Melbourne

"The neo-gothic half of Intercontinental’s Melbourne address dates back to the gold-rush days of the 1890s. The series of apartments, offices and wool and wheat storage may have been forgotten by the 1960s but, after careful restoration of the original building and construction of a second structure to mirror it, a hotel moved in during the 1980s and InterContinental took ownership in 2008. Today this 253-room hotel is a sound choice for working travellers, with a business centre, 13 meeting rooms, four eating and drinking outposts, 24-hour room service, a rooftop pool and gym, plus a day spa. The rooms are simple, with subdued furnishings, plush linens and cream marble counters in the bathrooms."

"An early adopter of the city’s speciality-coffee wave, this impressively remodelled former auctioneers’ quarters is serious about its beans. Founded by the team behind nearby Small Batch roastery, it’s since been acquired by another of Melbourne’s coffee supergroups and is a haven for coffee fans looking to try more than espresso. Alongside filter coffee that uses single-origin beans from Guatemala, Kenya and Ethiopia, there are exemplary flat whites made with Small Batch’s Candyman espresso blend – plus iced sparkling filter coffees come summer and excellent food year-round."

"Sam Rush and Henry Allum founded fashion brand Handsom in 2010, before opening this flagship shop in 2012. “Expect soft tailoring and relaxed silhouettes in premium fabrics, with an emphasis on texture and colour,” says Rush of their small-batch, sustainably produced collections. Here, functional, well-constructed items are joined by Australia’s Pared Eyewear and Hakea Swim, as well as US offering Malibu Sandals. Each piece is designed in the upstairs studio and manufactured at ethically accredited factories overseas. Knitwear is made from Merino wool while yarns are fashioned from the likes of bamboo and hemp-cotton."

"In the outer suburb of Bulleen is a grassy plot that was bought by John and Sunday Reed in 1934. Right up until their deaths (10 days apart) in 1981, they worked to enrich Australia’s cultural offering, housing artists such as Sidney Nolan, Joy Hester and Albert Tucker. The couple at one point sold the property and contents to the Victorian government so that it could be used as a public art museum. The top-notch collection makes it well worth tackling the tricky transport to get here."

"The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) occupies prime real estate on centrally located Swanston Street and this collection of glass discs sits at the north end of the university’s land grab. Melbourne architect (and former professional Australian-rules football player) Sean Godsell designed the multi-use academic space, which opened in 2012, to house students of architecture, fashion, landscape, industrial design and gaming all under one roof. Inside, large warehouse-style spaces are paired with smaller teaching studios and computer labs. The underground public galleries, which are 50 metres long and nine metres high, host up to nine shows a year. And the upwards of 16,000 sandblasted glass discs cloaking the building? They rotate, both to let in and reflect the sunlight. "

"Yogi or not, it’s worth a visit to admire the Simhanada yoga studio’s minimalist space, which features attention to detail down to its own unique typeface, designed by New Zealand’s Klim Studio. Studio cofounder Eoin McCarthy wanted it to reflect the calmness of a Zen monastery and the rugged feel of his native Irish coast. His teachings follow the sequence-led principles of Ashtanga Vinyasa. Newcomers are more than welcome but should phone ahead."