So much more than just Australia’s second-biggest city, Melbourne has a rich history, an enviable way of life and is extremely popular with big businesses. All this, and the great range of serviced apartments in Melbourne on offer, make the city a hotspot for expats and tourists alike.
Based along Australia’s south coast, Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria and is the country’s second-most populous city. Moreover, the approximate 4.5 million Melbourne population welcome around 2.5 million international visitors, including both corporates and tourists, every year. A slightly less well-known fact is that Melbourne was the de facto capital of Australia from 1901 until Canberra took the role in 1927.
The state capital is also particularly well-known as a sporting city. It is home to a historic cricket ground, plays host to Australia’s Formula One Grand Prix – often the first race of the season – and was also the birthplace of Australian Rules Football.
Melbourne has four airports, with the helpfully-named Melbourne Airport on the north-western outskirts in Tullamarine being the main international airport. Those coming to stay in short term accommodation in Melbourne from within Australia, however, may well come by train into Flinders Street Station, which was once the busiest passenger station in the world. Melbourne’s tram network is amongst the largest in the world too and provides a great way to get around the city. However, that being said, the car is probably still the most popular way to get around, particularly in suburban Melbourne. Two of the main freeways are Tullamarine Freeway, which links to the airport, and Hume Freeway heading out towards Sydney.
Through sectors such as finance, health and construction, Melbourne’s ‘powerhouse’ economy accounts for around 40% of Australia’s total economic growth. It also contributes to a state economy bigger than the national economies of Singapore and New Zealand.
If you visit Melbourne on business and plan on staying in serviced accommodation there, it could be that you are in the biotech or IT industries, as Melbourne is big within Australia in these two areas. A lot of this success has come out of the welcoming of foreign investment, with major companies in these sectors such as Square and Nutribiotech choosing to base their headquarters in Melbourne.
Many of Australia’s homegrown multinationals choose to have their headquarters in Melbourne too. Those from the city benefit from a significant investment into Melbourne’s higher education system, which helps produce talented businesspeople out of the likes of the University of Melbourne and Monash University.
The climate for a corporate lifestyle in Melbourne is welcoming too. Despite 90% of the national population living in urban areas, (the second-highest level globally), Melbourne has still for the last decade been ranked amongst the safest cities worldwide. This was according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, who also ranked Melbourne highly for business infrastructure and second in the world for global liveability.
There almost seems to be two timelines which sum up Melbourne history. What splits them is the European exploration of Australia, which took place in the late eighteenth century, thousands of years after the area itself was first inhabited by indigenous people. For around 40,000 years they occupied the area and the land around it, but today only 18,000 aboriginal people still reside in the city, making up just 0.4% of the Melbourne population.
European explorers then discovered Australia in the 1770s before the British settled up at Sydney. The British then announced Australian territory as theirs. After decades of territorial shake-ups and fights for independence, Melbourne began to attain its own identity. Linked with world-acclaimed amounts of gold and blessed with infrastructural beauty and elegance, the city claimed the nickname ‘Marvelous Melbourne’. It even became the capital at the start of the 1900s, albeit temporarily.
It has since been a jostle between Sydney and Melbourne for the title of Australia’s ‘best city’ following the country’s independence in 1986. Both have hosted major sporting, musical and national events throughout the twentieth century and continued to develop.
Undoubtedly the best place to see exactly how far the city has come throughout history is the Melbourne Museum. Even those travellers staying in Melbourne short stay apartments should find time to explore the museum, offering easy access to plentiful information about the huge rise of a formerly colonised major city.
Wondering what to do in Melbourne? Well soon after checking into Melbourne city apartments, guests soon discover that just a short walk away the city centr is a bit of a shopper’s paradise. Make a rough triangle between Federation Square, Collins Street and Bourke Street, and you will not only encompass much of the best shopping but also find two handy shopping locations in Bourke Street Mall and the 19th century Block Arcade on Collins Street.
Federation Square, next to Flinders Street Station, is a great place to start. Opened in 2002 as part of celebrations for 100 years of federation, it has distinctively modern central buildings, plenty of outdoor entertainment and is a major hub both for shopping and as a nightspot.
Also within walking distance of Flinders Street Station is the Southbank promenade, which is again an excellent spot just to hang out but is also home to a sizeable arts centre that has various theatres, halls and other spaces, including Hamer Hall which is used by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Also, as already mentioned, Melbourne loves its sport, so the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the National Sports Museum are probably well worth a visit.
There are also some great open, green spaces, with amongst the largest being the Royal Park, near the University of Melbourne and the Melbourne hospital. There are also multiple small beaches which look out onto the beautiful Phillip Bay. Ultimately, there are many scenic spots worth visiting in the city, and staying in perfectly located luxury apartments in Melbourne makes seeing them possible.
Situ strives to source the best accommodation options in Melbourne and across the globe, to ensure you have the perfect stay whilst travelling for business. We make finding and booking serviced accommodation effortless.
Thanks to our fantastic suppliers, we have some lovely properties and aparthotels right in the heart of Melbourne’s city centre, which are ideal for enjoying some of the city’s top attractions. As well as our range of aparthotels in Melbourne, Situ also offers amazing accommodation options in Sydney, Perth and other locations throughout the country, meaning wherever your trip takes you in Australia, you always know that you have somewhere to stay that meets your expectations.
Contact us today and talk to a member of our expert team about how we can help find the Melbourne accommodation that’s right for you.
Also known by locals as ‘Tullamarine’, Melbourne Airport is unsurprisingly the primary airport serving the city. It is also the second busiest in Australia, facilitating the flights of ten million international passengers each year.
This airport is just a twenty-five minute car journey from many Melbourne apartments and the city centre. There are three other airports in the city though which can be flown to-and-from; Avalon Airport, Essendon Airport and Moorabbin Airport.
The city of Melbourne is fortunate to benefit from a railway infrastructure that means the area is densely populated with stations. However, the busiest Melbourne train station is Flinders Street, serving the entirety of Melbourne railway network right from the heart of the city.
Altogether, there are 17 railway lines and over 200 train stations in Melbourne, operated by Metro Trains. Such a large number of railway facilities means anyone staying in Melbourne serviced accommodation can appreciate having easy access to public transport.
Three underground stations are operating in the city; Flagstaff, Melbourne Central and Parliament stations, all of which fall under ‘The City Loop’. The City Loop encircles the Melbourne CBD and enables the internal business travel of many corporates living in Melbourne every day.
Alternatively to railway transport, visitors to the city can also take advantage of the expansive bus and tram network on offer. The tram network consists of 250km of track, whilst there are almost 350 bus routes in operation across the city.
Be sure to visit the Public Transport Victoria website for more information about routes and maps associated with buses and trams.
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