A Seasonal Guide to Melbourne Festivals

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If you are visiting Melbourne, whether on a tight budget or not, it’s always great to get a little more out of your visit by heading to a festival. Melbourne festivals offer a lot of additional attractions for tourists coming to the city, and locals alike. When in Melbourne, everyone can find something suitable according to their music, fashion, film and art preferences. Additionally, there are a lot of international artists attending them so it’s a great chance to see them live!

With so many amazing festivals, it’s hard to keep an eye on all of them. Therefore, we selected few most interesting ones for you. Don’t forget to check out which festivals you might get tickets for before you book your travel to ensure it all lines up for you!

Autumn

Autumn on the other side of the hemisphere is the time for new life, good food, and of course new growth. The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is a good shout for anyone in the city during this time, showcasing the best food that Victoria has to offer as well as some very nice wines. The Melbourne Flower Show is an obvious choice for autumn as it really embodies the season, and the displays are truly inspiring and beautiful – bringing gardening to an art form. Not only that, but it’s doubtlessly the best smelling festival of the year! Finally, the Melbourne Queer Film Festival offers the very best in the year’s LGBTQ+ cinema, and you can follow it up with the International Comedy Festival in April.

Winter

When it’s colder outside, the festival season is still heating up. Enjoy the Melbourne Writer’s Festival in August, and the Melbourne Cabaret Festival if you are heading down a month earlier. It’s a riot of laughs, good entertainment and is definitely worth checking out if you happen to be in the city already. There’s a little something for everyone at these shows, including drag, music, comedy, and more.

Spring

The Spring Racing Carnival is one of the top-billed events at this time of year, though it also has to compete with the Melbourne Festival. Running for two weeks and dedicated to entertaining those who live in the city, it’s full of shows in all kinds of genres. Some of them are free to enter while others require tickets to be purchased. You can see theater performances, dance and circus shows, music concerts, visual arts displays, and much more, including works that feature other cultures.

Summer

The big summer event that everyone wants to attend is the Melbourne Cup Carnival, and if you want to get down to visit this festival, you will need to make sure that you book accommodation in the city well in advance. You will also be able to visit Melbourne Music Week as well as Melbourne Latin Summer Festival and enjoy the start of the open-air cinema season, which gives rise to plenty of new events. Finally, if tennis is your thing you need to go to the Australian Open. Although not named a festival, it is a huge international sporting event which is very popular with visitors from around the world. Tickets go fast so you will want to get in quick if you want to see the big matches between the stars of the tennis world.

Melbourne is a hub of activity all year round, but it gets especially busy when there is a reason for visitors to flock in from around the world. This means you should plan ahead carefully if there any particular festivals you’d like to attend.

Which festival in Melbourne would you like to attend?