Prahran and South Yarra
- Designer and boutique fashions
- Alfresco dining
- Quirky shopping
See and be seen
South Yarra is a place to be and be seen. Here, Melbourne's high society revels in all its high-heel, diamond-encrusted, cocktail-dress-at-midday glory. Peacock behaviour is not just abundant, it's de rigueur. The mix gets more interesting with an injection of art students, professionals, models, techno kids and skaters keeping the fashionable on their toes.
Shopping mecca
While people-watching here can amuse for hours, so does the shopping. You'll find the outlets of every designer of note spread in oh-so-cool boutiques along Chapel Street, the heart and retail soul of South Yarra. Australia's top designers, including Scanlan & Theodore, Colette Dinnigan and Bettina Liano, all have a base in South Yarra, as do big international names. Chic cafés and bars such as Café Domo, Pieroni and Chinois keep pavements crowded day and night and the Jam Factory houses one of Melbourne's bigger cinema complexes.
Quirky and cosmopolitan
For all things groovy and hip – from fashion to funky homewares – head off Chapel Street into Prahran. Cosmopolitan Greville Street offers up offbeat retro clothing and streetwear, as well as eclectic gifts, jewellery and record stores. Sunday afternoon is a good time to catch the Greville Street Market, while Prahran Market on Commercial Road is renowned for fresh food and discount shopping.
Nearby Toorak Road and High Street shopping strips hold their own in the retail stakes, offering more exclusive and specialist shops.
River banks and manicured mansion
If you're all shopped out, head north for a walk along the banks of the Yarra or take in the precinct's high society history at the beautiful Como House, where you can wander around the manicured gardens and peek inside the 1850s Victorian-era mansion.
