Living in Melbourne has so many upsides. While it is a big vibrant city, the amount of walking trails, parks and greenery are amazing and gives you the opportunity to get out and explore nature without needing a car.
The Capital City Trail is one of my favourites and is easily accessible from the city near Southbank or Federation Square. The full trail is 29.6km around the city with stunning views and lots of great adventures on the way. Whether you are training for a marathon, or just keen to get out for a run, leisurely walk or cycle, it’s a great way to tour the city. It does go in a loop, but you can choose to do as little or as much as you are in the mood for and you’ll still see plenty of interesting sights along the way.
Enjoy great views of the river and the city from various points plus the changing natural landscape. Take in iconic sights such as the open-air artworks of Birrarung Marr, the MCG (from a distance, you can do a small detour to get up close), Rod Laver Arena and Marvel Stadium. Some of my favourite spots worth slowing down for, are the stunning mansions that hug the river in Melbourne’s famous wealthy enclave (and most expensive suburb) Toorak and Collingwood Children’s Farm complete with cute farm animals and Farmers Markets. If you need a rest stop the café serves delicious food and great coffee.
If you don’t mind a little de-tour, I personally suggest to sneak over to Rose St. Fitzroy once you passed the Farm and head to Lune for the best croissants outside of Paris!
Back on the trail, another important landmark you’ll pass by is the famous Melbourne Zoo in Parkville. The zoo is home to many of Australia’s native wildlife and a host of exotic animals, keep your ears open and you might just hear the roar of a lion or the trumpeting of an elephant!
Making your way back around the loop towards the city, don’t miss the giant Melbourne Star wheel and the fabulous harbour and artworks around Melbourne’s Docklands precinct.
Have you done the trail Captial City Trail? Leave us a comment and let us know what you thought.
By Anke Sieder. Operations Manager at DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne – Flinders Street.
Explore Melbourne 
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