Doing business
If it’s famous for one thing, Melbourne is noted for not being Sydney. It’s very pleased to be itself, thank you very much, and you should note the local pride in the city, its excellent eating and drinking scene and sports teams. Knowledge of one or more of the above will put you on the right footing. Melbourne is also a business-smart world city, so combining punctuality, reliability and experience with the classic Aussie mix of bluntness and casual attitude will get the deal done.

Cool hotel
For a hidden gem, try The Naval and Military Club
(www.nmclub.com.au). It has 18 modernist rooms, with doubles from £102, right in the heart of Melbourne but still managing treetop views from many rooms. The club has a health club and rooftop garden open to guests.

Hip restaurant
This city doesn’t know how to serve up a bad meal, but it excels at ‘Mod Oz’ – an antipodean twist on combining Euro and Asian flavours with an emphasis on locally-sourced produce. Taxi (www.transporthotel.com.au) on Federation Square overlooks the Yarra River and Flinders Street station and is just the place to impress.

Happening bar
The city’s hip crowd crawls the ‘laneways’ – alleyways behind Bourke Street – seeking out hole-in-the-wall and blink-and-they’re-gone start-up bars. Try Collins Street to seek these out, or aim for Collins Quarter (www.collinsquarter.com) for a better established collection of trendy drinking spots.

Must-see sights
Melbourne doesn’t have a show-stopper: the city is more about settling in and starting to feel at home. The city’s most iconic building is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the 100,000 capacity temple to Aussie sport. If you're lucky, you might catch cricket or Australian Rules taking place here before giant crowds.

Getting there
Melbourne is very well-connected internationally and the second most popular end point of the UK-Asia-Australia ‘kangaroo’ route. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Qantas are among the main players, while the likes of Emirates, Etihad, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines also offer good connections. Fares are kept competitive by competition but anything under £700 is good value. Fares cost more in December to January and August.

Getting downtown
Take a taxi from Tullamarine Airport downtown. The journey takes between 25 and 40 minutes and will cost around £20. Buses also go to Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station and cost around £7.

The Details
Melbourne is the capital of the Australian state of Victoria and is located on Port Philip Bay, on the country's southern coast. It is Australia's second-largest city after Sydney. Victoria keeps Eastern Standard Time which means it is 11 hours ahead of the UK in winter and nine hours ahead during summer. At the time of writing there were 2.21 Australian Dollars to the pound.

The carbon cost
A return flight from London to Melbourne will cover 36,880km and emit 4.1 tonnes of CO2. Offset this with The Carbon Neutral Company from £34.85

INSIDERS TIP
“Most visitors base themselves in the city centre, the buzzing commercial heart of Melbourne that's also home to museums, theatres, restaurants, bars and shops. The city's layout makes Melbourne easy to navigate, and almost everything is within walking distance – if it's not, you can simply hop aboard a train or tram.”

Compiled by Tom Hall on behalf of Lonely Planet. www.lonelyplanet.com

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