting sandstone, glass and steel box of tricks arouses a love-it-or-hate-it reaction from Melburnians and visitors alike. Stocked with a plethora of cafes, restaurants and retail outlets, Federation Square flexes more than a little cultural muscle.

Nab a table here (or line up at the bar) to nibble as many tapas as your heart desires - the callos a la madrileña (tripe) will make you swear you're in Madrid. Smart decor, smooth service and a fine opportunity for a little people watching - Spanish style.

Small and extremely popular, this 'village-style' Japanese cafe is worth a special trip to find. The food is outstanding and quite different from the standard fare in most other Japanese restaurants, plus the lantern-bedecked tree outside is a sight to behold. Grab a friend and share a sushi and sashimi platter. Reservations are advised on weekends.

In the same building as the St Kilda Sea Baths, Soulmama isn't afraid to mix things up - the food is presented cafeteria style (you line up and pick what you like for your tray), the service is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and you can spend a large part of your time horizontal on a saffron-hued day bed.

The sea views are the sort of extra that you would pay an arm and a leg for (but don't). Plus it's vegetarian.

Behold the mother lode - or should that be mama lode? A stalwart of Italian culinary obsessions, Brunetti is a large haven for those who want excellent coffee, exquisite dolci and mouthwatering Roman-influenced dishes. Despite recent renovations and extensions, this place still gets absolutely packed - enjoy. After all, when in Rome, or Carlton...

The opulence of Grossi Florentino distinguishes itself in every detail, from silverware to little footstools for the ladies' handbags. Head chef, Guy Grossi, is something of a Melbourne celebrity. The Cellar Bar next door is fashionably brooding, intimate and affordable: a great place to have a special bowl of pasta and a glass of pinot grigio.