A Guide to Melbourne

Melbourne, the second largest city in Australia and the state capital of Victoria, is situated around Port Phillip Bay in the south east with a population of an estimated 3.8 million. This is expected to grow to over 4.5. million by 2020 and over 5 million in 2030, by which it could overtake Sydney to become the largest city in Australia.

Melbourne is known as Australia's Garden city, with Victoria once referred to as "the garden state". Melbourne contains a number of parks in the Central Business District, or CBD, many of which are in close proximity to the CBD. The CBD also contains various historic buildings, including the Melbourne Town Hall, Parliament House and the Royal Exhibition Building.

Melbourne is host to a wide range of businesses, including information technology companies. In fact, Melbourne employs over 60,000 people (over 30% of the whole ICT workforce in Australia) generating a turnover of just under $20 billion.

Financial institutions also feature in the Melbourne landscape, with major banks such as ANZ, The National Australia Bank and NAB setting up their headquarters in Melbourne. Melbourne is also host to major players in the Australian automobile industry - both Ford and Toyota have manufacturing plants in Melbourne.

Tourism is also an important factor in Melbourne's economy and infrastructure, with around two million visitors per year traveling to the city. Transport in Melbourne is extensive as the city is host to the second largest tram network in the world, including a free City Circle Tram for visitors. However, most journeys are made using cars although Melbourne has experienced a recent increase in the number of people using public transport.