AmiexExchange 22: Flinders Street's Highlights (Ultimate Walking Guide)

Melbourne has many prominent streets in its grid-like sprawling city centre. The most iconic one has to be Flinders Street. This 'ultimate walking guide' is created based on my own ventures up and down the city streets countless of times. It includes all of Flinders Street's most important stops and architecture you should look out for, not including the little lanes connecting to it., which are still important but not covered because this article will become too long!

As an inexperienced tourist when I first arrived, I couldn't decide what building the city was famous for... not as striking as Sydney's Opera House or Paris's Eiffel Tower, Melbourne's representative sits innocently and functionally in the middle of Flinders Street. This station is the largest, and still serves Melbourians till date. It's glitzy and pretty outside, but quite run-down on the inside. Still very worth it to walk through it (if you are not taking the train to tour around).

This cathedral welcomes all, religious or not! It is massively grand and comparable to the ones in Paris - not the magnificent Notre Dame but the slightly smaller ones. Walking inside always gives me a sense of serenity, especially sitting inside and just quietly observing everyone around. There is an epic giant organ inside and plays beautifully during service. Photography is strictly not allowed inside the cathedral, so all I have are these few sneaky shots.

Juxtapositioning the classic old English buildings against a very contemporary building of Federation Square, this had got to be one of the many awe-inspiring corners of the city that showcase its creativity in architecture. There is an area for events, gatherings (protests, lol), zumba sessions and basically a place for interaction and meetings.

In the distance towards South Melbourne, you may notice an octopus infiltrating a building! Don't be alarmed, that's the Arts Centre...

An elegant, timeless building - this is the Forum Theatre. I haven't been inside - I'd expect it to be more grand, but you will pass by this on the way to the most reputable graffiti lanes in the city centre...

Lose yourself in these staggering amounts of graffiti, some towering storeys above your head on the walls of these buildings. I'm amazed at how they manage to draw so high up, and so beautifully. All these are handicraft and sprayed on painstakingly. Good 2 Go cafe is also hidden in a literal hole-in-wall fashion, selling preloved clothing at super good bargains. You wouldn't notice it unless you looked really close!

Just down the bend, turn into ACDC lane which house some of the best restaurants in town. Take a spin inside and settle your meal here. Melbourians have a penchant for really strong flavours (saltier, sweeter than the local Singaporean palate), but more on that next time.

Stroll back towards the Yarra River for a scenic route and you've completed the Flinders Street's Highlights walking guide! I will be adding more to this series - including Bourke Street (and Little Bourke) and more for a comprehensive city walking guide. Have fun in Melbourne, the city I've grown to call my second home.