Girls’ Long Weekend in Victoria

Torn between an action-packed city stay and unwinding beachside for your next weekend away? In Victoria, you can enjoy both to the max, all in the space of a long weekend.

Read on for the perfect itinerary that marries the best of Melbourne’s dining, shopping and theatre with the hot springs and wineries of the Mornington Peninsula – and get the girls on speed dial.

See more about Victoria on the new season of Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays, airing every Thursday on Foxtel at 8.30pm AEST. Find out more here.

Friday

Morning

Kick things off in style, checking into InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto, whose prime Collins Street location puts you in the heart of the city’s dining and shopping, with Southbank also a stone’s throw away. The hotel’s grand façade gives an instant sense of occasion to your weekend. And don’t forget there’s a rooftop pool and an Elemis-powered spa, voted the best in Australia. Just the thought of champagne bubbles popping and the scent of massage oil is enough to bring serenity on the spot.
But you must put your steps in first, around Melbourne’s shopping hotspots: namely the ‘Paris End’ of Collins Street, Bourke Street Mall and Emporium Melbourne.

Afternoon

Rest your weary feet over cocktails and Asian-fusion street food at Lucy Liu, a laneway favourite.
Take some time to relax and enjoy your hotel before reconvening for drinks at the Art Deco-inspired Juliet, whose drinks list, fittingly for a girls’ weekend, is driven by female producers and artisans.
On to one of Melbourne’s renowned theatre spaces or a performance by The Australian Ballet, before an indulgent, European-inspired dinner at Maison Batard or Gimlet.

Saturday

Morning

Famed for its independent cafe scene, Melbourne is one of the world’s coffee capitals, so start the day right with a laneway wander for a cup of Magic and brunch. Or north of the city grid, Queen Victoria Market is open bright and early for freshly baked bread, pastries and food truck fare.
Another Melbourne institution, the National Gallery of Victoria, or the NGV, awaits; the oldest and most frequented gallery in Australia, it’s a treasure trove of more than 76,000 works. Or perhaps a GoBoat cruise on the Yarra River is more your scene, where you can enjoy a sparkling picnic onboard your own boat for up to eight.

Afternoon

After collecting your rental car from the CBD, stock up on snacks for a 90-minute breezy coastal road trip to the Mornington Peninsula, admiring the scenery en route. On arrival, check into InterContinental Sorrento Mornington Peninsula, undoubtedly the jewel of the region with its Scott-Pickett-led dining, spa and bathhouse. Unwind post-drive at the terrazzo-style pool deck overlooking the ocean, before heading to Audrey’s for a taste of the finest produce the peninsula has to offer (think yellow fin tuna with avocado and black garlic, caviar service, oysters and Cape Schanck farm heirloom tomatoes with Main Ridge goat’s curd).

Sunday

Morning

After a farm-to-table breakfast at the hotel, prepare for a real highlight of the weekend: Alba Thermal Springs. With its indoor and outdoor thermal pools, day spa and locally inspired cafe, Thyme, this relaxing haven is hard to tear yourself away from. But it’s well worth it for lunch at Montalto, a Red Hill winery serving estate-grown produce. Dishes like seared big eye tuna with mussels, green harissa and fennel, and potato doughnut with goat’s curd, estate honey and thyme, are perfectly complemented by the vineyard’s wine list.

Afternoon

Take some time to relax and indulge at the hotel’s spa, take a coastal walk or simply relax with a book before reconvening for cocktails at Barlow and a gastro-pub-inspired dinner at The Conti.

Monday

Morning

After a final breakfast, drink in coastal views across Port Phillip Bay with a clifftop stroll of Millionaire’s Walk, so called for the impressive mansions that line the route. It forms part of the Sorrento Portsea Artists’ Trail, where landscape paintings are showcased beside the scene that inspired them.

Afternoon

What better way to close off the weekend than with a long winery lunch – this time at Pt. Leo Estate, where the upmarket Laura serves seasonal produce from the estate garden, along with local southern rock lobster, Cape Schanck olive oil and Main Ridge goat’s cheese. Beyond the spoils of the restaurant and cellar door, the 330-acre site is home to a sculpture park, with more than 70 large-scale international and Australian works to ponder.

And with that, the perfect girl’s weekend comes to end (unless you can swing an extra night in Melbourne on the way back, of course).

See more about Victoria on the new season of Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays, airing every Thursday on Foxtel at 8.30pm AEST. Find out more here.