With fashionable avant-garde boutiques, beautiful arcades and bustling shopping centres, Melbourne is truly one of Australia’s most popular shopping destinations. The city’s shopping choices are limitless, with everything and anything you can imagine available for purchase, it’s a shopper’s paradise. The best way to shop in Melbourne is to check out each of its precincts, rather than search by products. The city is full of precincts, each with its own unique flair and great shopping experiences combined with dining options.

For those in search of designer products, head over to Emporium Melbourne, where you’ll find the biggest designer names and premium products housed in over 7 stories of shopping bliss. Located on Lonsdale Street, in the heart of the central business district, the Emporium boasts over 200 high street brands and several exclusive retailer firsts for Melbourne. Accommodation wise, there are several trendy choices in Melbourne, hotel apartment complexes, like the Oaks On Lonsdale, for instance, offer a great alternative over traditional hotels.

Another famous shopping area is Collins Street; here, you’ll find high end jewellery and fashion brands like Tiffany & Co, Hermes and one of the oldest luxury boutiques in the world, Le Louvre. A must see, is the Block Arcade, which forms a colonnade between Collins Street and Little Collins Street. The arcade is one of Melbourne’s most richly decorated interiors, complete with mosaic tiles, a glittering glass canopy and sculpted stone finishing.

A full day of shopping will definitely leave you ravenous for some delicious food, and the best place to satisfy your hunger is at the Queen Victoria Market. A local favourite, the market comes alive each morning as hungry shoppers descend on the gourmet delicacies on offer. Savour cheeses at the French shops, handmade German sausages with seasonal vegetables, or sit back and relax at one of the cafes serving specialist coffees along the lanes. Shopping in Melbourne isn’t just about finding a great deal on a product, it’s a combination of recreation and chill cafe culture. So, take your time and enjoy the wonders that the city has to offer.

 

Jayani Senanayake is a writer who dabbles in travel and all things exotic. Under the pseudonym of Caliope Sage, she writes of the allures that must simply be discovered. Google+