Flinders Street Station, St. Paul's Cathedral, Federation Square, Eureka Tower & more!

Having been a Sydney-sider for almost three years, I could say that there's fierce competition for THE number one Australian city, between my home of Sydney and Melbourne. I visited Melbourne on two separate occasions, one back in 2012 and the latest one was my trip after graduation back in August of 2014. I could confidently say that Melbourne just has that bit more charm and swag (sorry for my use of this word) to it. While Sydney has a vibrant center and super chill suburbs, I will just focus on one of the most central attractions of Melbourne, Flinders Street Railway Station.

So at this point you may start asking yourself, but what's so special about a railway station? Is it really worth talking about? The answer to both questions is yes. I feel that a good city should have a balance of between the new and the old. For example, Melbourne has some really awesome looking buildings like the Eureka Tower, Rialto Towers and my personal pick out of the bunch, the fruitful buildings of RMIT University. The Eureka Tower is that super tall skyscraper that looks like it's come back from the future. It is here that you could go all the way up, stand on the glass floor, and look down from their skydeck. This is said to be one of the world's few ''edge experiences'' as their glass cubicle stretches three meters away from the actual building, and the height? A jaw dropping 300 meters above the ground, something that is clearly not for the faint hearted. In saying this, the Eureka Tower has without a doubt the best view of Melbourne. It's 360 degrees panorama view is unmatched by anything else in the city area, but with this, comes the ticketing prices and everything else, which is worth a quick look on their website - once again the link to Eureka Tower is just at the bottom of the post.

But to balance out these new and modern take on buildings, they have kept their treasures in what is Flinders Street Station, The Royal Exhibition Building, Parliament House, Melbourne's GPO (Post Office) and Saint Paul's Cathedral. All of the mentioned places are all worth a quick stop over, for a photo or two, or three.

Flinders Street Station is located at the crossroad of Flinders Street and Swanston Street. Its location just before crossing the Yarra River makes it one of the coolest spots to captures photos. Just to further develop on its reputation, Flinders Street Station opened its very first doors way back in 1854, but some has it that the official year was 1910. Nonetheless, there is no debate that it holds the title of the oldest of its kind in Australia! With its age, you would think that access is limited off just like other old sites, but no! You're more than welcome to wander around - with a rail ticket of course - and use the trains as you wish! There's no slowing down for this old fella. In fact, I've also heard that it isone of the busiest railway in the suburban area in the southern hemisphere; now that's a bold claim. For locals as well as a few of my friends living in Melbourne, the station is a common place to meet up, as it's so iconic.

If the history still doesn't persuade you to visit this place, I could only go on to say that it's a real Melbourne landmark. Just some interesting facts that I found online that are really worth sharing:

• Words on the streets (way back when) had it that the designs for Flinders Street Station and Bombay Railway Station were in a bit of a mix up in the office of the designer in London. This only resulted in one thing: the two stations traded places. So if this ever gets clarified or confirmed, what you see in Melbourne as the Flinders Street Railway Station, should actually be Bombay, India. The best way is probably to head over to India to see what could have been.
• This station is so gorgeous that it's been an inspiration to other of its kind elsewhere. The beauty of this station traveled all the way to Brazil, whereby the design of Luz Station in São Paolo, Brazil, has resemblances of the its elder in Melbourne.
• This is another cool one. Famous British news source, The Telegraph, has compiled their list of The World's Most Spectacular Railway Stations, in which the very candidate from Melbourne sits proudly on the list. Some other reputable names on the list includes London's St. Pancras International, New York City's Grand Central Station, Tokyo's Shinjuku Station and Malaysia's Kuala Lampur Railway Station. A very interesting read with some really cool stations on the list, so as always, the link is down below at the bottom for your viewing pleasure!

In terms of its lines, it was from here that I caught the metro/tram/train or whatever it was to see the Brighton Bath Boxes. If you want to find out more about what these bath boxes are, you can go back and read a post I made about them! Trust me, you will regret not seeing these if you're ever in Melbourne, especially in the warmer months! You could also head out to St. Kilda and its beaches from here too.

Now that you're just in the area, cross the street over to the other side, where Melbourne Visitor Centre sits. Go in and have a quick walk around. There are a few interactive elements in there, as well as a really cool map of the city. If I'm not wrong, there are also places that you could use to charge your phones and other electronics, very thoughtful of the city! Just next to where you are now, there's also a more general Victoria Visitor Information Centre. I didn't get to explain earlier but Melbourne is the capital of the state ofVictoria. The same goes for Sydney, as the main city for the state of New South Wales. Western Australia has Perth, and so on and so forth.

If you just get out from these two visitor centres, you will get the best viewing angle for St. Paul's Cathedral, which should be in front of you. It is another major landmark here in Melbourne, so visiting either the railway station or the cathedral is like a win-win situation since you get to see both! Just quickly about the cathedral, is that it was constructed on the very site where Melbourne's first Christian service took place. The work for the design of the cathedral was handed to the respected William Butterfield, an English architect. With construction started in the late 19th century, St. Paul's Cathedral is another true Melbourne landmark. As for opening times and other information in regards to this icon, feel free to click on the link of the cathedral down below.

Just on the very side of the cathedral, continue on Flinders Street away from the station and you will come to see a small alley, with a big reputation. This little street is called Hosier Lane, another fantastic spot to take great photos. The street is filled with graffiti street arts. Everywhere you look, you will see pictures, colours and various creative expressions from the street artists. It is not in everything that this kind of public art is tolerated, so now that you're in Melbourne, don't let this fantastic opportunity fly by!

Opposite Hosier Lane, is what the locals refer to Federation Square and The Atrium. Just looking at this area from the outside, it's really cool place already. The design and style behind them are again different from what you would see from the railway station and the cathedral, and this is what I really appreciate in terms of a great city with a fantastic balance of classic and modern. There is always something happening here, so have a lookout for events and other go-to's during your trip. At the moment, for example, they have an event which invites participants for a dinner of beer and food pairing. Here, you'll be able to learn and appreciate the different variations of beers and how they go flawlessly with certain dishes. Other than the events, they also have free wifi internet, yes I repeat, free internet outside the building for everyone! This is the perfect concept for travellers out there like myself who uses social media platforms to share pictures and what not! Oh, and another element that's really neat about this place is that there are bikes for rent :

• $15. 00 for first hour
• $5. 00 each hour after the first
• $35. 00 per day!

Similarly there's also the Melbourne Bike Share, which if I'm not wrong since I've never used it, is very similar to the Vélib' concept here in Paris and the bike stations situated throughout London. If anything, entrance to Federation Square is free of charge, so you don't have to think twice about getting in!

Other than these attractions which are just minutes from each other, you might also be interested in the shopping experience, which you could easily find on Bourke Street Mall, Collins Street, Swanston Street and Docklands. Melbourne is also really well-known for its cafes and brunch scene and has a strong passion for good coffees. I don't have a specific place in mind to share with you, but chances are they're all quite good. With this, it is only fair to say that Melbourne is really something special, with its balance in classic attractions and modern attractions, fantastic natural beauties just outside the city and of course, the diverse and delicious eateries you could find at every corner of the street. I love Sydney but sometimes, you just need to give it to Melbourne...

A few useful links:

• Only Melbourne - Flinders Street Railway Station
• The Telegraph - The World's Most Spectacular Railway Stations
• Article about the Brighton Bathing Boxes
• Eureka Tower - Sky Deck Experience
• St. Paul's Cathedral
• Federation Square Official Web Page

If you like the content of this post, or just want to check out some pictures that I take on my adventure, feel free to like and/or follow me on instagram at oat93, cheers!