Melbourne Central

Ah Melbourne Central. Home to the old shot tower, it’s infamous glass cone, and the giant clock that plays Waltzing Matilda. I didn’t actually realise it still did that until passing through the other day. I always insisted on watching it as a little kid when going to Melbourne Central was considered an exciting day excursion.
Now we have huge shopping centres popping up all over the place and Melbourne Central is more a convenience than destination, but they’re certainly upping their game to compete with the flashy new Emporium across the way. I actually find shopping here by comparison much easier. On Boxing Day during the sales, Emporium & Bourke St Mall were nightmares and we whipped through here in no time, scooping up all the bargains without the chaos.
And while it doesn’t have the ‘café court’, the quick dining options here around the cinema are actually pretty decent with good coffee, a few bars, and more new stuff along the way. Down the escalator past the level 3 food court is a new adjoining laneway (Menzies Alley) with some fun new businesses popping up. A lot of the side lanes are allowing for more independent businesses to join rather than mall-​chains and franchises alone.
As someone that typically shops for purpose rather than pleasure, it’s an easier destination than some of the others, even if the layout is a tad confusing!

My go to shopping destination when I am in the city. I always find what ever I need here. The emporium may be new and shiny, Melbournians– but don’t forget tried and true Melbourne Central!

I remember as a child coming to Melbourne and visiting ‘Dimaru’. I would look up at the short tower towards the top of the cone and be in awe at how high it was. Oh and the musical clock, that was a highlight!
By the time I moved to Melbourne Dimaru had gone and Melbourne Central was the replacement name. I still think the shot tower is pretty tall and impressive and the musical clock is kinda corny but still pretty special.
Now Melbourne Central is a place I like to take visitors to see these highlights, especially children who get a bit more of a thrill, and a central place for shopping.

I find myself getting lost sometimes between the two sections. MC is a great centre which is, would you believe, very centrally located! What the!!!
It has a small Coles which the city workers use between their commute. Not the best selection for dining but you’re in Melbourne so you’re never far away from something good to eat.
Shops are pretty good. I especially like the ones on the lower ground. Cute and quirky, whereas upstairs it’s mostly fancy, out of my price range stuff.
King of Knives was where I got my first knife block which has improved my cooking skills x 1000! I got them in a New Year sale.
Some of the pop up stalls are very good too. I like the one that sells mugs.
And that’s about it really. Check it out. Or don’t. I don’t really care.

Walk the mall sometime! Actually some nice stores here!
Trains, yard bird from KFC, FCUK, and nice coffee when you are in a rush…
My fav is Coles when you need some quick items before you grab the train or tram.
Weekends are just a good with Nandos or grilled accessible with ease.

I’ve always been very intimidated by this shopping centre. I’m guessing its because it seems gigantic but I have to admit I did enjoy window shopping this last time and the movie location is awesome.
I’ve just realised something amazing as well, google maps has a floor map of Melbourne central and it shows where everything is! Makes shopping here way more easier!

I really like Melbourne Central. It’s very conveniently located in the heart of the CBD and everyone seems to be meeting here these days… Hands up if you’ve previously asked someone to meet you under the ‘clock’…
Melbourne Central is the home of shopping in the CBD w/​so many retail outlets to choose from — Just Jeans, SuperDry, JeansWest, Oakley, Gap, Esprit, GStar, Industrie, Armani Exchange, FCUK, Sunglass Hut to name a few.
Feeling hungry? You’ve got Maccas, KFC, Sushi Sushi, Grill’d, Nandos, Ajisen Ramen and various other food outlets.
In terms of Entertainment, you’ve got Hoyts (Love Hoyts!), Strike and Party World.
If you’re commuting, the train station is right underneath the shopping centre so very convenient and those driving can get discounts of their parking from retailers + it’s generally a flat rate of $ 10 if you enter after 6 PM.

I’ve always enjoyed coming here. Even if it was just a quick five minute wait before going for lunch. Great place with a lot of shops to come from and the tourists just LOVE the clock. I’ve seen it enough times to lose interest but it is one of Australia’s tourist attractions I suppose.

Melbourne Central is a bustling place home to plenty of shops, food outlets, movies and it is easy to get to with an underground train station. Pretty much everything you need all in the one place!

This place really caters for everyone. It’s a shopping centre, dining, cinemas and a train station all in one. So whatever you need, they’ll be likely to have it.
All of the recent renovations have it looking rather swanky also. More modern designs for the storefronts and also the detailing of the actual centre. There’s places to sit down and eat, always the occasional event or display on in the main area, and there’s a couple of good bars if you’re in need of a drink.
For a shopping centre it does everything it needs, only thing holding it off 5 stars is that it tends to just operate as a place where people meet up sometimes in the main area, so it can turn into a bit of a foot-​traffic jam.

A thriving shopping centre with hundreds of specialty shops set under a massive glass cone. Melbourne Central mixes both the old and the new and boasts a historical Shot Tower at its centre.
If you’re after more than shopping, surprising, Melbourne Central hosts many great bars including Cho Gao and has lots of dinining options too. Hoyts is also located on level 4. Well worth a look.

Melbourne Central is more than a mall. It is a shopping centre but includes offices as well as a train station in addition to hosting events in their walkways.
There are endless events that take place here and if there is a local competition, you can be guaranteed to find it here. The walkway is sometimes used for events and I was lucky to witness the Rubix Competition on the ground floor. At the same time, the walkway that connects to Myers above the road was used as an open space by galleries to showcase and sell art. The Spring Fashion Fest in September has partnered with numerous stores and showcases events and product launches.
This seems to be the place to see and to shop and eat and there is so much to take in, I went there three times and still feel I have not seen it all. There are food stalls on multiple levels and the mall boasts of high end and more affordable fashion stores. There is a cinemaplex too.
One of the more interesting things to watch is literally the hourly clock on the ground floor. It is a grand complication with hourly alarm and it’s gorgeous.

Melbourne Central is not my friend. It’s not terrible in terms of the shops inside it, and it did win points for the most ironic Rage Against the Machine reference possible (What did their old billboard say? «Come and play, come and play.»)
But yeah, I’m not going to forget about the movement. Specifically, the movement of the escalators. The fact that nearly all the sets either lead to, or away from, level 2. It’s a small thing, but it means that instead of passing directly from level 1 to level 3, you’ve got to go past a half-​dozen shops to get to the next escalator. Small thing, like I said, but kinda sneaky and nasty.
Or I’m ascribing too much intent to lazy architecture. Either way, I don’t love the place.

Mehrstöckiges Shopping Erlebnis. Inzwischen ist dort auch ein Kino eingezogen. Es gibt einen riesigen Food Court, diverse Restaurants und natürlich Shops über Shops.
Man findet wirklich alles und nichts in diesen unzähligen Shopping Möglichkeiten.
Man kann hier fast einen Tag verbringen ohne Langeweile ;)

Melbourne Central Shopping is about as diverse a shopping experience as you can get. With one of the busiest train stations below it and stores wrapping around each floor and seeing the iconic Melbourne Central cone, it’s a marvel when first arriving.
There is so much to choose from with an abundance of restaurants, clothing stores, cinemas, bowling and much more. With over 300 stores it will most certainly keep you busy!
It’s basically Melbourne in a shopping centre where there are good, bad and ugly places but full of culture. I find it pretty hectic in there especially at the busy train times as people are frantically running through as tourists are slowly hanging around to take photos… can be a bad mix!
It is a bit of an icon however, and I find it a very entertaining place when I’m walking through it.

As a uni student at RMIT, my first taste of Melb Cench was, as is the case with virtually all RMIT students, through neccessity. WIth the Melbourne Central train station located literally underneath this shopping mall, it was impossible NOT to experience the retail nirvana (if you are into chain stores) that this spot has to offer.
Melb Cench has EVERYTHING, SRSLY. Myer, low-​end chain stores, higher end boutiques, pop-​up stores, flagship stores, food, books, cinema, gym, beauty, and a little history thrown into the mix thanks to the shot-​tower smack bang in the middle.
Lately I have been hearing a lot about an edible garden that I am yet to discover; clearly more exploration is in order.
If shopping malls are your thing (they are definitely mine) you will go buh-​nanas for MC. If not, you may feel like you have entered the seventh circle of hell. Enjoy!

It has taken me eight months to stop decrying the parlous state of Melbourne’s fashion boutiques. Which I initially thought too expensive, too boring and not nearly as interesting as London’s much celebrated retail landscape.
That was until I discovered the shopping centre within Melbourne Central station which is a veritable — and I know this expression is used to the point of cliché — fashion Mecca.
Taking in all of the Aussie favourites including Country Road, Witchery and Cotton on as well as edgier accessories labels such as Tilkah and Who Is Hue, if you’re planning a shopping spree, Melbourne Central is definitely the place to go.
That, combined with its incredibly central location; its huge range of cafes and restaurants; the Hoyts cinema which offers $ 10 tickets if you buy a juicy burger at Grill’d next door; and even the indoor oasis that is the Community Kitchen Garden, and I am, admittedly, hooked.
Fitzroy can keep its overpriced boutiques and Chapel Street can keep its WAGish wares, for me the only way is Melbourne Central.

This is one busy shopping centre and social hang out zone for Melburnians. If quality fashion is your thing you will not be disappointed; or unhappy of the choices at hand. The abundance of traffic to this outlet would come from a few of the following designs:
Firstly the centre is right near a university (RMIT) and the State Library of Victoria. Secondly, you have busy Swanston Street (one, if not Melbourne City’s most popular street for tourists; its dirty and busy) and with Swanston Street undergoing re-​furbishments; it would be fair to imply that Melbourne Central is going to get busier in the future. The odds of the retail industry’s sales are defied here. Melbourne central attracts the younger types, where the older Melburnians would prefer to shop along Chapel or High Streets; in South Yarra and Armadale respectively.
And finally, a train station immediately joins this shopping centre. Before you know it (depending on which exit you use at Melbourne Central train station) you will be able to buy a bunch of herbs; some bread and even a cat or a dog if your that way inclined, and also get your hair cut at a (trendy) pit stop.
Friday night at 9pm (after spending two hours watching a chick flick at Hoyts) this place is like a busy subway, people everywhere. You would be forgiven for thinking that you are actually out and about at the cheap boxing day sales or out shopping on a Thursday night instead.

Melbourne Central has become my new preferred shopping complex. Some people rave about Chadstone or Highpoint, but I get excited about Melbs Central!
I think it’s because of the mix of high end designer stores, chains, thrifty fashion finds and variety of places to stop, drop drink and eat that fascinates me, not to mention that Melbourne Central is literally the centre of Melbourne, so before or after a shopping spree there’s still loads of things to do.
If you haven’t been here for a while you’ll be amazed at how much recent works have transformed the centre. With a massive food court, restaurants, and a Hoyt’s cinema complex here, more and more people are recapturing the mall that made Daimaru a fierce competitor of Myer and David Jones.
Melbourne Central would have to be one of the progressive centres in the city with it’s edible garden located within the glass walkway that once connected to Myer. The garden has seating and it’s great to see people taking advantage of the greenery, pulling up a book and soaking up the tranquility.
While you’re here check out Saba, Guess and my personal girly fave, Forever New.
The thing that makes Melbourne Central the most convenient place to shop is the city loop train station on the Lower Ground floor. All lines run from here and if you’re heading out on the Craigieburn or Upfield lines it cuts out most of the city loop making for a quicker trip home.

Melbourne Central and Madonna.
Both constantly ‘reinventing’ themselves, each time mixing it up in surprising ways but keeping a little of the old there to remind you how good they once were.
Melbourne Central’s latest reinvention offers up an even wider range of chain stores then before. With over 300 stores here you will find something that appeals to you! The selection of Australian stores catering to tourists is there, as well as fashion, gift and brand name stores that locals love.
A new food court with the usual offerings as well as restaurants, bars and cafes that weave throughout the center and surrounding lane ways. You will find everything from budget takeaway, to pubs to restaurants here.
Melbourne Central Train station at the lower level makes this shopping center the perfect place to stop by on your way in or out of the CBD. The Coles Express caters perfectly to city workers dropping by on their way home.
You can also watch a movie at Hoyts, go bowling or work out at the gym on the upper levels. Seriously. What can’t you do here?
Don’t worry though, a little of the ‘old’ Melbourne Central remains in the form of the dome glass roof. I can’t wait to see what Melbourne Central (and Madonna) will surprise me with next!

I love Melbourne Central. I love how it’s a one-​stop-​shop for everything you could need.
~ Smack dab in the middle of the CBD. Need something you (for some strange reason) cannot find at Melbourne Central? It’s probably 10 steps away from Melbourne Central/​
~ Stunning interior design and architecture. You have your tower underneath a glass cage. At first, I thought that this was a bit strange, but then accepted the fact that the tower probably did a lot of bad things in its life and needs a cage to control it. You can’t let that thing free, man.
~ Nice selection of food. Nothing too fantastic, but my favourites: Menya Ramen, Lord of the Fries, Grill’d, O-​Bento, and Harajuku Crepes. There’s bound to be more food heavens that I haven’t explored in that massive building yet, and I’m keen to be on the lookout!
~ Convenient public transportation. If you’re on the go, trust Melbourne Central to have a train running to anywhere you want in Melbourne. Trust Melbourne Central to also have great food takeaways for you to enjoy yourself at before your train arrives.
~ Loads of entertainment! Try out Cho Gao — a great Asian Beer Café with a stunning view of the city. Now try out Cho Gao after catching a movie at Melbourne Central’s very own cinema.
Seriously — what CAN’T you do here?

Eine tolle Mall. Aber das ist IMHO nur zweitrangig. Viel interessanter ist, dass die Mall um einige Gebäude, die unter Denkmalschutz stehen gebaut ist. Bestes Beispiel ist der Shot Tower. Hier hat man früher Bleikugeln hergestellt.
Um ihn herum ist eine große Glaskuppel gebaut. Das muss man einfach gesehen haben.
Und mehrmals am Tag spielt die gegenüberliegende «Taschenuhr». Die ist aber mindestens 2−3Meter groß.