1 Crown Casino Yes, the place is tacky – like some of the casinos in Reno, without the leopard-skin Spandex. But Crown Casino is in the heart of town, and at least the carpet doesn’t stick to your shoes as you pick your way between the blackjack tables and the poker machines that infest Australian society. Open 24 hours a day, the casino (www.crowncasino. com.au) has no clocks or natural light, just oodles of razzamatazz such as waterfalls and a giant cinema complex. Outside after dark, the casino shoots streaks of roaring flames into the sky above the Yarra River – enchanting for children, but not much fun if you’re a pigeon hovering overhead.

2 Werribee Open Range Zoo Outside Melbourne, on the Princes Freeway, the open-range Werribee Zoo (www.zoo.org.au) might bring out the Tarzan in you. It’s home to rare and endangered African animals, with a roll-call that includes rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, zebras, giraffes and the eland – the largest living antelope, distinguished by its humped shoulders, baggy throat and tightly spiralling horns. You can stare and snap away from the safety of a safari bus, or get a little closer on an Open Vehicle Adventure or Rip Roaring Feed visit.

3 The Heide Museum of Modern Art. Melbournians love to dismiss Sydney as being plastic and shallow. Melbourne, according to the locals, has much more culture. Look no further than the Heide Museum (www.heide.com.au). Set in Melbourne’s so-called Valley of the Arts, the museum has numerous galleries, among them an award-winning former home built in 1960 as a “gallery to be lived in” and a sculpture garden that runs to the banks of the Yarra River.

4 Como Reminiscent of Tara, the mansion in Gone With the Wind, Como was built in 1847, and named after the lake in Italy where its original owner, Edward Williams, proposed to his future wife. Said to be Melbourne’s first mansion, Como dovetails so-called Australian Regency and Italianate architecture styles. The garden was designed by one of the country’s best-known landscape architects, William Sangster, in the 19th century. It consists of sloping lawns, flower walks, cypress glades, a croquet lawn and a fountain terrace.

5 The Yarra Like the Seine, the Yarra River cuts through the heart of what locals boast is “the world’s most liveable city”, making up for the shortage of beaches when compared with Sydney. If you want to follow the Yarra (Aboriginal for “flowing water”), you have two options: take the 11 km cycle path, with its numerous bridges and underpasses, all the way to Toorak (no cars or trucks); or board a tour boat and cruise along to Como Park. Keep your eyes peeled for a surprisingly wide range of wildlife close to the city’s heart, including platypuses, echidnas (spiny, insect- eating mammals), koalas, possums, sugar gliders (raccoon-like creatures), kangaroos and bats.

6 The Restaurant Tram Melbourne seems to be fixated on transport and dining. If the combination piques your appetite, step aboard the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant (www.tramrestaurant. com.au): a converted, working 1927 tram with a first-class restaurant and bar. The cabin has been stabilised so your food won’t end up in your lap. En route, as you travel along Melbourne’s leafy boulevards, are landmarks such as the fairground attraction Luna Park.

7 St Kilda Here’s a bohemian haven from the rest of the city’s frantic pace. The area is full of boutiques, cake shops and palm trees. Offbeat attractions include hot sea-water baths and Luna Park fairground favourites such as the Mad House, the Ghost Train and the Scenic Railway roller coaster. If that’s too manic for your taste, amble along the pier and gaze at the starfish that are easily visible on a good day through the crystal-clear waters.

8 Footscray Market The name doesn’t ooze typical Melbournian sophistication. Nor does Footscray itself, a far-from-gentrified suburb on the railway line. But the market is a cut above your standard cheap and raucous affair,with an impressive range of food on display. Lotus flowers lie side by side with pigs’ ears and live seafood. After stocking up, take the lift to the top floor for a view that few places other than Rialto Towers can beat.

9 Rialto Towers In the heart of the city, at 525 Collins Street, and standing 251 metres tall, this office building is one of the highest reinforced concrete structures in the southern hemisphere. Step into the 25km/h lifts and, in the time it takes to say “vertigo”, you’re at the 55th- floor observation deck, which offers a360-degree view of Melbourne’s San Francisco-like landscape (www.melbournedeck.com.au).

10 Meals on wheels? The menu at Taxi, in the city hub of Federation Square, ranges from hickory-smoked trout to quail ballontine a boned, stuffed leg of poultry or game bird) and rare seared tuna. Few restaurants pay more attention to detail. The staff are quick and slick, and recite the day’s specials as if they were poetry. PERFECT 10 Melbourne Safari the little children: there’s plenty to see at Werribee Zoo, which is home to the likes of rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, zebras, giraffes and elands