Comedy

Melbourne Town Hall at night lit up with colourful lights for the Comedy Festival.

Melbourne offers plenty of laughs, at stand up comedy shows and comedy clubs around town and in the annual comedy festival held from March to April.

Best free Melbourne Fringe pop-ups and shows

Smiling vendor selling a range of pastries, dips and spreads at Queen Victoria Market.

Queen Victoria Market

This beloved Melbourne landmark is the largest open air market in the southern hemisphere.

A busy Chinatown street with lanterns and restaurant signs.

Chinatown’s most iconic restaurants

These restaurants are some of the oldest and most loved in Melbourne's famous Chinatown precinct.

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The best brunch spots in Melbourne

Find bottomless brunch, Japanese breakfast sets, Sunday brunch spots and more.

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Melbourne’s most Instagrammable experiences

You won't need filters at the city's most photogenic spots.

A night tennis match at Rod Laver Arena.

Major events

From the Australian Open to the Melbourne Cup, major events take centre stage throughout the year.

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Melbourne Museum

Explore history, culture, science and nature at this popular Melbourne attraction.

Two individuals talking to each other inside Melbourne Museum at night, with blue lighting.
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Nocturnal: Museum After Dark

Experience Melbourne Museum after hours, when the doors stay open and the night belongs to adults.

A woman looking at the large carved ancestor stones of Birrarung Wilam.

Aboriginal Melbourne

Find out more about Aboriginal culture through Melbourne's galleries and museums.

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Melbourne's most iconic shops

These iconic Melbourne shops are home to some of the city's most colourful retail characters

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Music

Check out Melbourne's legendary live music scene, with gigs and concerts across the city.

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Exhibitions

See exhibitions on art, history and design at one of Melbourne's many galleries and museums.

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Festivals

Melbourne's festival calendar is jam-packed with film, comedy, arts, music, food and design.

The NGV and Arts Centre lit up on a winter night.

What's on this weekend in Melbourne

Discover things to do in Melbourne this weekend, from free events to exhibitions.

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Melbourne Fashion Week

M/FW takes over the city from 19–25 October.

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Things to do

Our guide to Melbourne's best events, attractions and things to do.

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Restaurants

Melbourne is packed with restaurant options from fine dining to wine bars and casual eateries.

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Crown Promenade Melbourne

A modern hotel just a short stroll from Melbourne's vibrant CBD.

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The ultimate guide to Curtin House

Discover the secret boutiques, restaurants and bars hidden inside this iconic vertical laneway.

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Crown Metropol Melbourne

A unique hotel that embodies the energy of Melbourne.

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Melbourne’s secret gardens and green spaces

Take a break from indoors with a stroll through these city-side parks.

People milling around Fed Square at sunset.

What's on today

Discover free events, epic festivals and shows on in Melbourne today.

Slice of strawberry cream cake.

Sweet Canteen

A desserts, pastries, and coffee shop hidden in the colourful Driver Lane.

People walking around the outdoor balcony area in front of the Royal Exhibition Dome.

Royal Exhibition Building Dome Promenade

The Royal Exhibition Building opens its doors to a unique view unseen for 100 years.

A spoon being used to break into a cake like dessert on a ceramic plate.

Marameo

Marameo is a fun, easy-going Italian eatery offering a range of pasta and mains.

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The Flour Melbourne

A French patisserie and cafe serving a mouth-watering selection of cakes, biscuits and pastries.

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Things you can only do in the city

There's only one place to find these rare Melbourne experiences and secret spots.

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Melbourne's best cafes that open late

These Melbourne cafes are open late for evening coffee runs.

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Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

A picturesque haven for recreation and a key botanical resource for research and conservation.

View of St Paul's Cathedral with a tram and cyclists passing in front of it.

Wominjeka – Welcome to Melbourne (Narrm)

Plan your visit to Melbourne with all info and tips on what to see and how to get around.

A busy laneway of restaurants at night.

9 laneways only real Melburnians know

Have you eaten your way through Melb's official Koreatown and found the secret piano bar?

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Accessible and inclusive Melbourne

Find the best inclusive, accessible and wheelchair-friendly venues and activities in Melbourne.

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Things you can only eat in the city

Where to find the city's most iconic dishes.

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Iconic Melbourne experiences

Waterside views, hidden bars and amazing exhibitions.

Group of people on a walking tour of Melbourne.

Hidden Secrets Tours

Indulge and discover the city's hidden charm with Melbourne's original laneway walking tours.

The city reflecting colourful lights over the river at night.

What's on this week in Melbourne

Discover things to do in Melbourne this week, from free events to exhibitions.

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Where to shop and eat in Melbourne's iconic Collins Street

Find Paris-end luxuries, boutique shopping, world-famous food, incredible architecture and more.

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Parks and gardens

One of the most loved things about Melbourne is its picturesque parks, gardens and green spaces.

The exterior of the cafe and cake shop Le Yeahllow, with people sitting outside on yellow benches and chairs on the city footpath, eating and drinking.

Le Yeahllow

This second Lt Bourke St branch serves artisan cake and coffee every day, for dine-in or to-go.

Two iced drinks, one coffee and one matcha, with the top of a match a cake visible and two forks on a napkin.

Tori’s

Artisan bakery in a hidden laneway.

Basement cocktail bar with small tables.

Beneath Driver Lane

A basement bar serving a wide range of cocktails, French bistro-style bar food with live music.

Stand-up comedian Tommy Little on stage in front of Spleen neon sign, holding microphone and smiling.
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Comedy at Spleen

Come along to the city's longest-running comedy night.

Performer breathing fire with head tilted at an angle.
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The Vaudeville Revue: Cabaret, Comedy and Burlesque

Experience Melbourne's most intimate variety show in a hidden gem of the city.

Four rows of people sitting smiling and laughing.
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Kings of Comedy: Underground, Uncensored, Unrivalled

Enjoy stand-up comedy from future stars and celebrity guest headliners.

Two people on a stage giving each other a high five, one also holding a microphone.
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Comedy at the Coopers Inn

A comedy club featuring the best local, interstate and international stand-up comedians.

Novelty wind-up chattering teeth against a yellow background.
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Basement Comedy Club: Weekend Showcase

Bringing you the biggest names and best comedians in the country, and beyond.

A young person with long blonde hair, wearing a green satin top and making an animated, expressive gesture with hands up near their face against a solid olive-green background.
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Tegan Higginbotham: Follow That Turtle!

Award-winning comedian Tegan Higginbotham is back with an unmissable hour of stand-up gold.

A performer in a black outfit, shorts, and a wide-brimmed black hat stands on a stage with a red floor, holding a large, flowing red cloth like a matador.
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Marketing Man

Satirical chaos that tears the lid off hustle culture, hype mythology, and the dark art of the sell.

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Presenting: A Queer Comedy Showcase

A stellar standup showcase of the best LGBTQIA+ comedians in Melbourne.

Four cabaret performers surrounded by pink and yellow feather fans.
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Cabaret Ridiculous

An hour of variety entertainment that’s as unpredictable as it is unforgettable.

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Des Bishop

Stand-up favourite Des Bishop tours Australia this November.

People seated in a dark bar venue watching a stand-up comic performing on stage, holding a microphone.
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Underground Comedy

This comedy night offers raw, unfiltered stand-up every week.

Seated audience watching a standup comedian perform with microphone in a small underground venue.
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Bar Humbug Comedy

Bar Humbug Comedy is a free weekly stand-up comedy night.

A man in a black t-shirt standing with a microphone in front of a presentation screen and two stools, inside a bar setting.
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Off Leash: Monthly Live Comedy Show

A monthly comedy residency that's exactly what it should be: casual, funny, full of vibes.

A comedian on a small stage in front of a blue curtain making a face into a microphone.
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Sunday Laughternoons

End your weekend on a high note with a secret lineup of very good comedians.

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Parasocial

A one-man musical comedy on the realities of one-sided relationships with famous people.

A clown cabaret performance with two people standing on a stage, one of them is spotlit.
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Spawn!

A variety cabaret gathering an eclectic ecosystem of clown and alternative comedy.

The empty spot lit stage and seating area at the theatre venue Club Voltaire.

Mading Jock & The Homies

Come along to a comedy show with Mading Jock and the homies.

Five Asian comedians standing together in front a deep night sky with bright stars and a lit up city skyline.

Mic Drop Comedy Show

Come along for Asia's wildest comedy night, with five distinctive comedy voices sharing one stage.

A person with long dark hair wearing a white dress, standing in the shallow water of a calm lake or river surrounded by misty, tree-lined hills.
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Saltwater Girls

A play about catholic school, queer desire, hymns, heartbreak and lesbian yearning.

Performer on a small stage in a darkened room, holding a microphone.

Comedy Sanctuary

Experience Melbourne's most relaxing comedy night at a wellness studio in Carlton.

Top down view of a jumble of small miscellaneous items, including miniature toys, a marker, and small plastic figurines.
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Yeah Sure, Why Not!

Proudly presents an immersive, cursed, comedy variety show experience that's different every month.

The empty spot lit stage and seating area at the theatre venue Club Voltaire.

Wart Free, Gout Free and Fun E

Witness a showcase of Kya De Angelis’s best stand up comedy.

Graphic featuring comedian Anna Thompson dressed as a sea creature up to her neck in water.
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Krilling Me Softly

An absurd cabaret comedy and antidote to worldly woes.

Close-up of woman's face with pursed lips.
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Hannah Camilleri: Dinner Hannah Show

Award-winning clown Hannah Camilleri brings her loose, playful, absurd comedy show to Fringe.

Burlesque performers on stage wearing black clothing and waving white boa fans.
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Briefs: The Works

Circus with attitude. Drag with muscle. Burlesque with bite.

Juggler holding a silver object with lights in the background.
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Kozo Kaos: Juggling Rocks

A high-energy rock 'n' roll juggling show with the world's biggest rock juggler.

A theatre production featuring three actors dressed in mid-20th-century period costumes against a dark, moody background.
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Murder in the Market: A Murder Village Improvised Whodunnit

It's Agatha Christie but improvised - in Murder Village, people shop till they drop dead.

An illustration from the book The Very Cranky Bear, showing a black bear with hands on hips looking cranky against a blue background.
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The Very Cranky Bear

A grumpy bear, four unlikely friends and one brilliant sheep.

Where to see comedy in Melbourne

Comedian Rhys Nicholson on a stage wearing a black suit and white shirt, talking into a microphone the yhold, audience watching.

Comedy Republic

A theatre and bar showcasing the biggest names in Australian comedy.

Rear view of a performer on stage at the Comic's Lounge, facing a seated audience.

The Comics Lounge Comedy Club

Enjoy a night of laughs, cocktails, food and friends with stand-up comedy acts.

Number 8 ball on green pool table.

Spleen Bar

Live jazz nights and jam sessions open to all, along with a range of beers, shots and cocktails.

Back view of a musician and musical equipment silhouetted on a stage facing the audience with sparkling lighting effects.

Max Watt's

This basement live music venue has hosted some of rock music's biggest acts.

Exterior of the Coopers Inn building, situated on a street corner.

Coopers Inn

A family-owned, heritage-listed traditional pub with weekly specials and events.

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