Melbourne is Australia's second-largest city, the capital of Victoria, known as the 'Garden State', and the country's industrial capital. Melbourne is known for its strong culture, greenery, fashion, food, entertainment and sporting activities. Melbourne's green coverage is up to 40%, and Victorian buildings, streetcars, opera houses, galleries, museums, and tree-lined gardens and streets make up the city's elegant style.

Melbourne is a vibrant and joyful city with a deep cultural heritage. In the minds of the Australian people, Sydney, the first city, is just a commercial city, but Melbourne is a city of history and culture. Melbourne is the only city in Australia to be listed as a United Nations World Heritage Site, has a glorious human history, and is a perennial host of many famous international sporting events. Melbourne offers everything from cultural and artistic diversity to natural beauty, and is Australia's top city when it comes to entertainment for the senses, with its own specialties in arts, culture, entertainment, food, shopping and commerce. From 1990 to 2006, Melbourne was voted the world's most livable city by Population Action International, a Washington, D.C.-based organization.

Melbourne is a port city in the southeast of Australia with a total area of 8,831 square kilometers. Narrowly defined as the City of Melbourne, with a population of just over 60,000, Melbourne is divided into ten districts

Melbourne CBD - where Chinatown is located

East Melbourne

West Melbourne

North Melbourne

Parkville - home to the University of Melbourne, a renowned tertiary institution

Carlton - Italian restaurants and cafes

South Yarra - home to fashion and clothing boutiques

St Kilda Road lined area

South Bank - home to the Crown Casino

Docklands - originally an old wharf, this area was developed into a commercial and residential area, which was incorporated into Melbourne in 2007. In 2007, it was incorporated into Melbourne's Central District

Melbourne's Central Street is bounded by Spencer Street to the west, Flinders Street along the Yarra River to the south, Spring Street with its grand buildings such as the State Parliament House and the Treasury Building to the east, and Victoria Street to the north, forming a quadrangle of about 2 square kilometers. Surrounded by these four streets in a checkerboard city, is the cityscape of the main streets of Melbourne's downtown area.

Broadly speaking, Melbourne consists of the above mentioned Melbourne central area and hundreds of other suburbs (suburbs) consisting of the greater Melbourne region (Metropolitan Melbourne), which is now generally referred to as the population of more than three million people, an area of 8831 square kilometers of Melbourne.