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Next to coffee and basic black, sport is a passion for most Melburnians.
The Victorian capital has several rich competitive traditions, including Australian Rules Football (AFL), cricket, soccer (football), rugby league, tennis, basketball, and motor racing. Even if you’re not attending a match or event, there are plenty of themed activities on offer across the city that will connect you with its sporting heritage.
Here’s a checklist of our top ten things to do in Melbourne for sports lovers.
Watch our video of ten top things to do in Melbourne:
Top 10 Things to Do in MELBOURNE, Australia in 2025 (Cheap to Chic!) | Ultimate Travel Guide
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1. Go behind the scenes at the MCG
Likened to a giant cauldron and able to accommodate in excess of 100,000 people, the venerable Melbourne Cricket Ground (referred to locally as the ‘MCG’, or simply as ‘the G’) is arguably Australia’s most famous sports venue. Whether you’re lucky enough to have tickets to an AFL match or you just want to bask in the ambience of the ground, the MCG is easily accessible from the city by tram or train from Flinders Street station. Book a guided tour and go where the public doesn’t normally tread, including the player change rooms, Media Centre, Melbourne Cricket Club Library, and epic MCC Long Room.
2. Explore Docklands Stadium
Docklands Stadium once sat outside the western end of the CBD, but over the past three decades it’s been slowly subsumed by the rise of the surrounding commercial and residential precinct. While Docklands Stadium isn’t held as tightly to the breast of Melburnians as the MCG, it is a key cog in the city’s sporting machine. AFL matches are played here and there are three venue tours offered daily. See the players’ change rooms, the coaches’ briefing room and box, the umpires’ tunnel, and much more. Bookings are essential.
3. Be fascinated by Flemington
Further west, you’ll find Flemington Racecourse — a mecca for horse racing fans, and best known as the venue for the annual ‘race that stops a nation’ — the Melbourne Cup. The Cup takes place during the Spring Racing Carnival, which sees the city’s fascination with fascinators go into overdrive and the track’s 16,000 rose bushes come into bloom. It’s possible to visit Flemington at any time of the year to admire the grounds.
4. Visit the legends of the track
Once they’ve had their time in the sun, many of the four-legged champions of Australian horse racing retire to Living Legends at Woodlands Historic Park — 30-or-so minutes’ drive from the Melbourne CBD. Tours of the sprawling property with a trainer are offered twice daily and you’ll get to hear fascinating insights about the careers and personalities of these magnificent animals. The horses love the attention and it’s clearly a labour of love for the staff. The homestead houses a small museum and serves up a delightful Devonshire tea.
5. Soak up the history of the City Baths
Elite level swim meets are hosted at the state-of-the-art Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Albert Park, but it all began at the City Baths on Swanston Street. Prior to the initial construction of these public facilities in 1860, Melburnians bathed in, and even drank, water from the increasingly murky Yarra River — the cause of a nasty outbreak of typhoid. The opulent Edwardian Baroque building you see today replaced the original in 1904 and featured segregated swimming pools for the sexes, a washhouse, bathrooms and a gymnasium. Much of the original period detail is still visible today.
6. See the chequered flag drop
This city certainly has a need for speed. The Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix is held each year on the Albert Park street circuit, and you don’t have to be a rev head to appreciate the thrill of burning rubber at Calder Park Raceway (although it helps). Keen to put the pedal to the metal yourself? Book a round of go karting in Melbourne! With high-speed karts, advanced timing systems, and challenging bends on offer, this is a great way to test your own skills on the track.
7. Visit Bells and catch a wave
Beautiful Bells Beach is situated just outside the town of Torquay at the eastern end of Victoria’s famous Great Ocean Road. From there it’s a two-hour drive to the famous 12 Apostles sea stacks, these days, a few players short of a full team, but a must-see nonetheless. Bells hosts the annual Rip Curl Pro — a key event on the World Surf League World Tour — and if you’ve ever wanted to have a go at getting upright on a board yourself, this is certainly the place to do it. Chat to the team at the Torquay Surf Academy, which conducts classes on various beaches in the area. If you prefer to stay dry but still get into the gnarly vibe, browse in Torquay’s many surfwear outlets and drop by the Australian National Surfing Museum.
8. Get interactive at the Australian Sports Museum
In your rush to soak up the fun and atmosphere of a real-life sporting event at one of the city’s sporting venues, don’t miss the opportunity to also delve into the history of sport in Australia. The excellent Australian Sports Museum (formerly known as the National Sports Museum) is located at the MCG and features interactive exhibits and a trove of memorabilia.
9. Watch a wide world of sports
It’s always game-o-clock somewhere in the world, and sports fanatics can feed their passion day and night at Melbourne’s growing cohort of sports bars. The American-style Sporting Globe has several locations across the burbs (the closest to the city is Richmond) and boasts at least 30 HD screens per venue. And as you would expect, Crown Melbourne doesn’t do things by halves at their zinger-of-a-titled Sports Bar. If all else fails, just pick a pub; any pub. Chances are they’ll be screening sport somewhere in the venue.
10. Do the Melbourne Sports Lovers Tour
Tie all the threads together by booking a spot on the popular Melbourne Sports Lovers Tour, which takes in many of these sporting must-sees. Visit Flemington, drive around the public roads that make up the Formula One track, go behind the scenes at the G, and check out the Australian Sports Museum. Lunch is included in the tour price, along with commentary from a sports-mad local guide.
This post was published thanks to Ace Karts.
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Cover image: Visit Victoria. Additional images: Bigstock
About the writer
Adam Ford is editor of Top Oz Tours & Travel Ideas, and a travel TV presenter, writer, blogger, and photographer. He has travelled extensively through Europe, Asia, North America, Africa, and the Middle East. Adam worked as a travel consultant for a number of years with Flight Centre before taking up the opportunity to travel the world himself as host of the TV series Tour the World on Network Ten. He loves to experience everything a new destination has to offer and is equally at home in a five-star Palazzo in Pisa or a home-stay in Hanoi.
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