Free, Free! Explore Melbourne by Taking the Free Tram 35
Melbourne has the world's largest, oldest, and most well-equipped urban tram system. Its tram routes cover the city center and nearby suburbs. With nearly 250 kilometers of two-way single-track tram lines and nearly 500 trams shuttling on 27 routes every day, there is really no need to drive yourself when traveling in Melbourne. Parking is not very convenient, and taking public transport can easily reach most attractions in the city. The tram system is the largest in the world, and within a certain area, riding trams is free. The trams operate from around 10 a.m. to after 9 p.m., with slightly different schedules depending on the season and whether it's a workday or holiday. Trams arrive every ten to twenty minutes, and stops have clear free-zone signs (green for free).
At that time, when I visited Melbourne, due to my limited language skills, I only took a short ride on the free Tram 35. Most of the attractions were reached by my friend's private car. Some places were inconvenient for parking, and some attractions were not far away, so walking was fine. Having a car became a hassle. Later, I found out that most of the places I went to were within the free tram coverage area. I wished I had a detailed travel map. After returning, I summarized a plan based on my ideas for taking Tram 35 to visit attractions, hoping it would help friends who want to take the free tram in Melbourne.
The green area in the map below is the main CBD of Melbourne. Within this area, as long as both the starting point and destination are within the green area, all trams are free. Obvious signs are available at tram stops. Here, I focus on introducing the free Tram 35 loop around Melbourne. The map below shows the route of the free City Circle Tram 35, which runs in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. I will introduce it clockwise, marking each stop with a number and Chinese name (basically accurate). Some stops with no special nearby features or that are very close to each other have been omitted. Attractions in the area may be a bit farther from Tram 35; you can transfer to other free trams for one or two stops, but I recommend walking, after all, travel is about sightseeing and experiencing local culture. (The Arabic numerals in the map indicate Tram 35 stops.)
**First stop: The District/434 Docklands (The District/434 Docklands)**
Around this stop, you can visit the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel and the dock area for sightseeing, or go shopping in the commercial district. In the map below, the top marker is the Melbourne Star, the middle is the commercial center, and the bottom is the dock area. (The Arabic numerals in the map indicate Tram 35 stops.)
Docklands is a harbor district newly developed in Melbourne, integrating tourism, high-end commercial buildings, and luxury residences. It differs from the hustle and bustle of the city center, appearing more modern, stylish, and tranquil.
The Docklands shopping area features Australian and international brands including H&M, Cotton On, HYPE DC, General Pants Co., Canterbury, Kathmandu, Bonds, Miniso, and more. This area is home to major fashion outlet centers, sports stores, and boutiques, with over 80 shops. Additionally, every Sunday, the District Makers market offers creative and colorful market stalls with various artworks, handicrafts, jewelry, homewares, gifts, and artisan products.
Melbourne's observation wheel is accurately called the Melbourne Star, costing AUD 500 million. It is located in the bustling waterfront area of Docklands, a prime spot for shopping, dining, sports, and entertainment. The Melbourne Star is the largest observation wheel in the Southern Hemisphere and the fourth largest outdoor giant observation wheel in the world, with 21 fully enclosed air-conditioned cabins offering 360-degree unobstructed views of Melbourne city.
360-degree unobstructed views from fully enclosed air-conditioned cabins.
**Fourth stop: Etihad Stadium/La Trobe Street (Etihad Stadium/La Trobe Street)**
Around this stop, you can visit Etihad Stadium and get a distant view of Southern Cross Station. The map below shows the stadium at the bottom, and the yellow star on the right marks the viewing point for the station. (The Arabic numerals in the map indicate Tram 35 stops.)
**Eighth stop: Queen Street/La Trobe Street (Queen Street/La Trobe Street)**
At this stop, you can go to the famous Queen Victoria Market.
Queen Victoria Market is the largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere, the third largest open-air market in the world, and one of the world's famous tourist attractions. It is Melbourne residents' grocery basket, offering fruits, vegetables, seafood, and red meat that are not only fresh but also cheaper than supermarkets. It is a must-visit for tourists.
**Ninth stop: Elizabeth Street/La Trobe Street (Elizabeth Street/La Trobe Street)**
At this stop, you can go to Melbourne Central Shopping Centre.
The lower level of Melbourne Central Shopping Centre spans two city blocks, with over 200 shops and a large Daimaru department store. It has expanded in recent years to become Melbourne's largest retail hub. Apart from the conical glass roof, another feature of the shopping center is the world's largest clock, weighing 2,000 kilograms. At every hour, beautiful ornaments descend from inside the clock, featuring children and parrots, and play an Australian folk song for four minutes.
**Tenth stop: Swanston Street/La Trobe Street (Swanston Street/La Trobe Street)**
This stop offers several places to visit (listed from top to bottom): Melbourne City Baths, RNIT Academy, RMIT University, and the State Library Victoria.
RMIT University is a school without walls. If the University of Melbourne is integrated into the community, RMIT University is integrated into the bustling streets. If you walk past and no one tells you it's a school, and a university at that, you would never guess. RMIT University is a comprehensive public university, one of Australia's oldest higher education institutions, and the top university among the five members of the Australian Technology Network of Universities.
RNIT Academy has gained fame for the high standard of its vocational programs. During World War II, RNIT trained a large number of technical personnel for the Allied forces, for which Queen Elizabeth II granted the Royal title and a special royal fund. RNIT is the only university in Australia to have been granted a royal title by the British Empire.
Melbourne City Baths, built in 1860, is a large indoor bathhouse with a 30-meter swimming pool, gym, and fitness classes.
The State Library Victoria is truly a cathedral of books. Its lofty dome supports the solemnity and grandeur of the entire library, and also upholds 150 years of Australian cultural pride. Entering the hall, you first see not dense rows of bookshelves but the serene sight of readers leisurely reading under bright lights. Each person has a small desk connected by silver partitions, as if in small groups, orderly arranged in the center of the hall, creating a warm and scholarly atmosphere.
**Eleventh stop: Russell Street/La Trobe Street (Russell Street/La Trobe Street)**
At this stop, you can visit the Old Melbourne Gaol, stroll through Chinatown, and eat when hungry.
The Old Melbourne Gaol, with its unique architectural style resembling a solemn ancient castle, was built between 1861 and 1864. It was once a maximum-security prison, closed in 1929, and briefly reopened during World War II to hold prisoners of war. It is now a tourist attraction. The prison is famous because it once held and executed Ned Kelly, Australia's notorious bushranger. Ned Kelly and his gang successfully robbed a bank without causing any casualties, once broke into a police station, tied up the police, took their uniforms, and strolled out, and also killed three police officers during a conflict. Yet he also performed charitable acts by helping the poor.
Melbourne's Chinatown, built in the architectural style of Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty, exudes a rich Chinese cultural atmosphere. The streets are filled with Chinese shops and restaurants. The perfect blend of ancient and modern, East and West, embodies the unique charm of Melbourne. Not only Chinese but also local Australians love to come here, making it very crowded.
**Thirteenth stop: Victoria Street/La Trobe Street (Victoria Street/La Trobe Street)**
Main attractions include Melbourne Museum, the Royal Exhibition Building, and the 4D cinema.
On the left is the Royal Exhibition Building, and on the right is Melbourne Museum. Melbourne Museum is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the world's large museums recently completed. Its interior is divided into the Australian History Gallery, Plants Gallery, Children's Gallery, Indigenous Art Gallery, Science Gallery, Human Origins Gallery, Animals Gallery, Future Gallery, and more. It also has the world's largest cinema screen, IMAX. As a comprehensive museum, the collection and displays at Melbourne Museum are astonishing. If the dinosaur fossils at the entrance are not new, the 20-meter-long blue whale skeleton is extremely rare even among major museums. And this is just the beginning; across more than 20 exhibition halls and independent galleries, the museum offers a vast array of content, with over a dozen permanent exhibitions currently open.
The Royal Exhibition Building was specially designed for the grand international exhibitions held in Melbourne from 1880 to 1888. The entire building and gardens are constructed from wood, brick, steel, and slate, blending Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic, and Italian Renaissance styles. The Royal Exhibition Building is a successful permanent structure with solid walls and roof. Over a century of wind and rain has made its Victorian elegance even more captivating.
**Sixteenth stop: Bourke Street/Spring Street (Bourke Street/Spring Street)**
Around this stop are St Patrick's Cathedral, Parliament House of Victoria, The Hotel Windsor, Fitzroy Gardens, and the Sir William John Clarke Memorial.
St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. Whenever the Pope visits Australia, St Patrick's Cathedral is often the only Catholic church he visits and where he celebrates Mass. It has been the most reported church in Melbourne media, with Easter prayers, Christmas prayers, and New Year's Eve prayers broadcast live on local TV. Many funerals of important Australian figures and public memorial services for major disaster victims in Australia are also held here. On ordinary days, it is a place for weddings, funerals, and leisure walks.
Parliament House of Melbourne was built in 1855. From 1856 to 1900, it served as the parliament building for the Colony of Victoria; from 1901 to 1927, it was the seat of the Federal Parliament of Australia; and from 1927 to the present, it has been the seat of the Parliament of Victoria. This two-story Gothic building mainly consists of two parts: the legislative chamber and offices, and dining and bar areas for recreation. A small cabinet room is where the head of state discusses and drafts the constitution. There are peepholes in the walls and signal buttons under the desks, creating a mysterious atmosphere. Most of the second floor is occupied by press offices from newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and television stations. It is said that reporters often climb onto the roof and put their ears to the ventilation pipes of the cabinet room to eavesdrop on meetings, then leak inside stories to create sensations. This phenomenon of information leaking from the cabinet roof is called a leakey roof.
At the entrance, the floor tiles are made by the British ceramics manufacturer Minton. The canopy above the speaker's chair in the upper house is a gift from Britain in 1856. The interior furniture is red, symbolizing the bond with the British House of Lords and the close relationship with Britain.
The Old Parliament House is a witness and milestone in Australia's political history. All debates and decisions on major international and domestic events from 1927 to 1988 were passed here.
Across from Parliament House is The Hotel Windsor, which is said to be over a hundred years old. It has hosted many distinguished national and international guests. Although old, it is well-maintained, with good service and delicious food. The surrounding environment is nice and transportation is convenient.
Fitzroy Gardens are reminiscent of the romantic English countryside. The most famous feature is Captain Cook's Cottage, the oldest white settler artifact in Australia. Captain Cook was the first British explorer to land on the Australian continent and claim it as British territory in 1770, and is regarded as Australia's founder. In 1934, during Melbourne's centenary, a businessman bought Cook's house in England, disassembled it into 253 crates, shipped it to Melbourne, and reassembled it in its original form. Next to the cottage is a bronze statue of Captain Cook.
Captain Cook's Cottage
Sir William John Clarke Memorial Square
**Twentieth stop: Swanston Street/Flinders Street (Swanston Street/Flinders Street)**
Federation Square in Melbourne is very famous; almost every visitor to Melbourne must check in here. Federation Square is famous because around it are Flinders Street Station (often on magazine covers), St Paul's Cathedral (a cathedral-level church), the Ian Potter Centre (one of the world's ten ugliest buildings), the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Hosier Lane (street art lane), the historic Melbourne Town Hall, and nearby, across the Princes Bridge over the Yarra River, you reach the Victorian Arts Centre (under the spire), Hamer Hall, and the National Gallery of Victoria (with masterpieces). If you have energy, you can also explore the small shops on Swanston Street. Transportation is very convenient. When hungry, there is food; when tired, you can sit on the steps of the square, eating and drinking cold drinks, feeling the breeze, watching the colorful trams and old horse-drawn carriages shuttling back and forth, looking left at various street performers, and right at handsome men and beautiful women from all over the world. If lucky, local Australians might strike up a conversation, chatting about everything under the sun, but first you need to understand Australian English.
Performances by various street artists at Federation Square
Beautiful, luxurious horse-drawn carriages travel through Melbourne's streets, blending classical and modern culture, often running side by side with modern transportation, forming a unique and beautiful scenery.
The Ian Potter Centre (one of the ten ugliest buildings in the world) and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) at Federation Square.
Flinders Street Station, opened in 1909, has a history of over a hundred years. This century-old beige Renaissance-style building has become a famous landmark of Melbourne, often appearing on the covers of travel publications. Standing under the iconic clock of Melbourne's central station, you feel the myriad comings and goings of tourists and locals over generations. Still in operation, the trains here are more accurately called light rail (rapid transit), traveling within the city, and are one of the main means of public transport for residents.
St Paul's Cathedral, a cathedral-level church, has a history of nearly 130 years. It is the seat of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, the earliest English-style church in Melbourne, and one of the most famous buildings in the city. The statue outside the church was carved by Melbourne sculptor Gilbert to commemorate the early Australian explorer Matthew Flinders.
Next to the Arts Centre is the National Gallery of Victoria: its shape resembles a Chinese city gate tower, with no visible windows, reportedly for fire prevention and theft prevention. The building is surrounded by a pool of water, and the main entrance has a huge waterfall. The main galleries are free for public visits. It houses world-class art treasures from Australia, Aboriginal cultures, Asia, Europe, and pre-Columbian times, including photographs, textiles, sculptures, and paintings. From old artifacts to screen paintings, and including Aboriginal Australian art, they are categorized, especially the collections of masters like Picasso, Monet, Manet, Rembrandt, and others. Picasso's paintings are the treasure of the museum. Worth savoring slowly.
The Victorian Arts Centre is actually a multi-purpose theatre, a dedicated venue for large symphony and classical music performances. Its beautiful spire shape resembles a swirling skirt, also a local landmark. The night view is also nice.
The theatre contains three performance halls, with one of the largest stages in the world, over 2000 comfortable seats, and 75,000 small copper cups on the ceiling. The curtain designed by Graham Bennett is solemn, majestic, and famous, decorated with Victorian wildflowers, national regalia, and spreading lyrebird tails. When the theatre opened in 1984, the former State Bank of Victoria donated this curtain. It is home to The Australian Ballet and Opera Australia.
Princes Bridge connects Swanston Street on the north bank of the Yarra River with St Kilda Road on the south bank. It is a major road that also carries trams and pedestrians. The bridge is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Hosier Lane (street art lane) is located about 100 meters east of St Paul's Cathedral on Flinders Street, across the road from Federation Square. Walking into the lane, the walls are covered with artistic graffiti, a mix of colors that is quite striking.
Melbourne Town Hall is located in the city center, at the northeast corner of Swanston Street and Collins Street. Designed by famous local architect Joseph Reed, it is in the Second Empire style. The top of Melbourne Town Hall is crowned by a large Prince Alfred Tower, which has a clock with a diameter of 2.44 meters, made in England and installed on the tower on August 31, 1874. The clock weighs 8.85 kilograms, and the longest copper hour hand is 1.19 meters. Inside the town hall is a concert hall, once the most famous concert hall in Australia, with a huge pipe organ assembled from over 8,000 pipes, shipped from London to Australia by ship in 1890. This grand pipe organ leaves a deep impression with its indescribably wonderful acoustic effects.
**Twenty-first stop: Elizabeth Street/Flinders Street (Elizabeth Street/Flinders Street)**
This stop is mainly for shopping, including Coles Central Supermarket and the arcades of the Bourke Street shopping precinct.
Coles Central Supermarket is the second largest supermarket in Australia, an excellent choice for buying fresh produce. It offers a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and meats, all very fresh. Don't miss the weekly specials. There are Chinese-speaking staff, making the shopping experience convenient. Checkout is usually self-service, quick and easy.
The Royal Arcade, located in the center of Melbourne, is one of the world's famous surviving arcade buildings and a traditional arcade shopping mall in the Melbourne central business district, listed as a heritage building. This arcade has a relatively short and narrow indoor street connecting Little Collins Street and Bourke Street, and to the west connects to Elizabeth Street, forming a T-shape. Melbourne's prime traditional pedestrian street runs through the entire arcade. Along with other arcades in Melbourne, such as The Block Arcade and the city's laneways, it has become a tourist icon of the city.
**Twenty-second stop: Market Street/Flinders Street (Market Street/Flinders Street)**
The Immigration Museum tells the story of people migrating from all over the world to settle in Australia over the past 200 years. Many came seeking a better quality of life, better job opportunities, or to escape war. It takes you on a journey to explore the history and stories of immigrants who moved to Victoria from all over the world.
These histories are brought to life through contemporary displays such as timelines, moving images, and computer interactivity. Through these records, you will deeply understand the dreams, disappointments, and achievements of immigrants and their families who moved to Victoria from the 19th century to the present.
**Twenty-third stop: Melbourne Aquarium/Flinders Street (Melbourne Aquarium/Flinders Street)**
The Melbourne Aquarium is located on the banks of the Yarra River, known as the Thames of the Southern Hemisphere. It houses over 500 species of marine life. Visitors can observe unique Australian marine life up close and even swim with large sharks in the water. In the underwater world exhibit, visitors can touch various marine shellfish and learn about the functions of marine life interactively through electronic simulators. A 3D underwater simulator allows visitors to become a fish and explore the mysteries of the ocean. The aquarium also provides audio guides in seven languages.
**Twenty-seventh stop: Docklands Park/Harbour (Docklands Park/Harbour)**
Webb Bridge, also known as the Net Bridge, was designed by renowned architect Denton Marshall and completed in 2005. Webb Bridge is considered Melbourne's most modern-looking bridge, not only a landmark of the Docklands district but also an important symbol of the city. This uniquely shaped pedestrian bridge across the Yarra River was originally part of the Webb Dock railway line. Its winding, curving structure is extremely photogenic, especially at night, creating a dreamlike scene.
**Twenty-eighth stop: Bourke Street/Harbour (Bourke Street/Harbour)**
Southern Cross Station is one of Melbourne's two main railway stations. Its architectural design is unique, the first Australian building to win the Lubetkin Prize for its simple and fashionable style. The praise from the Royal Institute of British Architects is even more outstanding: Southern Cross Station perfectly blends the new and old, people and cars, architecture and light.
Note: Some images are sourced from the internet.
