Shopping and Nightlife

Born to shop? If so, you'll be in your element in the major shopping complexes that are a feature of every major Australian city. As well as the best of the wider world, they'll tempt you with the fashions and souvenirs that can be found only in Australia. Melbourne Central is one of Australia’s largest retail complexes, with 200 shops occupying a whole block in the heart of the city centre. It’s a vast complex incorporating boutiques, jewellery, giftware, homewares and beauty products.

A Sydney landmark, the Queen Victoria Building is an architectural wonder in its own right, with some of the best of the mainstream labels and designer clothes, jewellery and antiques on the upper levels. The Queen Street Mall is where Brisbane's fashionable heart beats loudest, crammed with department stores as well as small clothing and shoe stores dedicated to designer one-offs. Adelaide's main shopping precinct, Rundle Mall is a pedestrian zone at the city centre lined with boutiques and department stores, within easy reach of cafes and the refreshing Botanic Gardens. Shopping in central Perth reflects the state's astonishing and exotic natural bounty, with stores brimming with pearls and diamonds that come from the state's far north.

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Australia produces a galaxy of goods that are found nowhere else in the world. Speciality stores that deal exclusively in these products - as well as plenty of department stores - are a great place to pick up a distinctive souvenir.

Australian fashion designers have had a big impact on the international scene. Among the names to watch for are Collette Dinnigan, Lisa Ho, Peter Morrissey, Robert Burton and Carla Zampatti.

Bush tucker is the collective name for the fruits, seeds, nuts, fungi, fish and meats that were the staple diet of Australia's Aboriginal people - now processed to make a great souvenir. Australian wool is the world's finest, and available in an incredible range of products, including snug, soft blankets, suits and hand-knitted sweaters available in designer patterns. Australian wool is the world's finest, and available in an incredible range of products, including snug, soft blankets, suits and hand-knitted sweaters available in designer patterns.

Grown in a pristine environment, the ingredients used in Australian cosmetics imbue the true spirit of the land - natural and real. Clean air and water has helped to develop some of the world’s best cosmetics. Australia produces an amazing variety of wines, but most of the wines made by smaller boutique wineries rarely leave Australia - which makes them a perfect gift for the wine connoisseur.

All major cities have galleries and stores that are devoted exclusively to the products of Aboriginal Australians, whether it's a dot painting, a boomerang or a didgeridoo from Arnhem Land.

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Local markets are a great place to take the local pulse, and whether it's the city or the country, Australia has plenty to offer. At any one of these markets you'll be entertained, as well as intrigued by the goods on display, and of course there's the chance to go home with a souvenir bought straight from the maker.

New Age meets suburban chic at Sydney's favourite, fashion-conscious churchyard bazaar, where the range of goods includes crystals, tribal silver, plants or just slinky socks at knockdown prices. Under siege from the surrounding rainforest, the north Queensland village of Kuranda has a flourishing market - the place to go for arts and crafts, fashions, and a range of exotic rainforest products. Part country fair, part rock festival and part country show, the monthly Byron Bay Market combines music, spectacle, exotic fruit salads, ethnic finger-food and people skilled in basket weaving. Held every Sunday, St Kilda's arts and crafts market is a browsers delight, with 220 stalls crammed with glass, books and clothes, drawing a colourful cast of characters to this bohemian beachside suburb. "Make it, Bake it, Grow it, Breed it" is the motto of the monthly Red Hill Market on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, which rekindles the atmosphere and home-made produce of a country fair.

Located on the wharf at Fremantle, Western Australia, the E Shed Market is one of the city's treasured institutions, the place to go for home furnishings, fabrics, garden ware and offbeat arts and crafts. Salamanca Markets brings a dash of excitement to the historic stone warehouses on the Hobart waterfront every Saturday with a dazzling array of craftwork by some of Australia's finest artisans.

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Each of Australia's major cities has a nightlife attraction, whether it's an international-style casino with all the glitter of Las Vegas, a waterfront area where the barstools come with a view of yachts and dancing waves or an entire district that sparkles by night. If you're looking for an all-night party, the best of Broadway, a romantic interlude or a pub with character, Sydney after dark has it all, and each of the city's nightlife districts has its own character.  Melbourne has the best bar and pub scene in the country, ranging from the elegance of big city cocktail bars including bars with jazz in the background to student pubs. Crown Entertainment Complex offers two city blocks worth of bar and clubbing options. Hobart has a number of pubs with live music, but the main after dark action happens at the landmark Wrest Point Casino, which also has cabaret and comedy shows and a choice of dining options. As well as its colourful pubs, Brisbane by night offers the starry Conrad Treasury Casino, a European-style casino with three floors of gaming and a wide choice of restaurants and bars. Adelaide has a lively bar and cafe scene centred around the eastern end of Rundle Street, in addition to the splendid Adelaide Casino, inside the city's former main railway station on North Terrace.

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Shopping fantasies spread wings in the Pitt Street Mall, the pedestrian plaza between King and Market streets in central Sydney. Running off the plaza are five multi-level malls, including such shopping sensations as the Mid-City Centre and Skygarden - a striking, futuristic complex that houses some of the most famous names in haute couture and accessories. Double Bay reigns supreme for 'posh' designer labels, sandwiched between European-style pavement cafes. Castlereagh Street near King is the place to go for upmarket extras (Hermes, Louis Vuitton). Queen Street, Woollahra is the place to look for colonial antiques, or browse for bargains in the antique markets of Woollahra and Surry Hills. The Queen Victoria Building has the best of the chains (Esprit, Ralph Lauren, Country Road) and the most fetching facade.

Search out jewellery and fresh faces on the design scene in the very Victorian Strand Arcade. Mosman's village shopping area is the northside style stronghold. Oxford Street is for clothes with a difference, cafes strong on modern Mediterranean flavours and cappuccino with attitude. Paddington markets on Saturday is for patchouli oil and tie-dyes from the past generation and clothes for the coming one. The Rocks is full of shopping surprises - high quality arts and crafts, opals, fashion wear, Aboriginal artwork, jewellers and specialty shops - with harbour views and historic atmosphere thrown in.

Source: Tourism Australia 2006

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