The Royal Botanic Gardens (www.rbg.vic.gov.au), Kings Domain, are open daily, sunrise to sunset. Melbourne’s varying climate is ideal for a botanic garden, and this is the best in Australia. It has a huge range of temperate and subtropical flora, as well as a surprising variety of fauna – including all kinds of ducks on the lakes, the odd possum and even a colony of rare fruit-bats which moves in for the summer.

From here you can take a pleasant walk north-west through the park to the banks of the Yarra River, crossing Princes Bridge to Flinders Street Station, where you can have a drink at the famous Young and Jacksons Hotel.