SPOTLIGHT ON:

Place a bet or watch the top stars of tennis – there are plenty of reasons to visit Melbourne.

Melbourne and Peru

It’s known as the race that stops the nation, and it’s also the race that you should attend at least once in your life. The Melbourne Cup attracts more than 100,000 people a year with the chance to dress up, take a punt on the horses (there is generally a Kiwi horse or rider in the field to back) and indulge in a week-long party of racing, fashion and food.

It’s worthwhile staying in Melbourne CBD and taking the train out to

Flemington Racecourse – on race days the train carriages are full of people in all their finery, making the trip part of the fun. Staying centrally means you can also enjoy everything the city has to offer when you’re not at the track: Melbourne’s hip café scene, Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne Zoo, Federation Square, Yarra Valley – and even take a tour of the historic Melbourne jail (highly recommended). If racing isn’t your thing, plan your Melbourne trip in January instead and take in the Australian Open. Top world players including Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic are confirmed for the Grand

Slam event.

Must-see and do

A sunrise hot air balloon ride over the Yarra Valley, one of Australia’s most beautiful wine regions, is a great day trip out of the city. Spring is a great time to take flight, when the landscape is carpeted with new foliage. globalballooning.com.au

And while Melbourne may be known as the cultural capital, just half an hour’s drive out of town you’ll find yourself on an African safari. Werribee Open Range Zoo offers an overnight Slumber Safari where you can sleep in canvas tents above the savannah, tour the zoo by night, have exclusive encounters with some of the zoo animals, take a safari tour and enjoy a camp-style dinner. zoo.org.au.