We couldn't walk inside Town Hall as it's closed to the public. But, outside there were clean…read morerestrooms and we found an information center. We were able to get brochures, maps & wonderful suggestions. The volunteers in the information center with very helpful providing us with discounts and suggestions to help us plan our 3 days efficiently in Melbourne.. The building & area were magnificently decorated for the holidays as well. We saw poinsettias & pines, wreaths, nutcrackers, singing penguins and reindeers outside. From 9 until 11 in the evening a light show was projected on the front of the town hall building. It's very cool. Crowds lined up and we are all oooohed and aaahhhhed as the colors changed.

The Melbourne Town Hall, besides being one of the most attractive buildings there is in the city,…read moreis also host to a number of events, arts and entertainment. Its interior matches the elegance of its exterior and it can be booked for a number of functions including wedding receptions and the like. During the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, it comes to life and hosts a number of different acts. We saw Marc Maron from the WTF podcast in the Supper Room (I think). The room was a good size and the acoustics were really good.

Ether is venue space for corporate events and trainings. I went here for a multiple day training…read more They have lot of conference rooms with all the necessary things - whiteboard, projector screen, charts. We were provided with little ether notebooks and pens. My favorite part was the snack jars in hall - jelly beans, smoked almonds, wasabi peas, mints, licorice. Fill up those cups they provided and munch away to glory while trainer talks. Our training included lunch and tea breaks. Lunches are definitely not bad. 3-3.5 star. Tea breaks each time had a different pastry item. Overall not a bad place to conduct conference or training.

Great place to hang out! We love to arrange our Melbourne events here. It's within the Mercure…read moreWelcome Hotel.

This is a really interesting large-event venue with loads of character. If you were thinking maybe…read moreyou wanted something with a bit of the heritage listed, old school, grand high ceiling feel of Exhibition Building, but a bit grungier - this place should be on your list. I came here recently to check out Game of Rhones - perfect venue fit. For the medieval Games of Thrones style event, the layout was perfect and there was loads of space to move around between vendors without feeling cramped. There was almost a barn yard feel towards the back with the way it was structured and it really had a wow factor while at the same time not being at all polished. Note that if you are coming to this venue - I was warned the toilets were a bit of a nightmare and should be avoided...so might want to plan ahead on that one! Being an 'Arts House', there is of course a cultural program of events taking place here in addition to being a venue for hire. It's one of the major hubs for Melbourne's Fringe Festival in North Melbourne, so well worth coming in for a look around that time.

The appropriately named Meat Market is an interesting venue to host large events. (No, not the kind…read moreof meat market frequented by women of ill-repute and sailors on shore leave.) It's actually a converted market space. The venue has its quirks, making it both charming and challenging. The brick cobblestone was painstakingly uncovered - creating an interesting, if uneven, floor for the venue. As Tresna L. noted, this is not the place to wear stilettos! A leveled stage is available for performances and takes approximately 6 hours to construct. There are two large performances spaces, one nicknamed the freezer and the other the oven. (It's like this venue was built to match the Melbourne weather!) Bonus points for the 'freezer' - it holds a large custom rig, suitable for all your circus needs. Trapeze? Yes please! The venue would be a good fit for large, unique, or experimental events. Case in point - Melbourne Fringe held their 2015 launch party here. The Meat Market isn't posh, but it certainly has character.

If I had to pick one place that represented what makes Melbourne great, I'd pick The Wheeler…read moreCentre. To me it shows the creativity, innovativeness and curiosity of Melbourne culture at its best. The Wheeler Centre runs multiple high quality events a week where interesting people from a very wide variety of fields come to talk about writing and important ideas. I've been to talks and panel discussions there on topics as diverse as indigenous understandings of place, the importance of young adult literature, gender roles and even why cats are so popular on the internet. Many of the events are free and the others are at reasonable ticket prices. You see people of all ages and all walks of life at their events. If you love to learn and explore ideas it's a truly wonderful place.

Little known fact: Melbourne is a UNESCO City of Literature owning to the high concentration of…read morepublishers located here. This means there's a lot of great resources for writers and lovers of books, including The Wheeler Centre. The Wheeler Centre is a hive of ideas and literature. The calendar of events features talks, discussions and workshops with noted writers, journalists, politicians and more. And the best thing is many of the events here are free. The centre is the home of the Melbourne Writers' Festival and the Emerging Writers' Festival, and also houses the Victorian Writers' Centre - a must-join for any aspiring writer for networking, support and resources. Go to their website and subscribe to the eNewsletter to stay up to date on what's happening. Many of the events are extremely popular, especially readings and talks by international authors, so you need to book early.

Federation Square is considered my many to be the civic and cultural heart of Melbourne, located…read moreat the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets. It is built on a massive deck over active railway lines and serves as a major hub for art galleries, museums, and public events. After hanging out here a couple times, I didn't think that the square itself was all that impressive. Rather, the cultural opportunities (NGV Australia or the Koorie Heritage Trust for example) around the square are well worth the time and effort. There's also lots of restaurants, the river, and other opportunities for enjoyment in the immediate area.

(Visited 12/16/24 MO @ 10:00am): I couldn't tell whether or not this space was a square, but it…read morecertainly was larger nonetheless! A friend and I were on Day 3 of our 12-Day Southern Australia Explorer cruise with Princess Cruises, we took the local train into town, and after a stop at St. Paul's Cathedral, we proceeded to Federation Square. Apparently, this was one of the noted places to visit for tourists, so we headed that way. Considered a gateway to the city's art precinct and a public square, it was the civic, cultural, and community heart of Melbourne. Additionally, it was home to Victoria's three major cultural institutions: Australia's Museum Of Screen Culture (ACMI), the Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT), and The Ian Potter Centre NGV Australia https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=8P5_T0u1fojYo7LgE3IUjA for a full day of things to do. Since its opening in 2002, it has been a major event centre. In 2019, it was listed on the Victorian Heritage Register which made it the youngest building/structure in Australia to ever be recognized in this way. Was this square worth it as it was fed to us a tourist stop!? PURCHASE Towards the end of the day before we headed back to our ship, we did stop at an eatery located within Federation Square (Beer Deluxe) for some beer and snacks. There were other opportunities to spend money here, but this was it for us. Look for the review...! SERVICE Other than the apparent city workers who were cleaning in and around the area and the employees of the many varied businesses https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=wCid_kDzw81xYuto-W2mAg throughout, that was about it - 'nuff said. PARKING (Varied; N/A this instance) There was an ample onsite parking lot at various rates ($8.00AUD - $64.00AUD) based on day, event, reason, and time. However, there appeared to be a decent amount of parking on all surrounding streets (please note any posted signs), and of course the wonderful public transportation such as the tram system which we conveniently took and then walked the rest of the way - 'nuff said. ATMOSPHERE, DÉCOR, AMBIENCE All at once a large open-air area with structures that housed eateries, museums, offices and more, there was nearly something for everyone. During this festive Christmas holiday, there was of course a Christmas tree decoration https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=ydcf4W5kpfUoK3vPD8LApw prominently displayed visibly from the nearby streets. Obviously, there was plenty of natural lighting (the main square was outdoors after all) while hung outdoor stage and street electric lights filled in the rest. Generally speaking, I didn't see any TVs nor heard any background music unless you were in any of the other businesses or considered the outside street traffic. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw&select=0VrAORus1dVnwx3MpMopOA ATTIRE Totally casual, so I would normally be in a t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops. OVERALL Federation Square was a fine place to visit whether it was to experience some culture, dining, an event, or simply to hangout and people-watch, there were plenty of things to do. Frankly, I'd enjoy anything that happened outdoors. Getting here was a breeze, and if this wasn't your speed, at the very least it was a good meeting place. I found very good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (TOTAL paid experience was around $0.00AUD / $0.00USD BEFORE any discounts/tip). And, I was unaware whether or not they accepted my credit card of choice (for donations and givings)... AMEX! 4.0 STARS

The Crom is a venue located on the groundfloor of Pan International's office. It usually runs…read morehiphop events for under 18s in the Collingwood area, but recently it's opened its doors to other groups who would like to hire and use the space. It's a huge highly customisable warehouse space. There's a lot of pretty fantastic graffiti on the walls, but this can be covered up if it doesn't suit what you're doing. The staff are incredibly accommodating. When I booked for an event my organisation were running, they couldn't have been more helpful. We were allowed to come in and brainstorm how we were going to set up and pack up, we were allowed to use their equipment, we were even allowed to move every wall around to suit us. It is fantastic. There are a few downsides: noise restrictions after 10pm mean that whatever event you're having has to either end early or be very quiet. Not a problem for my group, but as soon as any kind of amplified band is thrown into the mix there'll be an issue with the neighbours. The impression I got from the staff is that those neighbours are quite the complaining sort.

I attended a two day convention here on the second floor…read more The space itself is HUGE! I didn't explore the entire center but from what I did see, it's a huge space. There was also another convention going on on the main floor. I'm not sure how many different rooms/spaces/auditoriums is in the entire center, but I'm guessing a lot! Considering everything going on over the weekend and all the people, the bathrooms remained clean. There is food and drinks available for purchase.

The location of MCEC is convenient, close to Southern Cross station and if you're really too lazy…read moreto walk, the 109 tram stop is right at its doorstep. So every time there is an interesting event, I'm usually way more inclined to make the effort to go there as opposed to say, the Showgrounds. My most recent event here was for the Madman Anime fest. There was more than enough room for all the stalls, stage and video games inside the exhibition hall. They also made use of a huge auditorium in the Plenary section. It was my first time there and whoa it was impressive! Comfortable seats, great audiovisual capabilities and lovely modern design. The ushers were friendly and did a good job of checking everyone's wristbands. MCEC is also right next to the yarra at South Wharf and Polly Woodside, which provided a stunning backdrop for those in cosplay posing for photo shoots. I've been to many events here, both day and night, and it's actually refreshing to step outside and just chill out by the water and admire the views, after a long function inside.

The Northcote Town Hall is in a prominent location at the beginning of the High Street shopping…read morestrip. There's several rooms within the Town Hall that can be used as private function/event or public performance spaces. The Town Hall is used as a venue for major happenings in Melbourne such as the International Comedy Festival and the Fringe Festival. It also plays host to several markets throughout the year. On my visit, I saw a show as part of the Fringe Festival in Studio 1, one of the smaller performance spaces. There were probably around 80 people seated in the audience all with good views, and the sound quality was excellent. A nice touch was the bar that had been set up to serve festival patrons that had basic drinks and food before the show. Overall it was a well run, professional event. Note - opening hours are for the office only. The event spaces and box office are open longer hours depending on event times.

Only really been to the Northcote Town Hall the once, but I was pretty impressed with them when I…read moredid. I was going to see a friend's burlesque show, but somehow I'd gotten the idea that it was at the Melbourne Town Hall. I cottoned that I was in the wrong place around the time I saw all the old couples in tux's and formal wear lining up outside the doors. Anyway, I called my friends, asked them to leave a ticket at the door, and began a madcap dash to get there and see as much of the show as possible. First thing that impressed me was that there were absolutely no problems with getting in. From memory, I think the girl in the box office was willing to wave me through without bothering with the ticket, trusting that I wasn't trying to sneak in for free. And the show itself was impressive and sold out (or close to). Even so, it wasn't big enough for the room it was in - you could easily do a large-scale concert there if you chose. Only problem I had was that the acoustics meant the crowd noise got lost a little in the space. Wasn't a major thing, though.