Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne (must see)

If Melbourne had a heartbeat, you’d probably hear it thumping somewhere between the cheese counters and doughnut queues of the Queen Victoria Market—or “the Queen Vic” to anyone who’s ever bought a snack here. It’s the last major market standing in the Central Business District and the largest open-air market in the entire Southern Hemisphere, which is a fancy way of saying it’s been out-shopping and outlasting everyone else since 1878.

Back in the early days, the city was littered with markets. The Western Market opened in 1841 and instantly packed out, so the Eastern Market appeared soon after and stole the spotlight. The Queen Vic rose from a patchwork of smaller trading spots built around the Old Melbourne Cemetery, where early settlers—including Melbourne founder, John Bateman—were laid to rest. By the 1870s, the city had outgrown its earlier markets, so the Queen Vic expanded with the now-classic A–F sheds, new shops along Elizabeth Street, and that unmistakable Meat and Fish façade.

Today, the Queen Vic is a world unto itself. It runs most days of the week, and when summer rolls in, Wednesday evenings burst into a full-blown Night Market—street food sizzling, music drifting across the sheds, and crowds circling festival bars like moths to a neon flame. With more than 600 small businesses, the market is a parade of produce, seafood, deli treats, handmade crafts, jewelers, artists, coffee brewers, and everything in between.

Many of the original 19th-century buildings still frame the site, including the 1869 Meat Hall and the heritage shopfronts along Elizabeth and Victoria Streets. Inside, regulars swear by the deli section’s meats and cheeses, the mountain of seasonal produce, the French pastries in the Dairy Produce Hall, and the famous doughnut truck that rarely stops steaming.

And here's one insider perk: vendors often drop prices late in the day—so timing your visit just right might score you a bargain along with your brioche.