Easily accessible by foot and tram, Bourke Street is a mere 15 minute walk from Queen Victoria Market and Southern Cross Station, a major transportation hub for train and bus services to the rest of the state. A new pedestrian bridge at Southern Cross Station also extends access from Etihad Stadium and the Melbourne Docklands onto Bourke Street. Users of the space have multiple options for relaxing along Bourke Street--they can find seating on surrounding concrete benches, on the stairs of Victorian buildings, or atop multiple works of modern art designed specifically for that purpose. Decorated year-round with colorful light installations and banners, Bourke Street is a favorite destination for independent street performers, concerts, and parades. The greatly anticipated Myer Christmas window is revealed each November, which brings large crowds to the street and helps to boost the local economy.

Bourke Street is a pedestrian shopping precinct named after Sir Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales. Running from Elizabeth Street to Swanston Street, it is located in the heart of Melbourne’s Central Business District, the street was closed to traffic in 1978, and it is currently shared by pedestrians and a local tram line. Bourke Street became an entertainment hub in the late 1800s, when it became home to Melbourne’s first permanent cinema. By 1913, it had developed into the city’s principal cinema precinct and remained as such until 2005. As theaters began to relocate to larger nearby locations, Bourke Street gradually transformed into a bustling commercial corridor. Today, it is Melbourne’s central tourist attraction and pedestrian mall.

Image credits: Rexness via Flickr, Phillip Mallis via Flickr, Twilight Taggers via Flickr

Website: www.bourkestreet.com.au